India's climate and rural development sector is full of two familiar kinds of organisations: research institutes that study problems in depth but rarely implement solutions, and implementation NGOs that run programs on the ground but rarely generate transferable evidence about why those programs work. A Think and Do Tank is meant to sit deliberately between the two, and understanding what that actually means is useful for anyone evaluating a climate organisation, whether as a funder, government partner, or peer NGO. 

What a Think and Do Tank actually does 

A Think and Do Tank combines rigorous research with direct field implementation, using each to strengthen the other. The research side identifies what interventions are likely to work and why, grounded in data and evidence rather than assumption. The do side tests those interventions directly in communities, generating real outcomes and real feedback. The result is a continuous loop: field implementation produces evidence, evidence refines the model, and the refined model becomes something that can be documented, validated, and replicated elsewhere. 

How this differs from a research institute 

A traditional research institute can produce excellent analysis on climate resilient agriculture or rural livelihoods without ever testing that analysis against the practical realities of implementation. Recommendations can look sound on paper and still fail when applied in a specific village, with its specific soil, water access, and social dynamics. A Think and Do Tank closes that gap by implementing its own research, rather than handing conclusions to someone else to test. 

How this differs from an implementation NGO 

Conversely, an NGO focused purely on implementation can run effective programs for years without systematically capturing what makes those programs work, or whether the same approach would succeed in a different geography. Without that layer of evidence generation, good work stays local and hard to replicate or scale. A Think and Do Tank treats every implementation as a source of data, not just a delivery of services. 

Why this matters for climate work specifically 

Climate adaptation in rural India cannot rely on generic solutions. What works for water conservation in one district may fail in another with different rainfall patterns, soil types, or land tenure structures. A Think and Do Tank model is particularly well suited to this reality because it is built to test, adapt, and validate models across different contexts before recommending them for wider replication, rather than assuming a single approach applies everywhere. 

Where B2V fits 

B2V operates as a Think and Do Tank across six Indian states, working on climate resilient agriculture, sustainable livelihoods, and indigenous knowledge systems. The organisation's research and field implementation are designed to inform each other directly, with the goal of producing models that are not just locally effective but genuinely replicable elsewhere. For funders, government partners, and peer NGOs evaluating who to work with on climate adaptation, understanding this distinction, between research, implementation, and the combined Think and Do model, is a useful lens for assessing what kind of evidence and outcomes to expect.