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1. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
Govt. & NGO Collaboration
- Sundar Vadaon
Social development has emerged as fast growing sector in 21 st 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 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.
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2. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
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
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3. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
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.
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4. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
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.
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5. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
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.
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6. Govt. & NGO Collaboration
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.
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