As a 21st-century organization, we have strived to build a networked organizational model that is interconnected, collaborative, diverse and where the impact of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This design is inspired by the idea of metamorphosis, represented by the butterfly at the centre for our organizational model. This stands for our spirit of being ready for growth and change, through evolving and adapting to the rapidly changing external and internal environments, and future trends. The two wings of the butterfly represent our two key functions of Strategy & Organizational Leadership (SOL) and Institutional Development (ID), manifesting our vision and values.

If the pandemic has proven anything, it is the resilience of the human spirit to weather the most severe challenges, and find ways to survive and thrive. Many members within the Quest team stepped up during these trying times, holding responsibilities beyond the boundaries of roles and teams. The success of these endeavours led us to reimagine what growth and leadership could look like for the organization. A ‘Nested Leadership’ model – where the overall direction of growth is replicated as a change effort at the program and state level – was put into place. 80 team members were identified as ‘Growth Hackers’, and will play critical roles in shaping organizational growth over the next few years.

As an organization that deeply values continuous learning, we continued to invest in our teams and build capacities for organization priority areas. ‘Learn Fest’ – a series of theme-specific sessions – was organized from October to December 2021, bringing employees together to learn good practices from each other, and find deeper connections to our work and the larger organization vision. We also focussed efforts on driving impactful work through locally informed interventions, supported by data, tech and knowledge management that helps us make meaning of our work.

We are also in the process of re-imagining the ‘future of the workplace’ at Quest. Our aim is to create an inclusive and enabling work environment for employees as we return to work. Our Hybrid-work policy was co-created through a process involving one-third of the organization, and strikes a balance between the need to find connection through physical meetups, and the benefits of virtual work.

In light of the rapid growth and expansion of the organization, the newly launched Systems, Processes and Tools team will work to redefine the way work is performed through optimization and streamlining. The unit’s main focus will be to identify, evaluate, and implement processes and tools optimization and standardization efforts across all teams, functions and nodes in Quest Alliance.

As the second wave hit in early 2021, we held faith that our learnings from the first year under lockdown would hold us in good stead. Programs continued to leverage virtual spaces initiated under year 1 of the pandemic to engage with stakeholders. Parent engagement became critical in ensuring continued access to learning - especially for girls. Innovations like using IVRS to connect to learners in remote areas, conducting virtual hackathons and role model interactions to inspire STEM mindsets, and providing young people with engaging learning experiences through the Quest App were a key area of focus.

But the severity of loss and suffering experienced by those we work with was extremely difficult. Once again, we decided to pivot our efforts to what was needed most. For children and young people, emotional distress helplines were initiated. Field teams and communication platforms carried information on support groups, medical helplines, volunteers, and city-based support groups for hospital beds and oxygen cylinders. Internally at Quest, well-being was prioritized. Workloads were reduced where possible, and a four-day workweek was introduced to give employees time for themselves, and support family and friends. Initiatives like listening circles, virtual catch-ups, and mental health helplines - all introduced during the first wave - continued. We are extremely grateful to our partners who enabled and supported us in this.