A monthly update of Credibility Alliance
CREDIBILITY ALLIANCE IMPROVING GOVERNANCE BUILDING TRUSTThis newsletter has been envisaged as a tool with which we would like to communicate and engage with our stakeholders. This newsletter will be a
co-traveller in Credibility Alliance’s journey towards enhancing accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector.
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the October 2007 issue of our newsletter. In response to a suggestion, which we had received from our member organizations, we have compiled a database on national level networks and campaigns. In this newsletter we have presented this database. The importance of national level networks and campaigns cannot be overemphasized considering the context in which NGOs operate today. NGOs have to deal with structures and institutional forces, which are global in nature. To counter these and to make an impact, new partnerships and alliances are being forged at different levels within the voluntary sector. We hope that the database that we have presented will help and encourage our members to build linkages with other like-minded organizations working on similar areas and issues.
September 2007: The month in review State Committee meetingsIn the month of September, State Committee meetings were held in East zone, North zone, North East zone and South zone. i) Bihar State Committee meeting was held on 10 September in Patna. Representatives from 20 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on activities and progress in the last one year, election of office bearers of the State Committee, discussion on the draft programme norms, election of the state representative for the forthcoming Annual General Body Meeting (AGM), selection of nodal agency for the State Committee.
ii) The West Bengal State Committee meeting was held on 13 September in Kolkata. Representatives from 12 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: election of the Convener of the State Committee, discussion on the draft programme norms, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, planning activities for the state chapter (three themes were discussed for capacity building exercises: voluntary organizations and legal aspects, documentation skills, self-monitoring and evaluation). iii) Tripura State Committee meeting was held on 30 September. Representatives from 10 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on membership status, formation of State Committee, election of the State Convener and District Conveners, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, planning activities for the state chapter. iv) Tamil Nadu State Committee meeting was held on 5 September in Chennai. Representatives from 11 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on previous year’s activities and progress, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, discussion on the draft programme norms. v) Rajasthan State Committee meeting was held on 15 September in Jaipur. Representatives from 10 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on membership status, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, discussion on the draft programme norms, planning activities for the state chapter (translation of programme norms in Hindi, circulating the Hindi copy to 350 organizations through Aravali’s newsletter, regional workshop to further discuss the Programme norms). vi) Maharashtra State Committee meeting was held on 18 September in Mumbai. Representatives from 17 member organizations were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on activities and progress made in the last one year, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, discussion on the draft programme norms, planning activities for the state chapter. vii) Gujarat State Committee meeting was held on 12 September. The main highlights of this meeting were: discussion on activities and progress made in the last one year, election of the state representative for the forthcoming AGM, discussion on the draft programme norms, planning activities for the state chapter Update on Accreditation work i) Assessment of partners of Packard Foundation Packard Foundation and Credibility Alliance have selected 15 partners of Packard Foundation for assessment. The partners have been selected such that an equal number (five each) fall in the category of Large, Medium and Small sized organizations. Out of the 15 organizations, 3 are located in Bihar, one in Kolkata, and eleven in Jharkhand. Field visits for six organizations in Jharkhand have been completed by the assessors. ii). Assessors Orientation Workshop in Eastern Region: An Assessors’ orientation workshop was conducted in Eastern Region on 14 September. The participants were from Jayaprakash Institute for Social Change and Professional Institute for Development and Social Environmental Management (PRISM). These participants will take on the role of assessors and conduct assessment on behalf of Credibility Alliance in Eastern region. |
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The "Right to Food Campaign" is an informal network of organizations and individuals committed to the realization of the right to food in India. The Campaign considers that everyone has a fundamental right to be free from hunger and under nutrition. The campaign has already taken up a wide range of aspects of the right to food. Sustained demands include: (1) a National Employment Guarantee Act, (2) universal mid-day meals in primary schools, (3) universalization of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) for children under the age of six, (4) effective implementation of all nutrition-related schemes, (5) revival and universalization of the public distribution system, (6) social security arrangements for those who are not able to work, (7) equitable land rights and forest rights. Some of these demands have already been met to some extent. A wide range of activities have been initiated to further these demands. Examples include public hearings, rallies, dharnas, padyatras, conventions, action-oriented research, media advocacy, and lobbying. The Right to Food Campaign is a decentralized network, which builds on local initiative and voluntary cooperation. The campaign has a small secretariat, which plays a basic facilitating role. The secretariat is presently located in Q-21-B, Top Floor, Jungpura Extn, New Delhi – 110014, Phone: 11- 43501335 Email: righttofood@gmail.com. Website: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/ II. ACTION AGAIST TRAFFICKING AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (ATSEC) ATSEC is a network of NGOs working against trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. ATSEC has chapters in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. ATSEC-India, through its 24 State Chapters, implements different programmes to prevent human trafficking. ATSEC, with the support of government and non-government organizations implements programmes in the area of Prevention, Rescue, Rehabilitation, Restoration back to families and Repatriation. The National Co-ordinator of ATSEC India is Mr. Manabendra Mandal, P-112 Lake Terrace, Kolkata 700029, Phone: 33-24645430/24646098. Email: atsec@vsnl.net /slartc@cal.vsnl.net.in Website: http://atsec-india.org/ III. CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD LABOUR (CACL) Campaign Against Child Labor launched in 1992, initially as a network of a few organizations has grown over the years. At present, the campaign consists of a network of over 6000 anti-child labor groups spread over 19 states in India. Active women groups, trade unions, academic institutions, media agencies, child right and human right organizations, research bodies, corporate houses, student volunteers, eminent citizens constitute an integral part of the campaign. CACL is committed to the eradication of child labor through building public opinion, investigation of abuse/exploitation, advocacy, lobbying and monitoring of national and international developments. The campaign believes in networking and alliance building with other like-minded groups. It intervenes in specific cases of violation of child rights and abuse of children and initiates relevant advocacy and lobbying to restore justice and rights of the child.Central Secretariat: Mr. Ranjan Mohanty, National Convenor, C/O-PECUC, VIII-H-26, Sailashree Vihar, Bubneshwar-751021, Orissa, Phone: 0674-2740178 Email: caccs@caclindia.org/caclcs@sancharnet.in Website: http://www.caclindia.org/ IV. NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS (NCDHR) The National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights is a coalition of Dalit Human Rights activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and academics who are committed to ending the caste-based discrimination and “untouchability” practices that deny human rights and dignity to 170 million Indian citizens – one sixth of India’s population. Established in 1998, NCDHR is a non-party based secular platform centered in Delhi and with offices in 14 states of the country. NCDHR performs atrocity monitoring, legal interventions, and national and international advocacy to achieve a three-pronged objective: (1) to hold the State accountable for all Human Rights violations committed against Dalits; (2) to sensitize civil society by raising visibility of the Dalit problem; and (3) to render justice to Dalit victims of discrimination and violence. NCDHR National Secretariat, 8/1, 2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar, New Delhi-110008, Phone: 011-25842249. Email: ncdhr@vsnl.net Website: http://www.ncdhr.org.in/ V. VOLUNTARY ACTION NETWORK INDIA (VANI) VANI is an apex body of Indian NGOs. It is a network comprising of network federations, organizations and individuals. It has a base of 2500 NGOs, spread out in 25 states of India. VANI has been working as a catalyst between central and state governments and their machineries on one hand and Indian NGOs on the other. It represents NGOs’ concerns and issues through policy advocacy, networking and sensitizing the government and other stakeholders. Address: BB-5, First Floor, Kailash Enclave –II, New Delhi-110048 Phone: 11-29226632, 11-29228127, 11-41435536 E-mail: info@vaniindia.org Website: http://www.vaniindia.org/ |
We Welcome Our Newly Joined Members to Credibility Alliance - A Network of Voluntary Organizations in India to promote norms of good governance and public disclosure. Our New Members: Kherwadi Social Welfare Association, Maharashtra Jan Sewa Parishad, Jharkhand Tribal Foundation, Jharkhand Lok Pragiti Kendra, Jharkhand Santal Pargana Antyodaya Ashram, Jharkhand Bhagwati Development Samitee, Jharkhand Prabala Samaj Sevi Sanstha, Jharkhand Onkar Seva Sansthan, Jharkhand Jay Vasundhara, Jharkhand SHUBHAM, Bihar.
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VII NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT (NAPM) VIII. VOLUNTARY HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (VHAI) IX. NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO INFORMATION (NCPRI) |
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Good Practices of a member organization from West Bengal We wanted to remain transparent and accountable from the beginning. After becoming a member of Credibility Alliance we were benefited not only in terms of developing better understanding about transparency and accountability issues but we also received guidance on how to make it a reality for our organization. In the beginning we did not have any well-defined personnel policy. Soon we realized the importance of it and developed one after discussions with our key stakeholders. The personnel policy was formulated to spell out specific issues in line with the organizational philosophy. We follow the personnel policy as the main guideline for recruitment, resignation, reasons and procedure fro removal, duties and responsibilities, performance appraisal, resource mobilization and approval process, project review, proposal writing and approval process, reporting schedules and formats, reimbursement policies, hours of work and leave. We give a copy of the personnel policy along with the appointment letter to all our employees. Our association with Credibility Alliance has resulted in PRISM feeling more aware about its responsibilities towards different stakeholders. It has become a rule within our organization to consider feedback and suggestions from different stakeholders. For example, during our Annual General Meeting (AGM) we have started inviting individuals from different NGOs, academicians, researchers, administrators, and eminent citizens to be present as witness of the proceedings. We feel this has helped in many ways. We got suggestions regarding our work. We also felt administration, research and academic institutes are more open to the idea of collaborating with us because of the clarity they have about our work. Some of the individuals who are not from the voluntary sector expressed that the AGM had stimulated them to question the stereotypes they had held about NGOs. We have started translating our Annual Reports in Bengali. We disseminate them in cluster meetings so that all our beneficiaries and community members are informed about the major aspects of our work. We realized that there was a need for us to develop participatory mechanisms of governance. Hence we took a policy decision that one nominated member of our Governing Body would be from the community organizations and groups with whom we work. This year our Self Help Group federation nominated its Secretary to our Governing Body. We feel comfortable when we think of our work in the light of the Right to Information Act 2005. Although it’s not applicable to voluntary sector organizations, we feel proud that we comply with what we preach for in society. We believe the steps we have taken to improve our accountability and transparency have helped us move towards becoming a ‘Peoples organization’. - Aniurddha Dey, Professional Institute for Development and Socio Environmental Management (PRISM), Kolkata.
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We welcome contributions in the form of articles, stories of change (from member organizations), views, and any other relevant piece of work on NGO transparency, accountability and governance from members, researchers, experts, and development workers. All contributions will be duly acknowledged. You may send them in hard copies or preferably via email to camumbai07@gmail.com |
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Credibility Alliance is a registered organization under Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860. As an independent, voluntary (not for profit) organization, we aim at building trust among the stakeholders of an organization such as staff, the Board, donors, volunteers, the general public and the media. We do this by advocating norms for public disclosure and good governance that will help organizations become more transparent and accountable to their stakeholders. The draft of our norms was published in 2003 in English and later translated into six other languages – Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. More than 15000 copies of this booklet have been distributed. |
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To know more about us please write at: Credibility Alliance 3rd Floor, West Khetwadi Municipal School, Lane# 5, Back Road Khetwadi, Mumbai -400004. Ph: 022-23894046/47 Visit us at: www.credall.org.in |