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Our Theory of Change: Capacity Building — DEVISE Charitable Trust

DEVISE Charitable Trust · Patna, Bihar

Our Theory of Change:
Building Youth Capability & Capacity

How DEVISE transforms young people from Musahar communities into independent advocates for their own rights — dismantling reliance on intermediaries and building self-sustaining grassroots leadership[cite: 1].

Participatory Action Youth Leadership (Ages 18–35) Para-Legal Tooling Community Autonomy

Fieldwork in Motion

Moments from the Ground

The Context

The Intermediary Trap

The Challenge

Underserved communities often access education, nutrition, and public health systems through unreliable third-party agents[cite: 1]. This leaves families liable to fraud, recurring fees, and structural alienation from the fundamental rights and government entitlements they are constitutionally owed[cite: 1].

Who this affects: Social groups with the lowest income and education indicators identified in the Bihar Caste Survey, with a core focus on landless Musahar settlements[cite: 1].

The Objective

Our Goal: To develop an active network of community youth collectives possessing both the practical capability and organizational capacity to advocate for their own rights directly — completely independent of intermediaries[cite: 1].

Our Strategy

From Groundwork to Independence

01
Participatory Identification
Direct dialogue and surveys to identify immediate, actionable education, health, and food issues[cite: 1].
02
Building Youth Collectives
Organising community youth (ages 18–35) to carry out the essential fieldwork for local interventions[cite: 1].
03
Embedded Capacity Building
Continuous, experiential skill development integrated into the daily workflow rather than one-off workshops[cite: 1].
04
Technical & Financial Support
Providing seed funding, operational guidance, and tooling to youth-led local projects[cite: 1].
05
Full Autonomy
Culminating in a fully self-reliant youth group that no longer requires DEVISE to advocate or operate[cite: 1].

Staged Methodology

Skill & Capacity Progression

Skill Building

Field Execution
Stage 1 — Foundational
Methods of ground data collection, basic community teaching skills, and applying for statutory government entitlements[cite: 1].
Stage 2 — Intermediate
Methods of data analysis, contextual curriculum design for learning centres, and advocacy at the city/district tier[cite: 1].
Stage 3 — Advanced
Advocacy at state and national forums, policy evaluation, and seeking direct institutional accountability on law[cite: 1].

Capacity Building

Institutional Strength
Stage 1 — Foundational
Clear and assertive communication, community mobilization, in-person documentation facilitation, and digital reporting[cite: 1].
Stage 2 — Intermediate
Fundamentals of local fundraising, public accountability tracking, and active exposure to development-sector platforms[cite: 1].
Stage 3 — Advanced
Autonomous proposal drafting, pitch presentations, independent resource mobilization, and broad sector networking[cite: 1].
Current Milestone

Where We Are Today: Stage 1 in Motion

DEVISE's five active learning centres — Gosaimath, Simri, Harnichak, Mahuabagh, and Anjani — provide a concrete, operating demonstration of Stage 1 already delivering ground impact[cite: 1]:

40+ Entitlement Camps

Facilitators across all five centres have mobilized and processed birth certificates, identification records, caste/income/residence certificates, ration cards, Ayushman links, PAN, and e-Shram cards[cite: 1].

Pedagogical Innovation

Facilitators conduct daily play-based foundational learning sessions, pioneering peer-developed modules such as Math Ludo and Word Antakshari tailored to first-generation learners[cite: 1].

Para-Legal Tooling

Two rounds of structured para-legal training (November 2025, February 2026) equipped facilitators to unpack FIR registration procedures, arrest rights, and constitutional protections in fortnightly community meetings[cite: 1].

Transparent Road Ahead: Stages 2 and 3 — city, state, and national advocacy, advanced fundraising, and independent proposal drafting — represent the upcoming phases of our roadmap[cite: 1]. This year's groundwork secures the community baseline from which independent advocacy will grow[cite: 1].

Strategic Horizons

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Horizons

Short-Term Goals

Universal Entitlement Access 100% school enrolment and retention[cite: 1]. Five learning centres established[cite: 1]. Unhindered access to PDS rations, state benefits, Voter ID, PAN, and Ayushman cards[cite: 1].
Autonomous Ground Action Youth capable of independently identifying out-of-school children, filing documentation batches, and reporting local data[cite: 1].
Active Grassroots Advocacy Community youth articulating their rights to local officials and mobilizing peer support for collective civic action[cite: 1].

Long-Term Goals

Direct State Interaction At least one member in every household capable of directly applying for and securing constitutional and welfare entitlements[cite: 1].
Autonomous Hamlet Collectives Every settlement home to a self-reliant youth group capable of diagnosing problems and demanding accountability from authorities[cite: 1].
Self-Sustaining Futures Youth groups capable of representing their community at national platforms and securing programmatic funds independently[cite: 1].

Concrete Outcomes

Direct Community Impact

Zero School Dropouts

All children up to age 18 in project zones systematically enrolled, supported, and retained in formal schooling[cite: 1].

100% Documentation Saturation

Every household member secured with baseline identification: Birth Certificates, national identity records, Caste/Income Records, Voter ID, Ration Cards, and Ayushman healthcare links[cite: 1].

Resilient Youth Collectives

Organized local groups pragmatically diagnosing systemic roadblocks and executing solutions at both individual and collective levels[cite: 1].

Support Grassroots Capability

Your partnership funds documentation camps, para-legal training cohorts, and educational tooling for youth in Bihar.

Support Our Work
DEVISE

404, Sai Gayathri Towers, Nanakramguda, Gachibowli, Hyderabad · devise.org.in

devise@nalsar.ac.in · Registered 80G Public Trust