The Koodam
Breaking Hierarchy, Building Democracy

Koodam is a Tamil word that roughly translates to a ‘gathering place’ of people from diverse backgrounds where conflict is normalised and consensus is voluntary.

What Are Challenges to Good Governance
  • Political and cultural context is ignored (caste, religion, and other social identities)
  • Bureaucratic mindsets and institutional hierarchies are underestimated
  • Governance reforms are decided centrally and implemented top-down
  • Experiential pedagogy to help reflect on one’s identity, attitudes, and mindsets
  • Conflict-resolution techniques that break hierarchies and foster honest dialogue
  • Transformation of institutional culture and ethics amongst officials, systems, and communities
What CHANGE MANAGEMENT needs

About Barefoot Academy of Governance

For the last 24 years, Barefoot Academy of Governance has been working towards empowering communities, democratising governance, and deepening democracy in different settings across India.

Through a unique blend of dialogical and experiential learning processes, we combine aspects of behavioural change with institutional transformation to undertake systems-level change management programs with communities, government departments, nonprofits, and the private sector. We have worked across various sectors like Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Irrigation, Fisheries, Food security, and Governance of District Administrations in collaboration with organisations like Azim Premji University, UNICEF, and Action Aid India.

Institutional Transformation at a glance

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  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Organisational Development (OD) Intervention

     

    Redefining roles, navigating conflicts, and Change Management at the Directorate of Social Welfare

     

    1998-2001

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    School Education

     

    Co-creating Vision and Mission; building collaboration to ensure education for all

     

    2002-03

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Health

     

    Co-ordinating between Rural, Urban Health Systems & aligning with Medical Education

     

    2002-03

  • Govt. of Nagaland

    Govt. of Nagaland

    Governance

     

    Strengthening District Administration for Good Governance(post Peace Accord)

     

    2002-03

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Tamil Nadu Water Supply & Drainage Board (TWAD)

     

    Improving Organizational Efficiency and Democratization of Service Delivery (Jal Swaraj)

     

    2003-08

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    IAMWARM Project

     

    Advocating for Basin-level Water Management via engineers of 9 Water-related Departments

     

    2007-08

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    District of Nagapattinam

     

    Consensus-building across line departments at the district level (Revenue, PWD, Water, Health, etc)

     

    2007-08

  • Govt. of Odisha

    Govt. of Odisha

    District Administration of Sundargarh

     

    Mobilizing District Administration for Effective Village Level Planning and Good Governance

     

    2010-12

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu

    Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission

     

    State Backwardness Alleviation programme – SBGF

     

    2013-14

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu (Vepur block, Annavasal block)

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu (Vepur block, Annavasal block)

    Governance

     

    Community-led Sustainable Development and Governance of the Commons project

     

    2013 – 23

  • Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Odisha

    Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Odisha

    UNDP Grant (Direct engagement with communities in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha)

     

    Citizen-centric sustainable development programme for Water, Sanitation, Food & Agriculture, Livelihoods and Bio-diversity Security

     

    2014-15

A Short Film documenting our Change Management

Learn how Change works

Presenting the 1-year PG Diploma in Facilitating Governance Reforms

The Barefoot Academy of Governance, in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), is offering a one-year PG Diploma in Facilitating Governance Reform. Participants from diverse background learn from the best in the field and engage in critical field studies through immersion and interaction with tribal, rural and urban communities. The same program was offered in collaboration with TISS from 2016-2023.

Meet our Founders

Shri Raghu Ananthanarayanan

Shri Raghu Ananthanarayanan

Co-founder, Sumedhas, Barefoot Academy, Ritambhara Ashram, Center for Consciousness Studies and Inner Transformation

Dr. V Suresh

Dr. V Suresh

Director and Co-founder, Barefoot Academy of Governance, Co-founder, Centre for Law, Policy and Human Rights Studies

Prof. Pradip Prabhu

Prof. Pradip Prabhu

Co-founder, Barefoot Academy of Governance, Former Dean, TISS Tuljapur; Founder, Kashtakari Sanghatana