A Front Row Seat to City-Systems Change

Kesava Balaji
Associate – Strategy & Partnerships

In the monsoon of 2024, what should have been a 15-minute drive to the hospital turned into a 90-minute ordeal. A flooded highway had paralysed traffic across my part of Bengaluru. Like thousands of others that day, I felt deeply frustrated. I even typed out a long, angry rant in our organisation’s WhatsApp group. But as the minutes crawled by, I realised: this wasn’t just about one bad day. It was a systems problem — one that plays out a hundred times across a hundred Indian cities. 

That day reaffirmed a key lesson I’d learned at Janaagraha: quality of life can be improved when strong local governments are empowered with the three Fs — functions, funds, and functionaries. The other side of this coin is transparency, accountability, and participation — where citizens can see how their money is being used and influence decisions through participatory platforms. Without action from both sides, the cycle of frustration will continue. 

My journey to this realisation began much earlier. Four years ago, in July 2021, I joined Janaagraha straight out of my postgraduate programme at the Indian School of Public Policy. My introduction to the organisation came at ISPP, where Srikanth (our CEO) and his team taught a course on urban governance. That’s when I first encountered the City-Systems Framework. Having grown up in cities all my life, I was struck by how clearly systems thinking explained why Indian cities struggle to provide a good quality of life. For my final assignment, I read the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems 2017, which convinced me that Janaagraha was doing something exceptional — and that I needed to be part of it. The chance to live and work in Bengaluru, close to my parents, made the decision more meaningful. 

On my very first day, I realised I wasn’t going to be just another policy researcher. I was working directly with the CEO of the organisation, in a role that was fluid from the start and demanded adaptability, ownership, and consistently high standards. It was a steep learning curve, especially for my first job, but it gave me a rare bird’s-eye view of the organisation. 

Over the years, I’ve supported the CEO on strategic priorities, accompanied him to high-stakes meetings, and followed through on actions with leaders across the organisation. At one point, I believe no other Associate had quite the panoramic view of Janaagraha that I did. Some highlights of this journey include: 

• Municipal Finance Blueprint: I co-led the release of this landmark report, which informed the 15th Finance Commission on strengthening municipal finances in Indian cities. 

• 20th Anniversary Celebrations: I collaborated with Sapna (Chief Operating Officer) to design and execute the organisation’s 20th anniversary, including the release of Tending to the City, a retrospective capturing Janaagraha’s 20-year journey. 

• Strategy Refresh: I supported the leadership team closely, working with both internal leaders and external stakeholders as we revisited our strategic priorities. 

• Board Engagement: I became the custodian for scheduling and preparing for board meetings, ensuring our leadership was set up for success in these critical conversations. 

In these roles, I often found myself the youngest person in the room — whether in the boardroom, at program heads’ meetings, or in discussions about cities with senior leadership. Far from being intimidating, these moments inspired me. They reminded me of the unique culture we’ve built at Janaagraha: one where ideas matter as much as experience, and where we are united by a shared theory of change. 

When I moved into the new Strategy and Partnerships team, I found a renewed sense of clarity and purpose. Under a great team and mentor, I anchored the entire annual planning process, crafted stronger narratives for why we do what we do, and explored intersections with economy, equity, environment, and other vital dimensions of urban transformation. Today, our team serves as the conscience keeper of the organisation, ensuring that our work remains grounded in both our mission and our culture codes. 

Looking back on these four years, I feel grateful — not only for the professional growth but also for the deeper understanding of what it takes to create lasting change in our cities. I had the privilege of working alongside some of the most committed minds in the sector. I no longer see them only as superheroes whose work I admire; I see myself as part of the same mission, contributing in ways big and small to a cause much larger than any one individual. That sense of purpose continues to keep me inspired and grounded every single day.