Social issues can be complex, deep-rooted, and difficult to solve. Whether we look at the climate crisis, economic insecurity, or inequities in education, many systems and stakeholders—who themselves face unprecedented challenges—are involved and shape outcomes in unpredictable ways.

Over the past two years, we at SwaTaleem Foundation have been exploring how changemakers can confront this complexity. Through our multi-stakeholder project called Girls’ Education for Transformation,[1] we seek to identify road maps for gender transformation in Uttar Pradesh, with the goal of supporting greater agency, better education, and improved life outcomes for marginalised adolescent girls.

We engaged with girls and educators in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) schools across two districts in northern Uttar Pradesh, along with nearby communities, village leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), and government stakeholders. It became essential to understand the prevailing social hierarchies and power dynamics among and within stakeholder groups, as they determine who is affected by a problem, how different groups are impacted, and whose interests influence the decision to address issues.

Over the course of an intervention, organisations often rely on traditional research methods, researchers positioned as experts, or representatives to understand and navigate the social context. Given that many of these researchers are situated in positions of power and privilege, their leadership risks reproducing the very power dynamics they seek to disrupt. More importantly, when outsiders design interventions and programmes, they often fail to account for the stakeholders’ own analysis of the systems they live and work in, as well as the prevalent structures and hierarchies of power.

In our project, power mapping emerged as a tool that bridges this gap between researcher and stakeholder perspectives, encouraging deep collaborative learning, context-sensitive intervention design, and greater collective ownership over change.

What Is Power Mapping?

Power mapping is a visual tool to identify key stakeholders relevant to a social problem, and understand their power, influence on other stakeholders, and the degree to which they align with the cause.

Read the full article about power mapping by Ananya Tiwari, Payal P. Shah, and Nidhi Kinhal at India Development Review.