About us

GRRID (Green, Resilient, Risk-Informed Development) Corps is a social entrepreneurial venture, based out of Kolkata (India), that focuses on disaster risk reduction & management and climate action.

With a synergistic mix of young and experienced professionals from around the world, trained in different disciplines ranging from behaviour specialists to cinematographers, from musicians to data-crunching disaster & climate risk specialists, GRRID Corps’ provides customised, top-notch and novel solutions to its clients and collaborators – from government to INGOs to corporates.

‘Tricky Things’ we intend to address

The trend of maintaining ‘business as usual’ has given rise to many wicked problems. While we cannot solve all, we try to address a few; one at a time!

We can’t put BAND-aid on everything

The concept of ‘risk’, still, seems alien and distant to many and hence, disasters are seen as events and not as processes. Thus, disaster risk management has become about putting a band-aid and not about addressing the systemic & chronic vulnerabilities

OLD habit of imposing solutions

In our worldview, there is a class of know-it-all from where solutions & interventions are imposed, irrespective of whether they are acceptable or contextual to the communities involved.

EACH ONE OF US KNOWS BEST

Everyone knows everything and everyone believes to have brought out the best, many a times ignoring the cross-sectoral linkages and long-term systemic effects.
Our approaches are terribly siloed and sectoral.

What’s the IMPACT?

How does an impact of a social intervention look like? Are they all about statistics?
Should we not change our gaze of looking at throughputs then – less of glorified stats and more of impact brewing on-ground?

trans-disciplinary,  solutions?

Just for example, does climate change mitigation summarise all of climate action? Do we not need to adapt?

What do we do?

Our Verticals

We work along 3 verticals. With support from our national and global team, we provide consultancy services in the domain of disaster risk reduction and climate action; we strive hard to innovate for resilience and we walk the extra mile to build capacities – empower communities to become risk-literate and risk-savvy!

Consultancy Services

Our venture specialises in co-developing cross-sectoral and trans-disciplinary interventions which are owned, accepted and systemically sound.

Innovation for Resilience

One size does not fit all and hence, we engage in brewing innovation for building resilience.
And yes, innovation doesn’t necessarily have to be tech-driven.

Capacity Development

The world is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Hence, there is a an urgent need to make sure that folks are risk literate and risk savvy!

Our Services

  • Hyperlocal systemic vulnerability assessment in a multi-hazard setting
  • Development of contextual, multi-parametric disaster (climate) risk assessment tools & methodologies
  • Actionable & implementable disaster (climate) risk management plans / action plans
  • Evidence based research and presentation of its output, suited to the taste of the target recipient
  • Focussed, immersive and experiential capacity building in the realm of disaster risk reduction and climate action
  • Development of training manuals, courses and curriculum in the realm of disaster risk management and climate action
  • Provide assistance in co-creation of social interventions which are community owned and community led & are aimed at reducing existing risks, ensuring no new risks are created.
  • Lead frugal social innovations that foster hyperlocal resilience building, cutting across disciplinary boundaries
  • Ensure CSR investments are holistic, have long-term and systemically positive effects, address interlinked & chronic vulnerabilities across multiple sectors and themes
  • Advise om ‘out-of-the-box’ approaches for risk informed sustainable development through risk (science) communication

Most of our work / interventions are systemic, interconnected and non-linear!

We do not engage in projects and interventions to address one specific issue or concern; we have a cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary approach; we strive hard to identify chronic causalities!

Let us give you some examples..

Gender Just Climate Solutions

Within a larger scope of intervention, it is important to ensure specific concerns are integrated

Women are vulnerable? Well, not always! They could also be the cultural bearers, powerful enough to take part in hyperlocal climate action and decision-making.

Our work has been featured in the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award 2024 at CoP 29 – https://www.wecf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WECF_GJCS_9th-edition_2024-1.pdf

World Cities Report

A small portion of our work has been adopted and featured in UN-HABITAT’s Flagship – World Cities Report of 2024

Read the full report here.https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/world-cities-report-2024-cities-and-climate-action

India Forum for Nature Based Solutions ’24

Our intervention on vernacular architecture for ambient indoor temperature was recognised as the ‘Best’ in the Enabler category at the INDIA NbS Forum 2024

For almost a year, we have been working on various aspects of climate action in the old city of Jodhpur, ranging from Heat Action Plans, traditional knowledge for hyperlocal climate action, capacity building of women and children and mouch more.

Integrating sustainability

For all interventions, it is important that they are sustainable and anchored 

While we all speak of mainstreaming traditional knowledge into risk-informed development practices, how do we ensure its sustainability?

GRRID Corps involved children and youth to empower them and practice has been anchored by the custodian of culture Himself – Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur

We are always looking for opportunities to make sustainable impact through empowering communities.

We would be happy to collaborate!