Board-ready evidence on what your CSR projects changed
Bharat Survey is a CSR impact assessment agency for companies whose CSR committees need an independent view of projects before the report goes to the Board. We assess projects that fall under Rule 8(3) of the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules and those you choose to evaluate voluntarily: reviewing documents, surveying beneficiaries with GPS-verified field teams, speaking to implementing partners and local stakeholders, and writing a report that separates outputs, outcomes and what can honestly be attributed to your spend.
Rule 8(3) of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, as amended in 2021, requires every company with an average CSR obligation of ten crore rupees or more in the three preceding financial years to carry out impact assessment, through an independent agency, of CSR projects with outlays of one crore rupees or more that were completed at least one year before the study. The report goes to the Board and is annexed to the annual report on CSR.
The rules require the agency to be independent but do not publish a list of approved agencies or a certification. In practice, CSR committees look for independence from the implementing partner, a documented field method, relevant sector experience, and no conflict of interest. Ask any agency, including us, to declare conflicts in writing.
Project proposals, MoUs, utilisation certificates, monitoring reports and any baseline are reviewed. We build an evaluation matrix of questions, indicators and data sources.
Beneficiary questionnaires, partner interview guides and site checklists in local languages, with a sample drawn from beneficiary lists.
Enumerators interview beneficiaries at home or at facilities, with GPS, time and duration captured and back-checks on a share of interviews.
Implementing staff, panchayat members, teachers, health workers or other local stakeholders give context to the numbers.
Findings on relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability, with evidence limits stated and recommendations kept separate.
Many assessments struggle because projects were never designed to be measured. We help CSR teams set indicators that can be assessed later, and we say when an existing project's indicators are too vague to conclude anything.
Indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, linked to the project's theory of change: from outputs such as trainings held, to outcomes such as women earning from the skill, to longer-term impact. Each indicator names its data source and who collects it.
When a company funds many projects across themes and states, a portfolio evaluation compares them on common measures such as reach, cost per outcome and sustainability, so the committee can decide where to scale, fix or exit.
For studies needing quick follow-up with many beneficiaries spread across districts, call centre data collection CSR teams sometimes request can supplement field visits, with phone interviews used only for short questions and never as a replacement for site verification.
The rules cap how much impact assessment spend can be counted as CSR expenditure. Within that, cost is set by the study design.
| Driver | Raises cost | Lowers cost |
|---|---|---|
| Number of projects | Several projects across themes | One project |
| Geography | Multiple states, remote villages | One district |
| Sample | Comparison group, subgroup reporting | Beneficiaries only, overall figures |
| Data available | No baseline or beneficiary list | Baseline and clean lists exist |
| Languages | Several local languages | One language |
| Reporting | Multiple reports and presentations | Single report |
Rule 8(3)(c), as currently amended, limits impact assessment spend that can be booked as CSR expenditure. Check the latest text on the MCA site before budgeting. Bharat Survey quotes per study.
Useful for learning
Required for Rule 8(3)
Field data and software for development work.
Learn moreA guide to Rule 8(3) and what it requires.
Learn moreMonitoring tools for implementing partners.
Learn moreOngoing M&E support.
Learn moreRigorous attribution studies.
Learn moreStraight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
Under Rule 8(3), an independent agency. The rules do not name approved agencies or require a licence, so independence and competence are for the company to judge. The agency should not have implemented or monitored the project, should declare conflicts of interest, and should show a documented field and analysis method.
The mandatory requirement applies to projects with outlays of ₹1 crore or more, for companies with an average CSR obligation of ₹10 crore or more. Many companies still assess smaller projects voluntarily, often with a lighter design, because the findings guide future funding.
It can be useful for learning, but it does not meet the independence the rule requires, because the NGO has an interest in the result. An independent agency can review the NGO's data and use it where it holds up, while collecting its own evidence.
We can still assess outcomes using recall questions, project records, comparison with similar non-project villages and secondary data. The report states clearly that conclusions on change are weaker without a baseline. For future projects, we recommend setting one up at the start.
A single-project study commonly takes a couple of months from desk review to final report, depending on geography, sample and data quality. Portfolio studies across states take longer. Start well before the date the CSR report must go to the Board.
Share the project list, outlays, locations and completion dates. We will return a scope, method and timeline for the assessment.
