P A A T H S H A L A
S4D IMPACT EVALUATION
EVENT SPONSOR
WELCOME
Welcome to the second edition of KHEL Paathshala. We are delighted to have you with us and sincerely appreciate your interest in our conference.
Last year, we had the privilege of hosting exceptional speakers who engaged the audience with their insights, while panel discussions sparked meaningful conversations on inclusivity in sports. This year, we turn our attention to impact evaluation—an essential aspect of strengthening Sport for Development (S4D) initiatives and communicating the importance of sport as a tool for positive change in society. Across the country, remarkable efforts are shaping the sector, and we are excited to spotlight the work that is driving change. We hope today’s discussions leave you with valuable perspectives and practical takeaways that contribute to the incredible work you do.
Our event booklet highlights the speakers and panellists joining us today— leaders from diverse organisations who have excelled in S4D through different approaches. It is an honour to host such a distinguished group, and we have no doubt that their expertise will leave a lasting impression.
As OSCAR completes 15 years in the S4D space, we remain deeply committed to empowering children through sports and life skills. Since 2010, we have worked to ensure that our programmes create meaningful and measurable impact. Today, we look forward to sharing our approach while gaining insights from experts and celebrating the power of collaboration.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our event sponsor Innoven Capital and partners IF.BE and Upshot for their invaluable support in making today’s event possible. We are also honoured to be joined by our funding and network partners, whose contributions continue to strengthen the S4D movement. Finally, to you—our wonderful audience—thank you for being part of KHEL Paathshala. Let’s make this edition an inspiring and insightful one together.
EVENT FLOW
Activity
Opening Remarks
Speaker | Panellist
Tea, Registration and Networking - 9:00
Ashok Rathod (Founder and CEO, OSCAR Foundation) 10:00
Keynote Speaker Vita Dani (Co-founder, Dani Foundation) 10:10
Panel Discussion
Presentation
Measuring Impact in S4D Initiatives
Swapneel Rane (Goalkeep)
Bobbymon George (SATTVA Consulting)
Preeti Shetty (Upshot)
Pratik Jawale (Magic Bus India Foundation)
Dinesh Nair (Consultant, Catalyst, Collaborator)
Keynote Speaker
Funders’ Perspectives on Impact
Mariafelicia Long Gonzalez (City Football Group)
Poonam Choksi (A T E Chandra Foundation)
Divya Puri (Dasra)
Ankit Bhatia (Dani Sports Foundation)
Nivritti Samtaney (Acumen) 12:00
Lunch Break - 13:00
Aarti Mohan (Co-founder & Partner, Sattva Consulting) 14:00
Storytelling for Impact
Ashok Rathod (OSCAR Foundation)
Prabhat Sinha (Manndeshi Champions)
Gurmangal Dass (YFC Rurka Kalan)
Lora Prabhu (CEQUIN)
Tilak Shah (Ace of India) 15:00
Vote of Thanks Rajeshwari Bhattacharyya (Trustee, OSCAR Foundation) 16:00 Networking and Tea - 16:30
Event Creator
ASHOK RATHOD
Founder & CEO, OSCAR Foundation
Ashok Rathod is a social entrepreneur and founder of OSCAR Foundation. Growing up in Ambedkar Nagar, a marginalised community in Mumbai, Ashok witnessed the lack of educational opportunities for children, motivating him to establish OSCAR in 2006. Through football, OSCAR has empowered over 25,000 children and youth across India by providing life skills, leadership training, and educational support, while promoting gender equality, excellence-focused football projects, and initiatives for children with disabilities.
Ashok’s lived experiences shaped OSCAR’s community-focused approach, helping young people build resilience, break the cycle of poverty, and become role models and leaders His impactful work has earned him numerous accolades, including the CNN-IBN Real Hero Award and the Apollo Tyres Go the Distance Hero Award An Ashoka Youth Venture Fellow and Acumen Fellow, Ashok is an important voice in India’s evolving social sector, inspiring others to harness sport for development.
Host
DR. SHILPI SHARMA
COO, OSCAR Foundation
Shilpi is an experienced development professional with close to 18 years of experience in the social sector. She has diverse experience working in public health, education and sports for development.
She earned her doctorate from Columbia University School of Social Work in New York and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. A strong advocate for gender equity and a believer in the efficacy of education and lifelong learning, Shilpi has worked with organisations like Magic Bus, Path International, Columbia Global Centers among others. She is also a recipient of the esteemed Vital Voices Women Lead India fellowship.
SPEAKERS
Keynote Speaker
VITA DANI
Co-founder, Dani Foundation
Vita Dani is a leading sports entrepreneur and philanthropist, dedicated to advancing table tennis, football, and physical literacy in India. In 2017, she co-founded Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), transforming the sport by providing Indian players with international exposure and aligning with India's Olympics 2028 vision. She serves as a Governing Board Member of the ITTF Foundation.
Vita co-owns Chennaiyin FC, a two-time Indian Super League champion, focusing on both elite football and grassroots development As co-founder of the Dani Sports Foundation, she promotes physical literacy and sports accessibility nationwide A former MCDTTA (Mumbai Suburban District Table Tennis Association) president and MSTTA patron, Vita has also contributed to social initiatives like Annamrita, which provides mid-day meals to children Her vision continues to shape India's sporting landscape, empowering future generations.
Keynote Speaker
AARTI MOHAN
Co-founder & Partner, Sattva Consulting
Aarti is a co-founder and Partner at Sattva. She heads the Gender Practice and key Government & Multi-lateral partnered Initiatives at Sattva, working with diverse ecosystems across business and development to deliver impact on the ground. Aarti has over 15 years of experience spanning impact advisory, research, intervention design and programme building in partnership with global and regional philanthropy, multi-laterals, impact funds and policy ecosystems at the federal and state levels. Aarti has led the creation of several flagship research and engagements curating knowledge exchanges in the sector bringing together funders, philanthropists, foundations, government and non-profits. She has led the design and anchoring of large-scale collaborations in healthcare, women’s economic empowerment, water and digital transformation.
Special Presenters
DR. FIONA KENNEDY DR. DAVID PEARSON
Advisors, Dream a Dream
Dr David Pearson and Dr Fiona Kennedy, both clinical psychologists from the UK, have been volunteering with and advising Dream A Dream for 18 years, bringing psychological insights into how adversity affects child development. They have contributed by integrating this understanding into the organisation’s work, training facilitators in relational skills to build healing connections, and designing the Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS) to measure impact. The LSAS, widely used globally and accessed nearly 35,000 times on ResearchGate, has helped Dream A Dream assess and refine its interventions They are currently part of a team using qualitative methods to explore the underlying processes that make these interventions so effective
Special Speaker
RAJESHWARI BHATTACHARYYA
Trustee, OSCAR Foundation
A fitness freak, ultramarathon runner and passionate contributor to women and child welfare, Rajeshwari (Rajee) is keen on furthering her contribution by associating with OSCAR Foundation.
Rajee is the co-founder of Percipere and the Chief Innovation Officer of Futuroot & CEO of BCMGuru. She has around 30 years of professional experience with expertise in Organisation Tech Strategy, Process automation, Organisational change management, Business Process & Digital Transformation and Program management. She is an alumnus of INSEAD and a qualified Cost Accountant, carrying expertise in Blockchain & Cybersecurity with experience in Financial Services / Insurance & Media sectors.
PANEL ON MEASURING IMPACT IN S4D INITIATIVES
MEASURING IMPACT IN S4D INITIATIVES
SWAPNEEL RANE
Director, Goalkeep
Swapneel has over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of data, technology, and operations management. In recent roles, he has established monitoring and evaluation systems for non-profits in the school-to-work transition and early childhood care and education sectors. Previously, Swapneel led the technology team at Dasra, where he focused on designing, implementing, and driving the adoption of CRM and ERP solutions, developing dashboards to track operational indicators, and streamlining finance and grant management systems. At Goalkeep, he ensures that all clients have a future-ready data infrastructure by implementing a modern data stack for data collection, consolidation, and visualisation
BOBBYMON GEORGE
Partner & Head of Impact Measurement & Advisory, Sattva Consulting
Bobbymon George has nearly two decades of experience in the social impact sector, working across education, livelihoods, and health. As Partner and Head of Impact Measurement and Advisory at Sattva, he leads a team of 70+ members, overseeing 30+ measurement projects annually while driving the organisation’s strategic growth. He has advised major corporations, including Reliance, JP Morgan, and Coca-Cola, on impactdriven grant investments and has led over 300 social impact studies, presenting insights to boards and committees. Bobbymon also co-developed a published life skills measurement tool. An INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme alumnus, he holds a Bachelor’s in Economics and a Master’s in Social Work.
Panellist
Panellist
MEASURING IMPACT IN S4D INITIATIVES
PREETI SHETTY
CEO, Upshot
Preeti is the CEO of Upshot, a tech social enterprise that helps non-profit organisations manage, monitor, and evidence the community work they deliver. Preeti focuses her efforts on proving the difference sport can make to people's lives and communities through impact measurement and evaluation. Built in 2012 by the Football Foundation, Upshot is now used by over 1,400 organisations across the UK and internationally. Outside of her day job, Preeti is a Non-Executive Director of Brentford Football Club. She is also the Vice Chair of Street Child United, a Founding Advisor of Ready Sport Global, and the cofounder of Valeur Sport In 2024, she was named one of the 50 most influential women in sport by The Telegraph and was recognised in Leaders in Sport’s 40 Under 40 Preeti is passionate about the powerful blend of sport and purpose and leverages her expertise in data, technology, and social impact to create a more equitable sports industry.
PRATIK JAWALE
M&E Manager, Magic Bus India Foundation
Pratik is a young and emerging evaluator working as Manager – Monitoring and Evaluation with Magic Bus India Foundation. He has grassroots experience with government and non-profit organisations in rural and tribal regions of India. He specialises in mixed-methods research, including field-based data collection and survey methods. He is particularly interested in understanding how organisations use digital technologies within their M&E systems. Pratik serves as the co-leader of EvalYouth India, a network of YEEs in India, and is an active member of the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association.
Panellist
Panellist
MEASURING IMPACT IN S4D INITIATIVES
Moderator
DINESH NAIR
Consultant, Catalyst, Collaborator
Dinesh Nair is a visionary in Indian sport, seamlessly bridging playing, coaching, administration, and consulting. A former national-level footballer, he made history as one of the few Indians to play two positions in a single national league game, showcasing his tactical brilliance and adaptability.
As an Advisor to the Mumbai Football Association and Hockey Mumbai City, Nair drives grassroots sport development. He is also the Founder Director of the Association of Indian Football Coaches, advocating for coach training and welfare In his role as Hon CEO of the SportingLions Foundation, he creates opportunities for underprivileged athletes Beyond administration, Nair has enhanced India’s global sporting presence, helping bring teams like England and Brazil to the Andheri Sports Complex for the FIFA U-17 World Cup In entertainment, he ensures authenticity in sports films as a Sports Choreographer and Consultant for projects like Maidaan and Real Kashmir FC.
PANEL ON FUNDERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON IMPACT
MARIAFELICIA LONG‑GONZALEZ
City Football Foundation Executive at CFG
Mariafelicia Long-Gonzalez, City Football Foundation Executive at CFG, leads and oversees impact measurement and operations at the City Football Foundation, providing insights to enhance programmes and delivering specialised projects to ensure smooth operations. Her work focuses on empowering healthier lives with city youth through football.
POONAM CHOKSI
Head of Social Sector Capacity Building, A.T.E. Chandra Foundation
Poonam Choksi is a development professional with over 17 years of experience across social start-ups and large organisations. Currently, she leads the Capacity Building Vertical at A.T.E. Chandra Foundation, where she drives initiatives to strengthen leaders and organisations, enabling them to solve social issues at scale. She has spearheaded critical projects, including supporting SEBI's advisory committee in operationalising the Social Stock Exchange. Her career began at Adhyayan Quality Education Services, where she led the evaluation of over 75 schools nationwide, scaling the programme to 400 schools. At UnLtd India, she redefined their monitoring and evaluation framework, enabling more data-driven decision-making. Throughout her career, Poonam has worked closely with 50+ NPOs to enhance operational effectiveness.
Before transitioning to the social sector, she led process optimisation at British Airways through WNS Global Services. With a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, she is deeply passionate about driving systemic, lasting change in the social sector
Panellist
Panellist
Panellist
DIVYA PURI
Manager, Dasra
Divya leads the Corporate Advisory work at Dasra. She has worked in different capacities in the non-profit sector across the US, Malaysia, and currently, India. With over 14 years of experience in the social sector and a deep commitment to contributing to social impact through collaborative action, she has extensive experience in providing advisory support to large-scale institutions, corporates, families, and nonprofits.
At Dasra, Divya has led and contributed to initiatives for partners to amplify their social impact and drive collective action through outcome-focused approaches Deeply driven by her belief in empowering the most marginalised communities and building capacity by engaging diverse ecosystem players, she is passionate about bringing together non-linear approaches to transform social commitment into bold action
Panellist
ANKIT BHATIA
AVP – Partnerships, Dani Sports Foundation
Ankit Bhatia is the AVP of Partnerships at Dani Sports Foundation, driving grassroots and athlete development initiatives. With over 12 years of experience across programme management, corporate partnerships, and marketing, Ankit has led large-scale Sport for Development programmes across the country. He has worked with some of India’s leading sports-based organisations, including Sportz Village and JSW Sports, as well as the public sector. Ankit is an alumnus of MICA and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and played competitive football at the youth level.
MEASURING IMPACT IN S4D INITIATIVES
Moderator
NIVRITTI SAMTANEY
Associate Director, Acumen
Nivritti has extensive experience in the social impact sector, particularly in education and leadership development. She began her journey as a Fellow at Teach For India and went on to serve as a Programme Manager and later Senior Programme Manager, supporting initiatives to strengthen education equity. She then took on the role of Programme Lead at TFIx, working to expand Teach For India’s reach by incubating social entrepreneurs in education. In 2021-22, Nivritti served as a Network Connector at Teach For All, encouraging collaboration across global education networks She has also produced a film on socio-economic inclusion, highlighting critical issues of access and opportunity Most recently, she worked as a Programme Lead at Acumen India, focusing on innovative solutions for social change
PANEL ON STORYTELLING FOR IMPACT
STORYTELLING FOR IMPACT
Panellist
PRABHAT SINHA
Founder, Mann Deshi Champions
Prabhat was born into a farming family in rural India and grew up in the village of Mhaswad. A passionate frontrunner, he inspires, drives, and delivers results that create a positive impact on communities. With a decade of experience, he has deep expertise in both the US sports industry and community development in rural India.
In the US, Prabhat worked with leading sports brands and athletes across the NBA and Track & Field. He later left the US sports industry to return to rural India, aiming to transform villages into future sports hubs He is an active contributor and speaker at national and international conferences on rural sports and the Asian sports market
Prabhat is a visiting guest speaker at institutions including Georgetown University, Trinity College, NYU, Madrid University, the World Bank, and Georgetown University Medical School, as well as a TEDx speaker. He is also an Acumen Fellow and an INK Fellow.
Panellist
LORA PRABHU
Co-founder & MD, CEQUIN
Lora Prabhu is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of CEQUIN (Centre for Equity and Inclusion), an NGO working since 2009 to promote gender equity and empower vulnerable women and girls through sports for development. Previously, she was a Programme Officer at the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), working on gender mainstreaming across Asia and the Pacific. With 26 years of experience, she has been a researcher, journalist, filmmaker, and development professional, contributing extensively to women’s rights.
She was nominated for the International Visitors Leadership Programme on Global Women’s Issues (2011) and was part of the Government of India’s 12th Five Year Plan working group on women’s empowerment. She has co-edited Fear that Stalks: Gender-Based Violence in Public Spaces and served on the Central Board for Film Certification (2011–14).
Lora has also been a member of sexual harassment committees, co-convener of the National Alliance for Women’s Football in India, and her work with CEQUIN has been recognised with multiple awards, including a FICCI felicitation in 2019
Panellist
ISHITA SHARMA
Founder, MukkaMaar
Ishita Sharma is a feminist, actor, and social entrepreneur. She began her acting career at 13, working with legends like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and Sushmita Sen. Alongside her acting, she earned a Master’s degree in Human Development and worked in a psychiatric OPD at a charitable hospital.
With a passion for the performing arts, Ishita trained in Kathak for over a decade and founded her own school of performing arts, Aamad, in 2014. She also explored martial arts, yoga, theatre, storytelling, and writing Drawing from her gender experiences, she established MukkaMaar, a non-profit organisation focused on empowering adolescent girls through government partnerships MukkaMaar has impacted over 20,000 girls through offline and digital initiatives Ishita has received numerous accolades, including the ExpressAWE award for 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year' and the SARTHI award for innovation in girl empowerment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2022.
Moderator
TILAK GAURANG SHAH
Founder and Proprietor, Ace of India
Tilak is a passionate entrepreneur and a devoted Manchester United fan for over two decades. With a background in Commerce and Marketing, he has built multiple ventures that connect passion with purpose across quizzing, sports, brewing, travel, and entertainment. He founded Ace of Pubs, transforming his bootstrapped start-up into India's largest quizzing company, hosting quiz nights across the country. He expanded into corporate events worldwide with Ace of Trades, working with global brands like Google. His ventures grew further with 12th Man Brewing, where he launched his own beer brand, and Ace of Highlands, inspired by his love for travel and experiences.
Tilak is now shaping Indian sports through Ace of Blades, a sports management company that has hosted events with Manchester United legends Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Patrice Evra. The venture focuses on talent management, sports events, experiences, ticketing, and more. All his initiatives come together under Ace of India, where he continues to push boundaries.
KHEL PAATHSHALA
A CONFERENCE ON
S4D IMPACT EVALUATION
PANELLISTS AND SPEAKERS FROM
FRIDAY,9AMTO5PM
