HOW ASHOKA FELLOWS ACCELERATEAN EVERYONE A CHANGEMAKERTM WORLD
Results of the 2021 Global Fellows Study

“

Changemaker journeys areoften very lonely.
One of the biggest sources of support
from Ashoka is being the ‘unlonely planet’
where I can connect with people whohave equally lonely journeys. Ashoka hasreconfirmed my self-belief in momentsof absolute self-doubt. Ashoka has
also connected me with an interesting
network where I can constantly learn
from other changemakers on similar
journeys, and people from other walksof life. Ashoka has helped me amplify myvoice.”PARAMITA BANERJEEASHOKA FELLOWTable of Contents
2 |Foreword

4 |About This Research
Acknowledgements
Report Overview
Methodology
Sample10 |Part I: Building an Everyone a Changemaker™ World
Inspire Individuals to Become Changemakers
Collaborate to Engage More Changemakers
Change Systems to Support All Changemakers

24 |Part 2: Ashoka’s Impact on Fellows
Provide Fellows the Opportunity to Pursue their Idea Full-Time
Invite Fellows into a Lifelong Community
Offer Fellows Thought Partnership28 |Conclusion

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 1

Foreword
Ashoka’s Evolution to Everyone a Changemaker™
For its first 20 years, Ashoka’s theory of change held that there was no more powerful force for societal
transformation than a system-changing idea in the hands of a social entrepreneur. We set out to prove that these
extraordinary individuals existed across the globe and when we did, we built the field of social entrepreneurshipalong with others invested in big change. We selected the world’s most promising social entrepreneurs and gavethem resources to accelerate the rate at which their solutions addressed seemingly intractable problems.
By the late 1990s, we had built a critical mass of top social entrepreneurs—what we like to think of as theworld’s best focus group—and we engaged these leaders to predict what was to come in the next 20 years. We
developed an impact measurement framework for social entrepreneurship that focused not on direct service
outputs but on progress in changing systems and mindsets to address the root causes of social problems.1 Yearafter year, the work of our Fellows has offered a deeper understanding about the world around us and where it
was headed. Over time, our growing understanding has brought many insights, the most profound of which is
the realization that human society has reached an historic inflection point. We are no longer living in a realitythat is defined by repetition in search of greater efficiency, but rather, by our ability to adapt to rapidly changing
circumstances, both natural and human made. To thrive, let alone survive, we must learn to lead change. This isexactly what Ashoka Fellows enable others to do.
Across a wide range of geographies and sectors, we have seen Fellows engage those around them, inviting themto contribute to their ideas and to build something new together. We have come to recognize that this inclusive
approach has a profound effect on individuals’ worldviews. They begin to see the world through the lens ofpossibilities rather than problems. They recognize their own capacity to bring about better realities and learn
to lead change. These changes in mindset hasten the pace at which Fellows can shift whole systems and more
importantly, are the lifeblood of societal transformation for the good of all.
With these insights, we have shifted our focus beyond exclusively supporting leading social entrepreneurs inorder to build a world in which everyone has the tools to thrive—where everyone is a changemaker. We have
expanded our network and our efforts to include greater diversity in people, organizations, and partners. Only
together can we create a world in which everyone is a giver, everyone is powerful, and everyone is a changemaker.
This is Ashoka’s purpose, and it comes directly from what we have learned from Fellows’ impact.

Building an Everyone A Changemaker™ World
Ashoka is committed to data-driven organizational evolution and sharing its research to advance the field. For
the past 40 years, we have had the unique privilege to learn from our Fellows. In 2021, we built on our learnings
from our 2018 study by conducting a second deep dive into Fellows’ strategies and Ashoka’s impact—thistime, with special attention to our Everyone a Changemaker™ vision.2 We received 817 survey responses andconducted 32 in-depth interviews, representing 80 of the 95 countries where Fellows have been elected.

1
2

To learn more about our impact measurement framework see Social Innovations Journal Issue 52.
Please follow this link to read results from our 2018 study.

2 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

ASHOKA ARCHIVEThis report is not simply a presentation of Ashoka Fellows’ impact, but a preview of the architecture they arebuilding to ensure that all members of society can thrive.
We are delighted to share our findings with you and invite you to join us in this journey. Together, we can createa more equitable, just, and therefore, healthy world; a world where everyone is powerful. We hope this reportpresents a roadmap for how you, I, we can do exactly this.

		
		
		
		

Diana Wells​

President Emerita​
Leadership Team Member​​

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 3

INTROPHOTO COURTESY OF SORONKO ACADEMY.

ABOUT THISRESEARCH

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY STORE INITIATIVE.

4 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

PHOTO COURTESY OF SORONKO ACADEMY.

Acknowledgements
Research Design and Authors		
Alessandro Valera, Alexandra Ioan,
Alyssa Matteucci, Diana Wells
Research Team at the Management Schoolof the Polytechnic of Milan			
Mario Calderini, Francesco Gerli,
Tommaso Tropeano, Veronica Chiodo,
Ambra Giuliano, Nicola Ballerini

Thank you to the many others who made this work
possible
Bailey Baethge, Iman Bibars, Reilly Brooks, McKenzie
Cromer-Deshmukh, Bill Drayton, Edward Edilbi, Valeria
Viscarra Fossati, Somerset Gal, Sanjana Janardhanan,
Karyn Kessler, Fernanda Mijangos, Sima Nasr, Meghana
Parik, Linda Peia, Stephen Outlaw, Faith Rotich, Kelsey
Sakumoto, Gorav Seth, Agata Stafiej-Bartosik, Barbara
Steele, and Michael Zakaras.

A special thank you to our Fellows, without whom none of our work would be possible. We are grateful for yourparticipation in this study.
We would also like to thank the Social Innovations Journal for dedicating space for further analysis of this data
which can be found in Volume 11 - January 2022.3

3

Please follow this link to read further insights from our data in Social Innovations Journal Volume 11.

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 5

REPORT OVERVIEWThis report presents our findings and is organized in two parts (previewed below). Part I outlines thestrategies Fellows use to build an Everyone a Changemaker™ world. Part II outlines the strategies
Ashoka uses to support Fellows’ lifelong commitment to changemaking and efforts to realize theEveryone a Changemaker™ vision.

PART 1TO BUILD AN EVERYONE A CHANGEMAKER™ WORLD, FELLOWS…

Inspire individuals to
become changemakers
by...

Collaborate to engage
more changemakers by…

Change systems to
support all changemakers
by…

• Creating opportunities forthem to contribute• Building multiplierpartnerships• Encouraging belief in theirown capacity• Creating space forcommunity voice• Creating policy change
and market systems
change• Redefining their“weaknesses” asstrengths• Engaging individuals
everywhere• Supporting theirchangemaker identity
development• Influencing societal
mindsets or cultural
norms• Fostering supportive
environments that enablechangemaking• Building ecosystems thatsustain changemaking

PART 2ASHOKA STRENGTHENS FELLOWS’ IMPACT BY…

6 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

• Providing them the opportunity to pursue their idea full-time• Inviting them into a lifelong community• Offering them thought leadership

PHOTO COURTESY OF SORONKO ACADEMY.

METHODOLOGY
For this study, we used a mixed-methods
approach, leveraging quantitative and qualitative methods. The purpose of this study was
threefold:• To learn about the strategies Ashoka
Fellows use to build an Everyone a Changemaker™ world,• To understand the consequences of the
COVID-19 pandemic on Fellows’ work, and• To determine the impact of Ashoka’s
support on Fellows’ lifelong commitment
to changemaking and efforts to realize theEveryone a Changemaker™ vision.

SurveyIn partnership with researchers at the Management School of the Polytechnic Universityof Milan, we designed a survey to distribute to
our full Fellow network.

4

A total of 817 Fellows completed the survey,
yielding a 26% response rate. This sample
represents over 80 of the 95 countries where
Fellows have been elected. Survey responses
were analyzed for key trends. The Polytechnic
University of Milan research team conducted an
independent evaluation of our survey data andanalysis.

Interviews
We randomly selected thirty-two Fellows for
one-and-a-half-hour interviews. Interview
responses were transcribed and coded for key
themes.

Administrative Data
The last global Fellows study was conducted
in 2018. Throughout this report, several data
points are included in reference to that study tocommunicate field trends; these are not meant
to serve as true comparisons between the 2018and 2021 samples.4

We did not collect identifying information in either survey, thus we are not able to determine if the same Fellows who completed the survey
in 2018 also completed in 2021. This limits our ability to make true comparisons over time.

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 7

SAMPLESURVEYThe majority of our survey sample
identified as male.

Our sample is slightly skewed, with the majority ofFellows having been elected between 2010-2021.
full Fellow
populationelection year

sampleelection year

MALE

58%

FEMALE
1%

42%

2010-2021
60%

2010-2021
38%

PREFER NOT TO SAY
2000-200938%

0.1% OTHER GENDER
The sample’s gender distribution is representativeof Ashoka’s full Fellow population.

2000-200929%

1990-1999
21%

1990-1999
10%
1982-1989
4%

1982 -1989
1%

FIELD OF WORK

23%

17%

12%

2%

17%

12%

10%

4%

Education

HealthClimate andplanetEconomicdevelopment

4%

Technology
for good

AgeingHumanrightsCivic
participation

Genderequality

Fellows who completed the survey were elected in the following countries:

Europe33%

North America

Arab World

8%

Africa12%

Latin
America15%

8 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

7%

South Asia

11%

East Asia

13%

INTERVIEWS
The majority of our interview sample
identified as male.

Our sample is slightly skewed, with the majority ofFellows having been elected between 2010-2021.
full Fellow
populationelection year

sampleelection year

2010-2021
38%

MALE

56%

FEMALE

2010-2021
59%

44%

The sample’s gender distribution is representativeof Ashoka’s full Fellow population

2000-200938%

2000- 200931%

1990-1999
21%

1990-1999
9%
1982-19890%

1982-1989
4%

FIELD OF WORK

22%

22%

6%

3%

6%

13%

13%

6%

Education

HealthClimate andplanetEconomicdevelopment

3%

Technology
for good

AgeingHumanrightsCivic
participation

Genderequality

Fellows who participated in our interviews were elected in the following countries:

Europe25%

North America

Arab World

22%

Africa6%

9%

East Asia

31%

Latin
America

6%

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 9

PART 1

BUILDING AN
EVERYONE A
CHANGEMAKER™
WORLD

10 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

ASHOKA ARCHIVE

I. Inspire Individuals to Become Changemakers
Ashoka Fellows are not only powerful role models intoday’s world, they are also role makers. They create
opportunities for millions to contribute to positivesocial change, and through these opportunities, inspire
individuals to become changemakers.
As Fellows engage people as core contributors to theirsolutions, those contributors begin to see the world
through the lens of possibilities rather than problems.
They question beliefs that have long defined theiridentities and that have limited their own potential tocontribute meaningfully. Fellows’ deep conviction andevident moral imperative prompts individuals to think
differently, and therefore, do differently.
Committed to the inclusion of others, Fellows create
opportunities for others to practice changemaking.
By playing a role, individuals experience agency. It
becomes clear that changemaking is not an ability
reserved for a select few; it is for them, for you, for me—
for everyone.

“

From a very early age, I wanted toempower people to feel that they cancreate their own life, and by creating theirown life, to have the life that is aligned with
their personality, with their values. And if you
achieve to have these kinds of people, then
you can have powerful citizens that really dare
to make a change and dare to make their voiceheard. I trust people in their ability, in thatcapacity of making change. In order to achieve
that, they need to trust themselves and havethe condition to be a changemaker. And this isreally my life mission.”
			
		
		

ISABELLA LENARDUZZIASHOKA FELLOW

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 11

STRATEGY #1: Create Opportunities for Many Individuals to Contribute
Nearly all Fellows offer employment and volunteer positions within their organizations, giving many theopportunity to practice changemaking.
Percent of Fellows thatprovide employment

and volunteer
opportunities

95%

87%

Many Ashoka Fellows realize that it is time for a
fundamental shift in how people see the world,
especially the role of young people within it. By
putting them in charge of leading change within
their organizations, Ashoka Fellows give young
people an opportunity to contribute. Further,
they help to reshape how society sees young
people and develop the next generation ofchangemakers.

89% of fellows are putting young people incharge, a 13% increase from our 2018 sample
11%

2021
2018

89%
76%

23%

“Throughout history young
people are often the ones at theforefront of social movements.
They are the ones whose leadwe should be following. But theyalso need us. What we can doas adults is value the uniqueabilities of young people andwork alongside them, lending
them our power and influence.”
ILONA DOUGHERTYASHOKA FELLOWASHOKA ARCHIVE

12 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

STRATEGY #2: Encourage Belief in One’s Own Capacity
Ashoka Fellows help people to believe that they can change themselves and the world around them. In theirinterviews, Fellows talked about how they spark this belief by first demonstrating that even the smallest actions
make a difference. Then, they encourage those around them to give changemaking a try. By encouraging
problem-solving on even a small scale, Fellows expand others’ sense of their own agency. Taking action andmaking a difference–no matter how small–sets in motion a long-term commitment to changemaking andcontinues to reinforce individuals’ belief in their capacity as changemakers. We saw this strategy come to life as
Ashoka Fellow Dina Lumbantobing discussed her work with us.  

Ashoka Fellow Dina Lumbantobing from Indonesia is
working towards achieving economic independence
and instilling pride in Indonesia’s Pakpak minority inNorth Sumatra. She does this through her programthat caters to children, combining their pre-school andcultural education.

“

In her endeavors, Dina involves the entire community:
parents, teachers, and elders. Her organization, Yayasan
Sada Ahmo (YSA), further feeds into governments’initiatives on the development of marginalized ethnic
groups through establishing daycare centers, credit
unions, and young parents’ groups.

		

For me, it’s the mindset and how you
position yourself in the system - thatyou are not a subordinate, coordinated by
the other. You are equal.”				DINA LUMBANTOBINGASHOKA FELLOW

Through her organization, programs, and initiatives she develops a belief in children and their families frommarginalized communities that they are capable of participating meaningfully in shaping their social contexts.
They ultimately also challenge ill-conceived stereotypes around their communities while getting their educational and health needs addressed.
​
For more details on Dina’s work, please go here.​

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 13

STRATEGY #3: Redefine “Weaknesses” As Strengths
Ashoka Fellows see strengths where others may see weaknesses. Interview data showed that Fellows take stockof people’s skills and invite them to put these to good use. Further, they look at what broader society may
perceive as weakness and find strength. Fellows know people can leverage their diverse lived experiences toimprove their communities. Agazi Afewerki’s work demonstrates this exact strategy.

Ashoka Fellow Agazi Afewerki shifts the narrative fromyouth as service-recipients to expert service-providers.
He believes that accessing the untapped potential ofyounger generations is the solution for much needed
community level change everywhere in terms ofintergenerational dynamics. He has thus far developed
programs in Canada, Spain, Ethiopia, Poland, andAfghanistan.
Agazi challenges the long-standing
societal belief that only adults are competent enough tocontribute to society in meaningful ways. Through his“reverse mentorship” program, he demonstrates how
young people support parents and older community
members by teaching them useful skills in which youth
excel for instance, digital literacy through issues such as
using online banking or identifying fake news.
For more details on Agazi’s work, please go here.

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTH EMPOWERING PARENTS.

14 Ashoka Impact Report 2022“

If you really reach young people, it’ll
be something they can leverage asa strength, through empathy. Look this iswhat your parents have to go through. Thatchanges their perspective to ‘my parents dohave a much harder time than I give them
credit for’ and that can easily shift into aleadership position where it becomes astrength.”		

AGAZI AFEWERKIASHOKA FELLOWSTRATEGY #4: Support Changemaker Identity Development
Ashoka Fellows see systems-change work as a lifelong creative process. Many said that they can sustain thiscommitment because they have internalized the identity of “changemaker”—someone who can and will makea difference. This identity benefits their communities and professional endeavors as well as their personal
development and quality of life. Having the opportunity to contribute is the greatest gift; it gives life purpose.
Wanting this for those around them, Fellows help others to develop changemaker identities as is illustrated by
Ali Raza Khan.   

Ashoka Fellow Ali Raza Khan has instituted the National
Youth Service (NYS) in Pakistan to tackle the increasing
disengagement of youth from their community, as wellas to address the missed opportunities of employing
youth as a valuable resource for the community andtheir families. Ali’s paradigm not only enables the youth
to uphold their character, image, and realize theirpotential, but it also recruits young people to address
societal issues like violence, crime, and terrorism.
He has thus far developed training modules on Youth
Participation, Youth Action Planning, Leadership,
Mentoring, HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health,and Life Skills. His model brings together youth with
their parents, government representatives, andcommunity members to address all these issues. He
has also successfully replicated it in Zimbabwe and
Kenya.

“

I think the greatest challenge for me
while working with young people isto generate this belief that they are valuablefor themselves, for their families, for thecommunities. And I think wherever you go,interest young people. Every, every word
just counts a lot.”				

ALI RAZA KHANASHOKA FELLOW

Through Ali’s Youth Employment Scheme (YES)
campaign under NYS, Ali inspires the youth and gives
them a platform to embed changemaking in theirwork, demonstrate creativity in designing solutions
to social problems, and use their potential to improvetheir communities. These skills they hone will benefit
them and will enable them to take meaningful action
throughout their lives. In addition, by centering
young people and their contributions, the idea ofchangemaking and the importance of fostering it – asparents, teachers, government representatives andmore – becomes engrained in society more broadly.

For more details on Ali’s work, please go here.

ASHOKA ARCHIVE

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 15

II. Collaborate to Engage More Changemakers
While the previous section underscores the importance of developing and supporting individual changemakers,
this section emphasizes the importance of community-driven changemaking. Fellows know that they needto harness a collective power to initiate and sustain momentum in the direction of the public good. As such,they invite others to partner, encourage replication, and look to community members to lead. These steps not
only ensure that effective solutions spread more widely, but they also activate changemakers, generating the
combined effort needed to make lasting change in the face of intractable problems.

STRATEGY #5: Build Multiplier Partnerships
Fellows build partnerships that generate changemakers and solutions. When they build these “multiplierpartnerships,” they hope that their partners will build on their original solution or generate their own. They
aspire to develop leaders, not followers. These partners can be individuals, communities, or organizations, asseen below.
Survey trends reveal that a greater number of Fellows are partnering now than in 2018. This increase is especially
noteworthy given that Fellows were navigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even (or especially)in crisis, Fellows know that securing new opportunities and enlisting new changemakers must remain a priority.
Except for for-profit company partnerships, survey trends
show an increase in partnerships compared to the 2018 sample

81%
70%
68%

77%
72%

67%
58%
55%
51%
43%
35%

54%

61%

62%

85%

Local Government

Universities
75%

For-profit Companies

National Government

Media and Journalists

Primary and Secondary Schools

International or Supranational Organizations

Ashoka Support Network

35

2018

45

2021

55

65

75

% of Fellows partnering*We first asked about International or Supranational Organizations and Ashoka Support Network partnerships in 2021.

16 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

NGOs

85

One specific way Fellows strategically partner andmultiply impact is through independent replication.
Unlike for-profit entrepreneurs, Ashoka Fellows
frequently relinquish control and ownership of theirideas to see them spread as far as possible. To do this,they encourage organizations or institutions to take up
their idea and bring it to an even larger scale, facilitating
independent replication. Independent replication canhappen through licensing or open-sourcing, among
other strategies.6
Like survey trends, our interview data also make evident
Fellows’ focus on building multiplier partnerships tospread solutions and solve significant social problems.
Fellows intend for this so-called “multiplier effect”
to transform partners—and even their own teammembers—into peer leaders who find new ways to
execute on their shared vision. By collaborating,
Fellows like John Badalu spread their ideas far andwide through community-led action and this vision
is, ultimately, what furthers their collective mission.
collective mission.

John Badalu, an Indonesian Fellow and a film
producer, is upending the cultural norms that
discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtranssexual communities in Indonesia. He started
the first queer film festival (Q! Film Festival) to givealternative films focusing on LGBTQ issues a platform
in Indonesia. This film festival was birthed out of agroup of LGBTQ activists that engaged in dialogues
around LGBTQ rights, called Q-mutiny.

Fellows encourage independent replication
82%

Overall61%

NationallyInternationally42%

Independent replication differs from a more
traditional scaling approach in which a leader
scales a solution with partner support but
exclusively within their own organization.
Fellows do not treat their solutions as if they
are proprietary nor are they driven by profit
maximization or customer acquisition. In fact,
they work as hard as they can to spread theirsolutions to as many people as possible, knowing
this increases the likelihood it will reach those
who need it most.

“I think in a way, this festival gavethem a platform to be more confident
about themselves. Because they somehow
get a position—even if they’re volunteers—to
do something…we try to cooperate with a
lot of people and a lot of organizations as
well.”
				
JOHN BADALU
Subsequently, John along with other volunteers and		
ASHOKA FELLOW
activists used the film festival’s popularity to influence
policy around LGBTQ communities in Indonesia,
successfully placing the rights of LGBTQ minorities on the agenda of the Indonesian National Commission
on Human Rights. Q-mutiny is now a legal entity facilitating public service announcements centered around
LGBTQ rights. Although the Q! Film Festival was stopped in 2016 due to financial limitations and an increasein government constraints to work in the field, John’s organization has created ripples that now independently
advocate for LGBTQ rights in Indonesia. Some of the former team members have founded a new foundationthat organizes the 100% Human Film Festival, which incorporates and continues to advance the conversation
around LGBTQ rights, representation, and equal participation.
For more details on John’s work, please go here. ​6This text was first published in Social Innovations Journal Issue 52. Please follow this link to read the full article.

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 17

STRATEGY #6:
Create Space For Community Voice
Ashoka Fellows take on the role of facilitator in
their work with others. They see community
members not as beneficiaries, but as experts
and decision-makers. As such, Fellows create
space for community members to develop
solutions and voice their plans for action. They
present ideas and ask for input from a rangeof stakeholders or invite others to partner in
implementing solutions. These strategies ensurethat solutions are community-driven as is
illustrated by Mukteshwari Bosco.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEALING FIELDS FOUNDATION.

Mukteshwari Bosco, an Indian Ashoka Fellow, along with her team, enables fair and equitable access to highquality healthcare in India through a comprehensive health education and entrepreneurship model. She started
her journey as a social entrepreneur with a unique health insurance program for the financial and health needsof India’s rural poor. This high-impact model brought together the insurance companies, health providers, andfacilitation support through her organization, Healing Fields, to ensure access and availability of health services
to the poor.
The lessons learned from the micro health insurance
led to the germination of another highly impactfulprogram, the Community Health Facilitator program.
The program initially focused on creating health awareness in the community through local women trained
as health change agents. Constant interactions withthe women and communities revealed that to createchange, access to health products and services needs
to be created and the facilitators need to be sustained
through livelihoods. This led to the evolution of themodel to elevate these women as Community Health
Entrepreneurs (CHE).

“

We don’t believe that we are creators, we are only facilitators, weare showing the path. It’s they who walkthe path, not for us to lead them.”				

MUKTESHWARI BOSCOASHOKA FELLOWThe CHE works to prevent health problems and facilitate access to health services and entitlements from thegovernment and enable livelihoods for themselves through access to health products to their communities.
Through these health change agents, positive health and empowerment outcomes are achieved in rural villagesof 10 states, reaching over 6.25 million people. These women have in the last 18 months led COVID-19 responses
and built resilience in their communities.

For more details on Mukteshwari’s work, please go here.

18 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

STRATEGY #7: Engage Individuals Everywhere
Interview data also show that Fellows strategically recruit public participation through outreach andcommunication campaigns that target community members who may be unaware of their work. Many Fellows
mentioned efforts to engage the community beyond the inner circle of allies to garner wider engagement anddeeper social motivation for change. This strategy, as illustrated through the word of Arnoud Raskin, surfaces“unlikely allies” or, in other words, individuals who may not encounter a specific social issue without Fellows’
outreach, but who can meaningfully contribute to positive social change.    

Arnoud Raskin, an Ashoka Fellow based in Belgium,
launched a pioneering idea of ‘mobile schools’ alongwith 300 educational tools to empower underprivilegedchildren who are forced to live on the streets. Arnoudis shifting the narrative from the kids being seen as
disadvantaged to empowering them and leveraging
their existing talents and skills developed as theysurvive and work on the streets.
Besides supporting and preparing young people forreintegration into society, the program also inculcatesa sense of self-esteem, by making them aware of their
extraordinary survival skills and grit that distinguishthem from the rest.
Arnoud’s organization not only engages the expectedstakeholders like academics or educators, but also
NGOs, companies, and youth in general to create
more vigorous networks and robust tools for engaging
his target group. He believes in operating from“communities of communities” mindset, and in linewith this, his organization trains around 10,000-15,000
volunteers and educators every year. Furthermore,
he reaches out to stakeholders and communities withlimited previous involvement in the issues connected
to street youth, but who can make a difference in theirown social roles.

“

It’s all about empowering people,
you know, the strong belief thateverybody has something to give, to contribute, everybody’s talented somehow.
And that if you want people to excel, youneed to empower them. The level of being
empowered in society is fundamental. We
started doing this, focusing on street-connected children, so vulnerable kids, andyouth. But we are doing this as well, inother layers of society. We do this as well incompanies through our business ventures.”

ARNOUD RASKINASHOKA FELLOW

For more details on Arnoud’s work, please go here.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JUNIOR UNDISCOVERED MATHEMATICAL PRODIGIES.

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 19

III. Change Systems to Support All Changemakers
Beyond a deep commitment to individuals as changemakers and to collaboration, Fellows also work to
rebuild systems that maintain the status quo so that everyone wins. We are waking up to the ways in which
deep division, inequity, and instability limit our power to improve the world we live in. Many of our institutions
either by design or inadvertently prevent large portions of society from reaching their full potential. Ashoka
Fellows play a central role in our transition toward Everyone a Changemaker™ world by shifting systems andrestructuring institutions to operate in service of the collective good. What begins to emerge is a foundation
upon which many more people have the freedom and support to contribute.

STRATEGY #8: Create Public Policy Change and Market Dynamics Change
As evident in these discrete data points, our study found that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its corollary
economic crises, Fellows remained focused on their efforts to address policies and markets that perpetuatedthe very problems they were addressing. Survey trends show that Fellows’ systems-change efforts stayed
consistent with or decreased minimally compared to our 2018 sample.

Changes in Public Policy and Industry Norms
70%

73%

70%

63%
56%

62%

57%

66%

35%

Achievedlegislative change
or influenced
government policy
2018

Convinced
government toallocate funds toa specific cause

Provided researchand/ or previously
missing data topolicymakers

31%

AdvisedRepresented
policymakers/
marginalized
legislative bodies populations and/as an expert
or challenged laws
in court

2021

The Pandemic Didn’t Slow Down Change
Nearly half of Fellows reported reductions in funding and in revenues as consequences of the pandemic. Many
still report that COVID-19 developments are significantly affecting how they create impact. Despite thesechallenges, more than a third of Fellows are finding new ways to innovate in response to these circumstances.

20 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

Changes in Market Dynamics and Value Chains
55%

52%

51%

51%

56%

53%

51%

52%

52%

52%

42%

Created a new
Created value
market that allows for a product or
people to trade orservice where
access a productvalue previously
or service they
did not exist
previously could not

2018

Made it easier for
people to tradeor access certain
goods or services
in the existing
market

52%

50%

41%

Led to changes
Encouraged
Increased thein the code offorprofit
flow of market
conduct or official organizations to information (e.g.,
policy of a large allocate dynamics
about prices
organization or
in a new way toor products toindustry
include previously different market
excluded people
actors)Provided new
ways for lowincome people togenerate income

2021

STRATEGY #9:
Influence Societal Mindsets or Cultural
Norms
Fellows understand that changing societal beliefs isnecessary for sustainable social transformation. By
influencing societal mindsets and cultural norms, they
help others to see and act in accordance with socialchanges that benefit all.

88%

of Fellows
encourage people
to think differently

Fellows aim to influence societal mindsets andcultural norms
By encouraging people
to think differently

88%

Through
campaigns
Throughprogramming

43%
21%
PHOTO COURTESY OF OF HEALING FIELDS FOUNDATION.

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 21

STRATEGY #10: Foster Supportive Environments that Enable Changemaking
Ashoka Fellows foster environments conducive to changemaking on all levels. Data from our study show that
Fellows invest their energy in the creation of communities where individuals feel psychologically and physicallysafe, cared for and supported. They make certain that people are treated with dignity and feel accepted,
establishing a strong foundation of trust needed to generate and sustain collective action. Often, Fellows foster
these environments within the walls of the organizations they run, creating an organizational culture of safety.
Likewise, they foster these changemaker-friendly conditions wherever they convene the broader community inpublic spaces from classrooms to community squares. In doing so, individuals feel comfortable to share theirideas, work with others, and build something new, as is illustrated by Vishal.

The organization of Indian Ashoka Fellow Vishal Talreja,
Dream A Dream, strives to create supportive environments
for children and young people from vulnerable
backgrounds to overcome adversity and learn to thrive.
Starting from the deep understanding of their various
adverse childhood experiences and their long-term effects
on the life opportunities of youth, Vishal and his teamdevelop a range of comprehensive programs.
At the core of their work with youth is the creationof learning environments which are trustworthy,
non-judgmental, creative, and safe. With the help ofpartnerships with schools, companies, volunteers, andmany other organizations, Vishal has been successful increating supportive environments for the children andyouth not only to learn valuable life skills, but also todevelop healthy relationships and to offer them exposure
to new and varied experiences thus helping them thrive
for life.

“

One principle is a consistentengagement in a learning
environment that is safe, trustworthy,
non-judgmental, creative, caring, in apresence of a caring, compassionate
adult, even physical and emotional
spaces that are safe, and emotionallythriving.”

				

VISHAL TALREJAASHOKA FELLOW		The work of Vishal and his team has also evolved from directly developing life skills of youth and scaling
those programs, to working with facilitators such as teachers and governments to build and strengthen theframeworks for transformative education. The team has become increasingly more aware of the systemic
barriers and inequities youth face despite the life skills acquired through the programs, so now their focus is onchanging the societal intersectional biases and stereotypes that come in the way of young people. Using Dreama Dream as a lab, they are addressing issues of agency, power, privilege and internalized biases within theorganization, where many of staff are alumni of the programs, before attempting them in complex systems suchas public education. Pedagogical approaches grounded in safe and supportive environments are then taken
into departments of education across India to transform behaviors of second line actors deciding for young
people and ensuring they are designing curriculums, training, pedagogy, assessments on principles of care,safety, equity, and thriving.

For more details on Vishal’s work, please go here.

22 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

STRATEGY #11: Build Ecosystems that Sustain Changemaking
Ashoka Fellows build broader ecosystems to support individuals’ changemaker journeys. Interview data showthat Fellows bring together funders, businesses, governments, civil society organizations, media companies,
and universities to reduce barriers that blunt agency and prevent individuals from engaging in changemaking.
Each of these stakeholders can independently play a role in reducing barriers and providing opportunity;
however, by working together, they can exponentially increase their potential to sustain changemaking andaddress issues that perpetuate systemic inequality such as power and privilege. Ashoka Fellow Harendra deSilva uses this strategy in his work focused on children’s rights.

Ashoka Fellow Harendra de Silva works in childprotection rights and has institutionalized the
National Child Protection Authority in Sri Lanka.
The authority works tirelessly on raising awarenessabout children’s rights, partnering with schools to
distribute materials, using art (playground theatre),and lobbying to influence policies at the national
level.
Harendra’s endeavors and those of the National
Child Protection Authority have resulted in an
ecosystem of government ministers, officials,
police, judges, teachers, medical professionals, andcommunity workers working towards the protectionof child rights. His focus has been on developing
collaboration and effective communication
between all these entities.

“

There’s the pediatrician who thinks it’s
his or her problem. The policeman thinks
it’s his problem. And then the probation andchildcare system for the social services thinks
so too. We think our ability to do work is a problem mainly because we as individuals are very
territorial. We don’t like anybody coming in andthreatening our daily job. We like it to be ourterritories. Right. So as a result of that, things
don’t happen, there is no coordination, there isno cooperation.”				

HARENDRA DE SILVAASHOKA FELLOW

For more details on Harendra’s work,
please go here.

ASHOKA ARCHIVE

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 23

PART 2

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEALING FIELDS FOUNDATION.

HOW ASHOKA
STRENGTHENSFELLOWS’
IMPACT

24 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

I. Provide Fellows the Opportunity
to Pursue Their Idea Full-Time
The Ashoka Fellowship selection process is designed
to be a transformative experience. Candidates sharethe systems change potential of their idea, explore
how-tos, and reflect on their personal journey that has
gotten them to this point.
Once selected, Ashoka Fellows are provided a
tailored stipend that allows them to make a full-timecommitment to their idea, as evidenced by our survey
results. For almost half of our sample, this stipend wastheir first significant source of funding.

Percent of Fellows that report the
selection process strengthened their idea

92%

Percent of Fellows that report the stipend
helped them focus on their idea full-time

80%

of Fellows reported thestipend helped them focus
on their idea full-time

80%
Percent of Fellows that report that
their stipend was their first significant
source of funding

47%

ASHOKA ARCHIVE

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 25

II. Invite Fellows Into a Lifelong Community
Committing one’s life to developing individuals, forming collaborations, and disrupting unjust systems is as
demanding as it is rewarding. Some even say it can be a lonely journey. Knowing this, Ashoka invites Fellows into
a global network of social entrepreneurs who can provide lifelong moral support and resources. Indeed, survey
results show that Fellows gain access to key resources from this community, including strategic guidance, newpartnerships, mentorship, and more.

Fellows gain key resources from the Ashoka Network
Strategic guidance77%

New partnerships

70%
63%

Mentorship
Connections tofunders54%

Well-being

53%

Media visibility

50%

Access to new teammembers

ASHOKA ARCHIVE
26
Ashoka Impact Report 202240%

III. Offer Fellows Thought Partnership
Survey results show that Ashoka also helps Fellows to see differently, so they can lead differently. Specifically,
Ashoka helps Fellows to recognize the importance of shifting individual, community, and societal mindsets.
Fellows may not always visualize the path to systems change or mindset change at first and they come to see
and value it as they go through the selection process and into the Fellowship.

Percent of Fellows who:
Believe Ashoka helped them grasp
systems change
Believe Ashoka helped them grasp
mindset change
And as a result, they have shifted theirstrategy to make mindset change an objective
Saw leadership differently
through Ashoka

82%
87%
89%
88%
96%

And therefore now lead differently
Believe Ashoka helped
increase their impact

85%

96%

now lead differently
because of what theylearned from Ashoka“

Ashoka impacted me and my thinking. I know much more
about system change and how to use it to influence reality.
Ashoka in Czech Republic also started talking about system changewith the philanthropists. It changed the whole ecosystem. That was
really helpful. It started several cooperations for system change.”ZDENĚK SLEJŠKAASHOKA FELLOW

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 27

ASHOKA ARCHIVE

CONCLUSIONCHANGEMAKING
FOR THE GOOD
OF ALLASHOKA ARCHIVE

28 Ashoka Impact Report 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on the world. It has brought
devastating loss and has highlighted stark racial, social, and economic inequities.
It has made our shared reality unquestionably clear; namely, that the prosperityof society, now and in the future, hinges on our ability to operate as a global
community that builds better outcomes for all. In other words, the pandemic hasforced us to reckon with the truth—our ability to survive and thrive as individuals
is interconnected to others’ ability to do the same. The future depends on ourability to prepare ourselves and one another to be changemakers in daily life.
This report explores how Ashoka Fellows arebringing about an Everyone a Changemaker™
world. We learned that Fellows inspire thosearound them to recognize their changemaking
abilities, provide opportunities for collaboration,and change systems to sustain changemaking.
Results also demonstrated the impact of
Ashoka’s Fellowship and influence, both of whichstrengthen Fellows’ ability to build an Everyone a
Changemaker™ world.
In the context of our everything-changing world,
these findings become even more salient. For
many years, we lived in a world defined by
efficiency and repetition. Work was governedby hierarchies based on a one-leader-at-a-timeframework. People learned a skill (e.g., baker,
lawyer) and repeated it for life. Now, we bring thismodel to a world driven by increased disruption.
Flattening hierarchies, collapsing siloes andadvancements in technology are providing
individuals opportunity to contribute more fully in“society. As change accelerates, the old model will
no longer work and a new inequality will emerge:
those with the skills and mindset to contributein a changing world and those without. In fact, italready has.
Ashoka believes that the best antidote to this new
inequality is an Everyone a Changemaker™ world.
A changemaker has the sophisticated abilities
required to respond to changes. They can envisiona better reality, build a team, and take purposive
action for the good of all. Ashoka Fellows aredeveloping these changemakers and in doing so,
are showing us that change is to be embraced.
While it contributes to unforeseen challenges,
it also opens new opportunities to make oursocieties better for everyone. There are many waysof getting there—these strategies are just a start.
But we hope this report has provided compelling
evidence that we can all play a role in building
a world where everyone is a giver, everyone is
powerful, and everyone is a changemaker.

Ashoka’s core objective is Everyone a Changemaker —to help
create a world where everyone has the freedom, confidence, andskills to turn challenges into solutions. This is the fullest, richest life.
A society of such people will evolve and adapt faster and more surely
than any other: each person, rather better than the body’s white blood‘attack’ cells, courses through society spotting challenges and thenconceiving and putting in place the next, better solution.”
TM

BILL DRAYTON, ASHOKA FOUNDER

Ashoka Impact Report 2022 29

To read more articles based on our Global Fellows
Studies, please visit Social Innovations Journal
Volume 11 published in January 2022.
To read more of our knowledge products and be
up-to-date with the patterns and insights we gain
thanks to our community, please visit our Learning
and Action Center.
We have designed a new tool to assess thedimensions of a changemaker’s mindset. Visit the
Changemaker Index to see how well equipped you
are for an everything-changing world!

YEARS

OF CHANGEMAKINGASHOKA: EVERYONE A CHANGEMAKER TM
1700 North Moore Street, Suite 2000
Arlington, Virginia 22209, USA | www.Ashoka.org | 703-527-8300