We are an award winning civic innovation company working at the intersection of data, technology and governance. We take risks, we are willing to fail in pursuit of changing conventional behaviour in development sector, and we seek to enhance local input in development interventions. We grew out of a student research seminar at the London School of Economics.
What do we do ?
LIG loses its sleep over the government's inability to establish an inclusive governance system where public concerns make way into policy process.
But that does not mean we challenge the government and duty bearers to change their ways - we are umbilically tied to government agencies and work towards effecting change from within. And in so doing, we use what we have expertise in - civic technologies and process innovation that enhances government service delivery across policy sectors.
People call them GovTech and Civic Tech - for us it's an everyday drill with a wide range of process innovations for the government to increase their efficiency, transparency and responsiveness, while concurrently onboarding citizens with their government to demand better public services.
Towards this end, we have we collaborated with UN and Home Ministry of Nepal for a large scale feedback project for earthquake affected Nepalis, made relief funds transparent and accountable, GIS mapped public spending with citizen feedback embedded into governance process, supported the electoral process with Social Media Observatory, helped Nepal Police modernize to name a few. As of 2021 we are also adding Growth & Enterprise Program, helping young Nepalis set up startups.
Along the way we have also won coveted awards Echoing Green and D-Prize and have been featured in world's premier media outlets like Forbes, BBC, New York Times, Huffington Post, SciDevNet, Civic Hall etc.
Always striving to be a part of international community of practice, we are a member of Civicus, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Opening Parliament Forum, and recognized partner for Open Government Partnership.
Our Vision
To become a leading southern non-profit delivering development solutions driven by data and informatics
Our Mission
To enhance local input in development interventions;
To help make policy-making based on data and informatics
To enhance citizen access to government services;
To advance transparency and accountability through Open Government ethos
To invent 'next new ideas in development'
Our Approach to Interventions
LIG plans to make people's grievances seep into policymaking in its most unprocessed form and, deliver. Not exactly rocket science.
We go back to the basics in search for answers. Most of the knowledge to lift the poor out of poverty already exists on the ground. These are learned, promoted and replicated.
Access counts as much as ideas do. We believe that key to measurable impact in any development intervention is when sincere local office bearers are pulled to the frontline of service delivery; simply because they have the prime interest in seeing things improve.
Our programmes are designed and shoehorned into community needs, not funding proposals. To create a permanent impact, our requirement is long term strategic partnership, not off the cuff grants. Therefore, LIG does not seek financial support from donor's existing funding programmes.
Policy solutions by international community are essential, particularly in making development interventions technical and crosscutting. But we need to make the most of local's street creed. Locals know how people react to development projects and who to talk to in spotting defects and errors, follow village tea-shop gossips rather than Twitter to gain insights outsiders normally wouldn't.
Our Values
We are a values-driven organization family. For us this means to always:
- Integrity - Uphold absolute integrity and practice unheard-of transparency
- Risks - Take risks & be willing to fail in pursuit of changing conventional behavior in development sector
- Collaboration - Collaborate with, rather than confront the government
- Eminence - Team up only with partners of outstanding distinction and honor
- Local Ownership - Validate locally led interventions as cheaper and sustainable
- Impact - Value funds as investment that demands quantifiable returns
Our Talent Management Style
Talent is global. In order to work with a global outlook and deliver with smart and sustainable local solutions, LIG intends to attract the sharpest workforce trained in world's leading institutions. Talent pool is predominantly young who are willing to take risks. Recruitment is done on a project basis, so that employment becomes results-focused and personnel's outputs can be mapped within a timeframe. International pay scales are on offer.
Equal attention is given to those from the private sector who can cross-fertilise ideas from the profit-making world to deliver value for money. Team Leaders are required to bring innovative ideas to table, design programmes in detail and help it materialise by hiring the right people to deliver. When programs go on the ground, only the locals living within target areas are invited to apply in project delivery jobs.
Our Media Plan
To reach the population extensively, publications relating to new findings, policy papers and research is disseminated as '3600 Insights' in condensed format as supplements in national broadsheets as well as through social media. Key journalists are identified to promote new ideas in development and stir up debate where possible. Journalists are assisted with research and resources to highlight best practices from home and abroad.
