Transcript Slide 1

their roles and
influence in the
lives of PWDs /
families /
communities
Partners Meet 2007
G. Venkatesa Reddy,
Senior Officer
CBR Forum,
14, CK Garden, Wheeler Road Extn, Bangalore – 560 084
Tel. 080-25497387 or 25497388, [email protected]
What is a Federation?
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Representatives of 15-20 SHGs come together to form and
function as a democratic unit / federation to fulfill / address the
joint needs of PWDs / Group of SHGs.
It is a forum for regular interaction and networking.
It is a forum to sustain efforts made by small groups in socioeconomic development initiatives.
Needs of SHGs, aspirations, opinions, suggestions,
recommendations should be respected.
SHGs members are the owners and managers and they should
have the decision making power on Federation functions /
management.
Federation should be accountable to SHGs and should function
with transparency.
Federation should promote unity, solidarity and collective
strength.
In the context of disability, it is a disabled people’s
movement, working to bring about a lasting social
change and working for their rightful inclusion in
society.
Why are we promoting a federation?
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To sustain the process of people’s initiative and power.
To promote unity and collective strength.
To identify and address developmental needs of the SHGs.
To sustain the efforts in the socio- economic, health, education and
employment realms.
To establish rapport among SHGs.
To learn and co-operate with each other.
To promote organizational identity, i.e., different from NGOs.
To influence the govt. and the local community.
To promote leadership.
To take the responsibility to improve their own life.
Pre-conditions to form
a Federation
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Strong SHGs in place.
Should have interest to establish a federation.
Records / files are kept in place at SHGs.
SHGs should have developed a system of conducting
regular review and planning meetings of their
activities.
SHGs should run effectively for at least one year.
Steps to form Federation
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Identify the compact / cluster area (it should be 5-7 km).
Conduct common meeting for all the representatives of the SHGs in the
above area.
Discuss whether they would like to form a federation.
Sharing of SHG experience – achievements / disappointments.
Facilitating cross learning or group to group learning / support.
Strong representative of SHG should attend the meeting and share their
experience.
Inter group support should be organized at cluster level to help sustain
newer SHGs.
Initially SHGs will attend federation meetings as observers.
Membership in federation
What should be the size of a federation, and
at what level should it be formed?
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Encourage federations with a membership of not less than 10 and
not more than 20 SHGs, with a view to ensure maximum
participation of PWDs while keeping the size and scale of activities
manageable.
If necessary, higher level federations (i.e. federation of
federations) could be promoted at a later date. Before this is done,
it should be clearly thought out and the activities should be welldefined.
Activities that federation should do
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Regular review of and reflection on SHG activities.
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Strengthen SHGs through ideas, suggestions, exposure visits, audits,
capacity building / training, etc.
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Collect and disseminate relevant, useful, and interesting information
to SHGs
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Take up activities of benefit to member SHGs and communities.
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Take up activities that strengthen the federations themselves.
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Federations should not be encouraged to take on such functions that
the individual SHGs could perform on their own.
What are the key management features of a
federation ?
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Ensuring continuity
Federation Meeting
Rules and regulations
Responsibility-sharing
Maintain books and documents
Appraisal, monitoring, and evaluation
What should be the training imparted to
federations?
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The training would be at two levels:
At the SHG level:
At least one training session per SHG for all SHG
members on the concept of federations, roles of
federations, and their own roles as members.
At the federation level:
3-4 training programmes attended by all federation
level representatives on key topics related to the
efficient functioning of federations.
Empowerment of PWDs/ SHGs
through federation
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Growth in people’s awareness and confidence.
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Ability to articulate problems.
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Gaining access to resources and public facilities.
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Negotiating over relations between different
social groups.
Empowering SHGs and communities, the capacities
required include:
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Capacity to organize in relation to social goals or to bring about
enduring improvements in livelihoods and resistance to economic
vulnerability.
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Improving their negotiating skills and inter-personal relations.
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Enabling them to know how to relate with development officials.
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Capacity to change power structures or struggle for greater control
over resources or decision-making processes.
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Capacity to organize, change, learn and consolidate.
Should the registration of federation be
promoted?
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If federation take initiative on their own to be
registered, they could go ahead with it.
The federations will be oriented to follow all
good practices that are needed of a registered
body, including audits.
Requirements for registration of
federation
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Give a name to the federation
Have an official address
Selection of General Body Members and
Governing Body Members
Membership fee charged by the federation from
its member SHGs Training for the governing body
Approval of the bylaws
System to maintain records, accounts etc. in
place
Partner NGOs role in promotion and
development of federation
Preparatory Stage:
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Discussions at SHG level on federation.
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Training at SHG level on concept and roles of
federations and their own roles as members.
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Selection of SHG representatives to the federation,
and orientation to the selected representatives.
Partner NGOs role in promotion and
development of federation
Formation Stage – (0-6M)
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Facilitate framing of vision, Mission, Goals
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Facilitate framing of rules and regulations,
activity plans, and clarify functions, roles
and responsibilities of federation and
members
Partner NGOs role in promotion and
development of federation
Stabilization Stage – (6 -24M)
Capacity building inputs
 Facilitate processes on manner of
operationalizing activity plans in accordance
with Vision and Mission.
 Facilitate building linkages with Govt. and
other institutions.
 Facilitate establishment of documentation,
financial management systems, and audits.
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Partner NGOs role in promotion and
development of federation
Phasing out Stage – (25-36M)
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Continue to attend federation meetings
periodically and facilitate federation
strengthening processes.
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Introduce system of conducting periodic
participatory evaluations.
Partner NGOs role in promotion and
development of federation
Withdrawal Stage – (36m - above)
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Occasional ‘friendly’ appearances at meetings
and events organized by the federation.
Should a federation
engage in fund-raising?
For what purpose?
Fund raising can include the following:
 Membership fees as a one-time payment from member
SHGs.
 Monthly contributions from member SHGs.
 Fines from member SHGs for violations of rules, etc.
 Bank interest earned on the account of the federation.
 Donations from any source.
 Contributions from
other institutions for programmes
within the scope of the federation’s objectives.
 Service charges (when the federation’s services are used
for any work).
 Income earned from any income-generating programme
taken up by the federation.
Should a federation
engage in fund-raising?
For what purpose?
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Federations require funds to meet their own
operating costs. Even with a limited range of
activities, they still need money to open a
bank account, purchase books of accounts,
files, stationery, etc., pay a book-writer, host
tea for members at federation meetings, meet
travel expenses, and so on.
How can a federation establish credibility
and legitimacy?
Credibility and legitimacy should
Be established in the eyes of member SHGs
and in the community
The following factors contribute to this process:
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attaining the features of an organization
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showing good results in relation to objectives.
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building good relations with the Govt. and as many
institutions as possible.
What to encourage?
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Circulation of federation meeting minutes to all member
SHGs.
Sharing of responsibility among all member SHGs.
Periodic audits and sharing of audit findings with member
SHGs.
Planning of all activities with focus on Vision, Mission, and
Goals.
Periodic assessment of achievements against plans.
Training programmes to strengthen the federation.
Regular update all the necessary books, reports, and
other documents.
What not to encourage?
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Use the federation to achieve an outside agenda.
Pay travel costs and food costs for members attending federation
meetings.
NGO takes the responsibility for calling federation meetings.
Host federation meetings on NGO premises (our experience shows
that they will expect us to make all the arrangements including
cleaning up after the meeting).
NGO gets involved in decision making on behalf of the federation.
NGO holds or writes the books and documents of the federation.
NGO is a signatory to the federation account.
Pay faculty charges, service fees, etc. directly to federation members,
if they are engaged as resource persons.
Give subsidies / grants to the federation.
Grading criteria for federation of SHGs
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Vision and Mission
Developed by the federation and known to all at the federation as
well as the member SHG level.
Organisational Management
Appropriate size maintained, Regular meetings, regular attendance.
Rules and regulations in place, Sharing of responsibilities.
Financial management
Bank account , Fund raising, Fund utilisation.
Book keeping, Auditing, reporting, and follow-up.
Organisational accountability
Rotation of representatives.
Sharing of information.
Distribution of benefits.
Linkages
Linkages with Govt. and other institutions.
Learning and evaluation
Regular training programmes.
Work reviews and performance appraisals.
Appraisal, monitoring, and evaluation
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The federation prepares a monthly financial statement
(MFS).
The work of the federation is reviewed at each monthly
meeting.
An appraisal of performance is done once a year,
against established targets and indicators.
An annual get-together of all members from all member
SHGs where certain basic information on the
performance of the federation will be compulsorily
shared.
Empowerment of PWDs through
federation
All the above to lead to their empowerment!
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Empowering may be understood as
‘Enabling people, especially PWDs, to acquire and possess
power resources in order to enable them to make
decisions on their own or resist decisions that are made by
others which affect them.
Thank you
G Venkatesa Reddy, Sr.Officer
CBR Forum, 14, C.K.Garden,
Wheelers Road Extn., St. Thomas Town
Post,
Bangalore – 560 084.
Phone:080-25497387/25497388
Email:[email protected]