Building Capacity Across India’s Social Sector
Stronger Grantees. Better Outcomes. Greater Impact.
Impact At A Glance
3000+
Learners
CSOs
500+
Indian States
18
Countries
3
Avg Session Rating
4.5/5
Our StoryOur Story
Building Infrastructure for a Stronger Social Sector
Roots is South Asia’s pioneering digital-first capacity building platform strengthening the backbone of social change. We work with social impact organizations—NGOs, CSOs, CBOs, and social enterprises—to build resilient institutions and capable leaders at every level.
Through practical, role-specific learning, Roots equips changemakers—from CXOs and senior leaders to field staff and emerging managers—with the skills, tools, and confidence they need to navigate complexity and lead with clarity. As organizations grow stronger from within, they are better able to collaborate, adapt, and deliver sustained impact—contributing to healthier, more effective social change ecosystems overall.
Roots is created and managed by Phicus, a firm with 15+ years of deep organization development and capacity building expertise, working with 150+ clients across 16 states and 10 countries.
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Three Pillars of Roots
Capacity Building Suite
For All Staff; CXOs to Field Coordinators
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Open calendar of learning events; 6 - 10 per month
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2 hours each
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English & Hindi sessions
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Range of topics - Leadership, Fundraising, AI, M&E, etc.
For Mid-Senior Leaders
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6-month leadership development journey for a Cohort
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360 degree feedback, Coaching, Peer learning-sharing, Mentored Capstone Project
For Frontline / Field Staff
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Audio-based, anecdotal, fortnightly, WhatsApp skill-building modules (~5-8 mins each)
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To strengthen community engagement and build confidence
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In English and Hindi (more languages coming soon)
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Repository available at www.sahuriphicus.org
Resource Hub
A curated repository of learning assets including session recordings, tools, templates, articles, videos, case examples, and Sahuri materials.
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Spotlight
Sahuri - A Trusted Voice For The Frontline
Across grassroots India, Sahuri is becoming a trusted voice for field teams. Delivered as fortnightly audio letters on WhatsApp, it meets frontline staff where they already are—on their phones, in their language, within their workday.
Through Sahuri, field staff learn to:
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Strengthen communication with communities, colleagues, and supervisors
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Build confidence and role clarity in situations requiring judgment and empathy
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Reflect on leadership in practice, even without formal titles
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Navigate real field challenges through relatable stories
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Learn from a peer-like voice that feels supportive, not instructional
Organizations embedding Sahuri into team rhythms report stronger field engagement, more consistent community interactions, and better frontline retention—contributing to deeper community trust and more effective fieldwork over time.
The Ripple Effect
Real impact for individuals and organizations.
Internal strengthening
What stands out is the mere idea of focusing on building the capacities of those working in the social impact space. While we often talk about creating change in communities, we rarely address the well-being and growth of our own team members — Roots brings that much-needed attention.
Abhinav Pandey, Programme Officer - VOICES (Vision Of Impact Change Equity & Solidarity), The YP Foundation.
Learning Spillover
Even people who don’t attend sessions directly are picking up concepts and language from colleagues. That spillover itself is valuable.
Shrishty Pallav, Director - Policy & Partnerships, Center for Environment and Energy Development (CEED)
L&D Partner
Roots has been a trusted learning partner, ensuring our training needs are met and our teams are better equipped to handle work challenges. Their thoughtfully curated monthly sessions are well aligned with our sector’s capacity-building requirements, which would have been difficult for us to address independently.
Aarathi Ajay Thomas, Associate Director – HR, Ipas Development Foundation.
Middle Management Growth
There is a visible change in how she (the team member) structures problems and makes decisions. There is less firefighting.
Mahendra Panta, Senior Manager, Asia Program-
Center for Reproductive Rights
Professional Agency (Frontline Impact)
Earlier we were hesitant and scared to talk to anyone... the letters have helped us overcome our hesitation, and now we are confident to meet anyone in the field.
Nitin, Field Coordinator, Krishak Sahyog Sansthan (ARC Network)
₹ Saving / Efficiencies
It would have cost more than ₹2.5 lakhs for travel, food and lodging... Sahuri has made it zero cost for an organization, and that too saved 5 days worth time.
Prem Kumar, State Program Coordinator, Devcons
