National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) is a not-for-profit organisation operating across India, championing the rights of people with disabilities. Its primary intervention area is policy advocacy through research, campaigns, mentoring, and leadership development to promote inclusion and rights of people with disabilities. The case journeys through how the founder’s deep-felt connection with disability rights led the organisation to initiate and support a social movement, which culminated in passing of a milestone legislation in 2016 that sought to ensure rights of people with disabilities.
This was soon followed by the passing away of the founder. The case examines how, despite this simultaneous success and setback, the organisation continued to retain its rights-based advocacy character and its commitment to the disability cause.
The case seeks to engage the reader with how a small set-up is able to make remarkable strides within a span of two decades and what the organisational variables are that inform this: such as perspective, cultural cohesion, strategic design thinking, and strong governance. The case leaves the reader with an appreciation of how initial efforts of solitary individuals can end-up building a valuable legacy around which institutional spaces can spring.