The Knight Foundation is one of our chief supporters and mentors. Gram Vaani was a winner in the prestigious Knight News Challenge for 2008. Over 3000 applicants competed in this event with only 16 winners; Sir Tim Berners Lee, creator of the world wide web, was also a winner and shared the stage with Gram Vaani. The Knight Foundation is one of the world’s leading sponsor and supporter of media initiatives. They seek opportunities that can transform both communities and journalism, and help them reach their highest potential. Their efforts ensure that each community’s citizens get the information they need to thrive in a democracy. To this end, they evaluate opportunities and provide grants to ideas that could be truly transformational. For more information on the Knight Foundation, please visit The Knight Foundation.
Gram Vaani is also fortunate in having a partner in India’s leading technology institution, IIT Delhi. Gram Vaani is part of the Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of IIT Delhi. The TBI is conceived, programmed and implemented by the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) - the industry interface unit of the Institute. It’s aim is to support start-ups and entrepreneurs in the area of technology. In terms of its physical location, Gram Vaani’s technology team is based out of the TBI centre in IIT Delhi. The proximity to this academic environment and access to some of the leading faculty from various disciplines is a big advantage to Gram Vaani. For more information on IIT Delhi and TBI, please visit IIT Delhi and FITT
Nomad Networks India manufactures one of the lowest costing FM transmitters in India, and has been instrumental to aiding the community radio movement in India. How can a community radio movement prosper without any transmitters?! Nomad is based in Dahanu, near Bombay, and is run by Mr Hemant Babu. We are proud to be partners with Nomad. 
One of the necessary ingredients to make a social initiative like Gram Vaani successful is the presence and support of like-minded institutions who passionately believe in improving the life of communities. Development Alternatives (DA) is one such friend we have found. Our first technology pilot of our Radio Automation System, is being done out of DA’s Bundelkhand Radio site in Orccha, Madya Pradesh.
Over the last 20 years, DA has built its ability to work with various stakeholders in the sustainable development paradigm including local communities, panchayati raj institutions, urban local bodies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), governments, academia, private sector, financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral agencies. DA launched the first community radio in Madhya Pradesh called Radio Bundelkhand on 23rd October 2008 at TARAgram Orchha to enable and empower the communities to use this communication medium to take charge of their own lives. For more information on DA, please visit Development Alternatives
Our partners also include The KioskNet Project team at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Led by Prof. S. Keshav, the KioskNet team has developed solutions to provide low-cost Internet connectivity in rural areas of developing countries.