The Foundation believes that for innovation to be a key driver of economic development, it must be locally relevant and locally supported. Challenges and opportunities facing the Foundation’s partners in the Greater Boston area are different from those in the Sandbox. As a result, innovations developed in the Sandbox are not necessarily relevant to Boston (and vice versa).

Whether the innovation is a product, service, or process, the context must ultimately be defined by local leaders and entrepreneurs. Innovators must have first-hand experience of the problem at hand, and they must mobilize local resources and commitment for the solution.

A key role of the Deshpande Foundation is to help organizations develop two things:

• Innovation mindset
• Infrastructure to enable innovation

Over the last several years, the Foundation has supported its NGO partners in India with grants to support innovation. As part of our support, we connect our partners to outside viewpoints, including industry experts, academics, investors, and philanthropists. We believe, and have indeed found, that when innovation and relevance are combined with the appropriate support, organizations thrive and can scale to reach millions of people, which is the impact we seek.