India Clean Air Connect aims to help unlock barriers to air quality action in India at scale

Bringing India’s AQ ecosystem together for clean air

 

At present, India is the fifth most polluted country in the world; and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution reduces the average Indian life expectancy by 6.3 years. Poor air quality (AQ) directly affects the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and the environment, requiring urgent action for clean air in India. 

 

While civil society is working hard to tackle air pollution, the scale of the AQ crisis demands deeper partnerships and collaborations across the ecosystem from diverse stakeholders – government, civil society, academia, etc. However, various gaps ranging from a lack of awareness of the composition and diversity of actors, to these actors working in silos in the AQ ecosystem are hindering ecosystem-wide collaborations, regional interdisciplinary partnerships, knowledge-sharing, and funding for innovative AQ solutions. 

 

India Clean Air Connect exists to bring together diverse air quality actors and build a thriving ecosystem, by amplifying the efforts of diverse organisations and actors, to a larger ecosystem, including funders.  

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How does the platform work?

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The ICAC is a digital community resource portal that facilitates increased access to valuable information from the AQ community at large. Through this platform, AQ actors can: 

 

• Connect and partner with like-minded individuals, organisations, networks, etc. working in the air quality ecosystem across various sectors and geographies 

• Explore relevant sources of knowledge, events, jobs as well as opportunities for funding and collaboration, so as to increase knowledge-sharing and communication across the ecosystem, and  

• Amplify the severity of the air quality crisis and the efforts being undertaken to tackle it in India, as well as ignite an urgent call to action across the ecosystem. 

 

India Clean Air Connect is an ecosystem-led dashboard that reflects on-ground efforts. Members can use this platform to post jobs, events, resources, and funding opportunities, or connect with each other. 

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ICAC is a data-driven platform

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The platform is informed by a database of 350+ air quality actors in over 100 cities and 16 countries, as well as 74 international and national sources of data and knowledge, and a list of 70+ networks in the ecosystem—an outcome of a 2021-22 study to map and assess India’s growing air quality ecosystem, which also resulted in a report detailing the ecosystem, its actors, and their roles. 

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The study was commissioned by The India Climate Collaborative & EdelGive Foundation and executed by Sensing Local. It involved engaging with a diverse set of organisations across India that are working to tackle air pollution consisting of scientists, lawyers, journalists, campaigners, entrepreneurs, researchers, public health experts etc., in order to:
 

• Map diverse efforts to tackle air quality and where they are being undertaken 

• Aggregate trends of challenges faced in air quality work and types of data knowledge sources dominantly used 

• Communicate opportunities for funding and collaborations that support air quality work 

• Understand shared priorities by sector, discipline and region​