Reliance Foundation

Retrospective evaluation of the process and impact outcomes of the Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship programme

Partner/Client
Reliance Foundation

Sector
CSR Foundation

Location
Pan India

The Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship (DAS) supports meritorious students of standard XII to pursue college education in a stream of their choice. The primary criteria for selection for scholars is based on merit and for low-income households.
An impact assessment was undertaken by 4th Wheel Social Impact which focussed on 5 years, spanning the batches of 2015-2020, to assess the socio-economic impacts of the scholarship.
The retrospective assessment was carried out between March and June 2022, reaching programme alumni, current scholars who were receiving the scholarship, and their respective parents.

APPROACH

The assessment adopted a theory-based approach to understand program impacts and explored impact outcomes based on the program’s ToC and other theoretical frameworks.
Literature reviews highlighted the role of Higher Education (HE) in contributing to impact beyond the immediate student level, outlining the impacts at the economic, institutional, and societal levels .
Informed by this framework, the evaluation focused on understanding impacts of the program at four levels. At an individual scholar level, impact was studied in terms of education attainment, skill sets, career progression, and employment status.
The study explored impacts at the household level of youth, tracing household income contributions and changes in standards of living. At the organisational level, impact was explored via organisational productivity, innovation, and accolades. At the community level, avenues in which youth had affected policy or social change through their work were assessed.
A gendered lens also underpinned the study, given as the literature review indicated that scholarships had higher value for female students. Existing gender biases led to male children being prioritised for education.
Web-based surveys were administered to scholars and parents, followed by telephonic interviews to understand qualitative nuances.
Qualitative and structured telephonic interviews were also conducted with implementation team representatives of Reliance Foundation and State/CBSE Boards representatives.

A higher percentage of alumni and students who had received the scholarship belonged to the science stream. Correspondingly, a higher proportion of employed alumni were engaged in information technology, followed by government, finance and consulting sectors.
At the process level, positive feedback was ascertained on the ease of application, communication and disbursal components of the scholarship.
At the individual scholar level, the scholarship enhanced scholar confidence and motivation by offsetting the economic costs of education, thereby contributing to better scores and higher aspirations especially among female students.
The programme provided scholars, who hailed from vulnerable backgrounds i.e. parents engaged in the informal sector and low-income households, an opportunity for upward economic mobility. A high number of alumni contributed to their household incomes.
Programme alumni were in nascent stages of their careers, nevertheless their contributions in their workplace in developing new services, innovative products, and improving organisational processes was noted.
At a societal/community level, higher levels of participation with social causes such as women empowerment, digital literacy, education, food distribution, Covid-19 response, water and agriculture development, were noted among current students as compared to alumni.

Female students and students belonging to the eastern, central and north-eastern parts of the country could be prioritised given the additional vulnerabilities faced by these students.
Providing scholarships at the postgraduate level would help vulnerable students to pursue and complete their higher education, culminating in better employment outcomes.
Professional development programmes on issues such as financial inclusion, career-specific upskilling opportunities, and counselling would help students contribute more effectively to their households and organisations.