Portfolio of Services
Equal Innovation’s Suite Of Services Are Designed To Plan, Achieve And Maximize Impact
Strategic Planning & Thought Leadership
Equal Innovation provides strategy and advisory services to the philanthropic and development sector around the world. We conduct research and formulate strategy for large foundations, NGOs, corporate foundations and CSR; and corporations looking to serve emerging markets. In the past, Equal Innovation has worked closely with leading foundations, corporations and governments to provide strategic advisory services around innovation, entrepreneurship, scale up strategies, product development and fundraising.
Strategy Partners
Equal Innovation worked with the World Bank to develop its strategy to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and their regional development programs. Equal Innovation created and managed a regional framework, through a program called Startup Kuwait, that became the fastest growing entrepreneurship program in the region.
Equal Innovation provided strategy to the US Agency for International Development for the development of its innovation and entrepreneurship programs worldwide. In addition, we worked closely with USAID through our collaboration with Calvert Foundation, to develop an impact investment crowdfunding program to connect Americans with social enterprise opportunities in India.
Equal Innovation worked with the UN DPA’s Middle East & West Asia office on a policy document to enable the UN to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in West Asia (spanning 18 countries). The report looked at each country’s innovation indicators, their startup ecosystems, and the level of innovation deployed. The policy recommendations were geared towards actions that would enable West Asian nations to transition to innovation driven economies while being cognizant of social impact of such changes.
Project Management
Equal Innovation is a non-profit organization that provides strategy, management and advisory services to organizations around the world. We have extensive experience with strategic planning, innovation programs, project management, resource mobilization, coalition management, measurement and evaluation. Equal Innovation has provided consulting and project management services globally to universities, hospitals, government agencies, research labs, accelerators, foundations, corporations. We have worked with on projects ranging from medical research to agriculture and sustainability, as well as creating innovation and R&D programs
Equal Innovation is collaborating with the Deshpande Foundation to showcase its Sandbox development model as a potential means for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the local and regional level. We help the Deshpande Foundation to create a playbook for replicating the Sandbox, and educational programs to connect UN agencies to the Sandbox.
Equal Innovation provided the UN Department of Political Affairs with a fundraising strategy to engage with private philanthropy to secure funding commitments during times of crisis and conflict. Equal Innovation analyzed the giving habits of the world’s major philanthropists and foundations and delivered an insightful and actionable strategy.
Equal Innovation led an accelerator for elite African entrepreneurs participating in the Mandela Washington Fellowship, which is part of the Young African Leadership Initiative. The Entrepreneurs came from across Africa and across industries to connect with leader entrepreneurs, accelerators, subject-matter experts and mentors in Boston. Equal Innovation managed the entire program in partnership with Cambridge College for the State Department.
Measurement & Impact Evaluation
The societal development work of NGOs, foundations, philanthropy and government is complicated, long-term and fraught with obstacles. Analyzing the success or failure of this work requires a deep understanding of the multiple factors, organizations, policies and people involved. In addition, the globalization of social development, along with the rapid adoption of technology, adds topics like innovation, scalability and organizational models to traditional measurement, evaluation and impact.
The Social Performance Management System©, developed by Equal Innovation, is a theory of change that combines the traditional aspects of program measurement and evaluation with new factors, including innovation, organizational capacity and scalability. It is a system of analysis that has been used on over 300 program grants over the last decade in sectors as diverse as agriculture, education, health and financial services. Equal Innovation uses the Social Performance Management System to understand the organization and programs it is measuring and to develop an in-depth roadmap for the funder, implementer and partners to grow the program together.
Equal Innovation assisted the Mphasis F1 Foundation to evaluate a flagship skilling program to better understand the successes and failures of the partner and the program. Using SPMS, Equal Innovation made it recommendations to Mphasis about future grant making, its partnerships and a strategy to undertake.

Impact Investing
Equal Innovation partnered with the Calvert Foundation in 2015 to launch the Indian American Investment Initiative, which raised $10 million for social enterprise in India. The first of its kind, the Investment Initiative was a crowdfunding vehicle for NRIs to invest capital that was then lent to Indian investment funds focused on social enterprise. The model is now being replicated by the Calvert Foundation with USAID in other parts of the world.
