Avni Launchpad Cohort, Bangalore 2025
APNA was selected as part of the first Launchpad Cohort organised by Avni, a customisable Management Information System (MIS) platform designed to support social sector organisations in collecting, organising, and using data more effectively. The cohort was structured as a combination of online mentorship followed by in-person sessions in Bangalore.
The programme began with a week of online meetings with our assigned mentor from Avni. These sessions focused on breaking down APNA’s programme processes and examining how our work currently functions on the ground. We mapped workflows, identified decision points, and discussed the logic that underpins our interventions. This stage proved crucial, as it allowed us to articulate our expectations from the platform and clarify what kind of system would genuinely support our work, rather than simply digitise existing gaps or inefficiencies.
The in-person cohort commenced with a detailed revisit of this preparatory work. Day One was devoted to refining the scoping document and visualising APNA’s programme flow within a digital framework. The Avni team consistently questioned our assumptions and encouraged us to justify each step in our process. This reflective approach helped us gain a clearer understanding of our own organisational systems. Post-lunch, the focus shifted to building the MIS itself. We began writing logic, setting user permissions, and structuring workflows, with hands-on coding support from the mentors where required. The session was intensive and collaborative, and the shared meals offered space for informal exchanges across organisations.
Day Two focused on deeper engagement with the platform’s advanced features. As we finalised the core structure of our MIS, we worked on developing dashboards to visualise programme data in meaningful ways. Each organisation then presented its platform, offering insights into diverse use cases, program models, and approaches to data management.
The cohort was demanding but deeply instructive. Beyond developing a functional MIS system, our experience pushed us to reflect on how data, accountability, and program design intersect in rights-based work. We learnt the importance of building systems that serve communities, reinforce internal clarity, and support long-term organisational learning.