Govt & Ngo Collaboration

Govt. & NGO Collaboration


- Sundar Vadaon

Social development has emerged as fast growing sector in 21st

century. While the growth of Information Technology is a real wonder,

the growth of social development will create wonders in the years to

come. Social Development will be a future shock for which we all are

required to be prepared.

Voluntary social work, voluntarism, voluntary organizations, Non

Governmental Organizations, (NGOs) Not to profit making organizations,

Religion based social development organizations, individual donors,

philanthropy, corporate social development organizations have

tremendously grown in the 21st century.

Similarly International Developmental Organization viz World

Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations

International Children Education Fund (UNICEF), United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO), World Trade Organization (WTO),

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Asian Development Bank

(ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA), Department

Fund for International Development (DFID), Canadian International

Development Agency (CIDA), Swedish International Development Agency

(SIDA), United Nations Economic, Social Commission for Asia and Pacific

(UNESCAP) and many other organizations are relentlessly campaigning

for the cause of the social development.

Under United Nations Systems several International conventions

are being held, several laws are being promoted, several policies are

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being evolved and several projects are being implemented in various

areas viz Human Rights, Education, Health, Natural Resources

Development and Environment.

Govt. of India and many Govts. of various Nations of the World viz

South Africa, China, Pakisthan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia,

Thailand, Philippines, Uganda, Zambia and Mexico have enacted several

laws, established various Govt. Departments, evolved policies, and

created schemes for the cause of the social development.

Though social development has emerged as a very important sector

in 21st century there are no Institutionalized mechanisms of collaboration

of the Govt. & NGOs. The need of the hour is to evolve long term,

sustainable and institutionalized collaboration between the Govt. &

NGOs.

Govt. of India has prepared and released a draft National Policy on

NGOs, in-corporating the areas of collaboration of the Govt. & NGOs.

The Planning Commission of India, and various Ministries of the Govt. of

India are working on the modalities of collaboration between Govt. and

the NGOs.

Similarly Govt. of Andhra Pradesh on an innovative approach given

by us has formed a State level coordination Committee of the Govt.

officials and NGOs headed by the Chief Minister for promoting the

coordination between the Govt. & the NGOs. On the same lines district

level coordination cells have been formed headed by the district incharge

Ministers with Collectors, Officials and NGOs as members. Govt. Orders

are issued for frequent meeting of the Committees and evolving the

mechanisms of collaboration between the Govt. & the NGOs. (GOMS No

28 of Govt of AP enclosed)

There is imminent need for Govt. of India and various State Govts.

to release the National Policy as well as the State Policies for



Institutionalized mechanisms of collaboration between the Govt. & the

NGOs. On the lines of National Policy of GOI.

Govt. of India is promoting the work, projects and involvement of

NGOs in a big way. Govt. of India under Ministry of Rural Development

has established Council for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural

Technology (CAPART) and promoting the NGO sector in a big way.

Rural Development Department in many schemes viz Integrated

Rural Development Programme (IRDP). Drought Prone Areas Programme

(DPAP), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA),

Swarna Jayanti Swarajgor Yojana (SJSGY) National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Watershed Development and in many other

schemes has elaborately issued guidelines, with specific reference to

involvement of the NGOs in implementation of various schemes.

Rural development department through National Waste Lands

Development Board have issued guidelines, focusing the importance of

participation of the people and involvement of NGOs in implementation

of the schemes.

Similarly, several Ministries viz Ministry of Human Resources

Development, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Ministry of Social

Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Women & Child Welfare, Ministry of

Tourism, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Agriculture etc., have issued

guidelines for implementation of the schemes, with focus on peoples

participation and participation of NGOs in implementation of thousands

of schemes of the Govt. of India.

On the same lines, various State Govts. have issued Govt. orders

and guidelines for peoples participation and participation of NGOs in

implementation of various schemes.

Govt. of India through various Ministries has been funding the

NGOs to a tune of Rs. 10,000 corers per annum for implementation of

various schemes. CAPART and various Ministries have evolved schemes



to be funded to the NGOs for implementation in various areas concerning

Human & Social Development of people. Similarly several schemes are

also being funded in Natural resources development & Environment.

Various Ministries of Govt. of India have evolved formats,

prescribed procedures, and evolved inspection and monitoring

mechanisms for effective implementation of the schemes being funded in

the NGOs sector. All the details of grants in Aid being sanctioned to the

project of the NGOs are being made available on the websites of the

respective Ministries of the Govt. of India.

Similarly World Bank, DFID and various funding Agencies have also

evolved mechanisms, procedures for inspection, assessment, sanction,

monitoring & evaluation of grant in aid Projects to the NGOs.

In addition to the above, International Development Agencies Viz,

Action Aid, Plan International, Oxfam, CCF, Leonard Chesire, CARE and

several other International Donor agencies have also evolved

mechanisms and guidelines for assessment, sanction, implementation,

monitoring & evaluation of projects which are requiring grants in Aid.

They have also prescribed formats for donor service reporting and

displaying on websites.

While the International scenario, and National scenarios are very

encouraging all is not well in collaboration of the Govt. & NGOs in Social

development.

Some of the distortions and recent trends in a few States of India

are to implement the projects of social development with-out any

collaboration between the Govt. & the NGOs. Peoples participation and

participatory development is a distant dream to be realized.



There is an urgent need to put an end to distortions in social

development and evolving the institutionalized mechanisms of

collaboration between the Govt. the NGOs and the peoples Institutions.

The following are a few important areas requiring attention and

action of the Govt. Officials, Policy Makers, NGOs, and the peoples

Institutions.

1. Each of the State of India and UTs have to evolve their State

Policies, which are in tune with Govt. of India and with

necessary innovations for implementation.

2. There is need to form department wise, coordination cells of the

Govt. of India as well as of various State Govts. for active

collaboration.

3. Each of the Department coordination cell must document the

NGOs projects for the last 05 years, analyze the same and evolve

guidelines for coordination.

4. District level coordination cells are required to be formed of the

Official and NGOs.

5. District level Coordination Cells must document the NGO

activities analyze and evolve guidelines for coordination.

6. Similarly World Bank and International development agencies

have to form National and regional level coordination cells.

7. The National & Regional coordination cells must document the

activities at least for the last 05 years.

8. Planning is a very important area of coordination, and each of

the cell must evolve the process of the Planning at various

levels.

9. Development agenda is a very important approach of long term

and sustainable development.

10. It is advisable to prepare village agenda, block agenda, district

agenda, State agenda, and National agenda for the

development.



11. Rulers may come and go, Officials may come and go, donor

agencies may come and go, NGOs may come and go,

Consultants and brokers may come and go, Doctors, Teachers

and Actors may come and go, yet development agenda must

continuously grow, and should not go with each and every

person, all and sundry, and with the change of the Govt. each

five years, or as frequently as the Govt. changes.

12. All and sundry must realize that in spite of 60 years of planned

development in India, still majority of people are where they are,

and we must awake, arise, agree, and act on arriving at village

to National agenda once for all, for implementations with out

disruptions in the Country.

13. Integrated village development plans through microplanning are

required to be prepared in a participatory manner of the people,

NGOs and the Govt.

14. Physical and Financial resources are required to be pooled up

from all the developmental functionaries so as to promote

supplementation and complimentation of the people’s, Govt. and

the NGOs precious resources.

15. Duplication, distortions, wastage and pilferation of resources

can be minimized and eliminated by an integrated approach of

planning and implementation.

16. Training Programmes on Capacity Building are required to be

taken up for Self Help Groups, various committees, PR

Institution, NGOs, & Donor agencies for promotion of

institutionalized mechanism of coordination.

17. Guidelines for joint action and campaigning systems must be

evolved together and implemented whether those are rights

based campaigns, or even campaigns for peace and harmony.

18. Proper and effective utilization of infrastructure of the Govt. and

NGOs and knowledge based inputs must be utilized by effective

campaigning for empowerment of poor, children, youth women



& senior citizens as well as in the areas of Natural resources

development & Environment.

19. Role clarity of Officials, NGOs and peoples must be arrived, and

job charts must be fixed, with all its flexibility for promoting

joint action, and campaigning for development to enable the

officials & the NGOs to play their role in a coordinated manner.

20. Information Technology and IT enabled services must be used so

as to empower and equip the organizations for joint action for

development.

21. GIS and GPS methodologies must be used both for Planning,

video conferences, distant learning and distant monitoring on a

virtual reality basis so that the pace of implementation is faster

than the pace of degradation of resources.

22. A project approach of joint action of the Govt. & NGOs on a

geographical project area, and on a fixed time scale must be

done, so as to satuarate the project area with development in

one or two decades depending on the need of the area.

23. Knowledge based efforts through village knowledge centers

must be put in for faster pace and sustainable development.

24. A village development centre is advisable to be established for

promoting multisectoral coordination & convergence.

25. Long Term sustainable development can be achieved by joint

action.

Ultimately model villages can be created through joint action and

campaigning for development of the people, Govt. Officials and the NGOs

through multisectoral coordination and convergence approaches for the

development.


Documents

Govt & Ngo Collaboration