LPSA Asia Working Group – Knowledge Sharing Meeting – September 2025

The Local Public Sector Alliance’s Asia Working Group convened on September 30, 2025, for its final knowledge-sharing session of the year. Co-Chair Madhavi Rajadhyaksha opened with reflections on emerging challenges across the Asia-Pacific, ranging from public unrest and political transitions to recurring natural disasters such as typhoons and floods. She underscored a shifting development landscape, shaped by redirected resources toward defense and national priorities, and called attention to the growing importance of philanthropy in advancing inclusive, resilient local governance. 

Farah Sofa, program officer at the Ford Foundation Indonesia, explored the evolving role of philanthropy in Asia, noting its move from charitable giving to strategic, system-focused engagement. Sofa highlighted increased collaboration between philanthropy, governments, and the private sector, driving long-term outcomes in education, health, and climate action. She emphasized the importance of partnering with government under MOUs, building local capacity for resource management, and empowering communities through grassroots and interfaith initiatives. Sofa also noted current trends, such as long-term unrestricted support and investment in technology platforms that enable sustainable, systemic change. 

Transitioning to urban governance, Anuj A. Bhagwati, co-founder of the AT Chandra Foundation, illustrated how civic education and feedback mechanisms strengthen city management. His work with the Praja Foundation equips citizens to understand service expectations and facilitates communication with public service providers. Tools like surveys, complaint platforms, and policy white papers are helping to create more responsive urban systems. Bhagwati advocated “patient philanthropy,” encouraging experimentation, risk reduction, and scalable solutions. He cited benchmarking innovations and collaborative projects, such as water body rejuvenation, which demonstrate how collective alignment can solve complex challenges. He concluded, “The city is a shared space, and if we have better ways of working together, then we’ll all be better off.” 

Bringing an international perspective, Raman Sidhu, CEO of Octava Foundation, reflected on venture philanthropy, a strategy that borrows concepts from private equity to create measurable social impact. Sidhu cautioned that definitions vary and successful models must ultimately align with local systems. Octava’s approach focuses on last-mile equity in education, targeting areas where measurable impact and organizational capacity can be strengthened. Sidhu emphasized collaboration with local funders to ensure interventions fit political and social contexts, and advocated for innovation that is designed with a clear pathway (“dotted line”) into sustainable adoption by government. 

During the open discussion, speakers shared lessons on scaling impact and building trust in complex governance settings. Anuj Bhagwati stressed that exit strategies and institutionalization are essential for lasting change, while Farah Sofa suggested that building trust requires patience, open dialogue, and revisiting difficult conversations over time. Sidhu advocated for robust measurement practices, balancing systemic, program, and beneficiary-level outcomes, and highlighting the importance of locally relevant metrics. 

The forum concluded by highlighting philanthropy’s shift toward local responsiveness, strategic partnerships, and adaptation to system constraints. 

We warmly invite all participants and readers to explore the full video recording, available on YouTube. The links below offer segmented access to the session’s agenda items. Your reflections and engagement are welcome as we work together toward inclusive, resilient communities. 

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