DFID Orissa Civil Society abd Poverty Programme

How to Apply for Support to DFID Orissa Civil Society and Poverty Programme

ADDRESS: 

Civil Society and Poverty Programme 
Department for International Development 
17 Forest Park 
Bhubaneshwar 751001 
Orissa
India

DFID STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

DFID's aim is the elimination of poverty in developing countries.

DFID's specific objectives are:

1. Policies and actions which promote sustainable livelihoods 
2. Better education, health and opportunities for poor people 
3. Protection and better management of the natural and physical environment

Summary of DFID (India) Orissa State Programme Core Objectives

DFID (India) is building long-term partnerships with four Indian states as a key part of its strategy for helping to achieve the International Development Targets in India. The four states are Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Orissa is India's poorest state and faces serious constraints to meet the needs of its poor. Its growth rate has lagged behind the national average for several decades, with agricultural growth, the largest contributor to GSDP and employment, performing particularly poorly. Education and health indicators show that human development in Orissa lags significantly behind the national average. The state faces severe financial crisis, which inhibits efforts to address the needs of the poor.

The DFID state programme has four core objectives: 

1. Supporting governance and fiscal reform 
2. Promoting human development
3. Improving sustainable livelihoods 
4. Strengthening social inclusion, rights and empowerment

DFID aims to develop partnerships with civil society organisations (CSOs) in order to help strengthen the capacity of poor people to articulate their needs, and to improve the policies that affect them. CSOs can contribute to accelerating development and expanding democracy, within the existing frameworks of policies. For this they often need to expand capacity in advocacy methods and techniques: for example, in budget monitoring, awareness of entitlements, strengthening dialogue with the state on pro-poor policies, women empowerment, local self governance, voter campaigns, or case studies on alternative development initiatives.

The programme

DFID is now launching its support programme to develop partnerships with CSOs in Orissa. CSOs are hereby invited to send in expressions of interest with a concept note detailing their areas of work, organisation track record and resource capacity. We are asking for concept notes, of about two pages, that outline a proposed work programme along those lines.

We will support activities that contribute to accountability, responsiveness and transparency in governance, and improving the dialogue between civil society and government. A note on the objectives is attached. In particular, we will support organisations that help strengthen the capacity of local organisations that represent the interests of poor and marginalized, and help them to articulate their concerns more effectively. It may support organisations that help enhance capacities of grassroots level organisations such as Self Help Groups, Pani Panchayats, Vana Surakhya Samities, etc. We will support instruments and approaches that help to increase capacity, like resource centres, training programmes, links with advocacy organisations outside Orissa, and initiatives like social audits. A key question will be how these initiatives will strengthen local capacity for engagement in policies and programmes in a sustained way.

The following criteria will be key for providing support:

• the track record of organisations and networks;
• focus on working with and supporting capacity of small organisations, particularly in remote areas;
• we will aim to fund organisation that combine grass-roots activities with advocacy work that helps to inform policies with pilot and micro experience; 
• the financial limit for support is £20,000 although in exceptional circumstances proposals above this ceiling may be considered.

Eligibility to apply for Support 

1. The NGOs applying for partnership through this programme must be registered under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act 1976. 
2. The recipient organisation should have been in existence for a minimum of 5 years, and be based in Orissa.
3. The organisation must be self-sufficient or having a regular source of funding for its own running (salaries, rent and administration) costs.
4. The recipient organisations accounts must be subject to Annual Audited Statements every year.

How to Apply 

All expressions of interest must contain the following: 

1. A Project Concept note detailing the area of work, project goal, purpose, target groups, problems proposed to be addressed, resources required, inputs, time frame, risks involved. 
2. An accompanying profile of the organisation briefly describing mission, areas of work, resources, geographical area, management and funding sources. 
3. A copy of the latest Annual Audited Statements. 
4. A copy of the registration under FCRA. 
5. A copy of the NGOs Memorandum of Understanding. 
6. CV of head of the organisation (one page).

Note: The project Concept Note and the accompanying profile should not be more than 5pages. 

Deadline for application: 1 October 2003

Annex Orissa: Objectives Civil Society and Poverty Programme

Orissa is facing serious fiscal constraints, which naturally impact its poverty alleviation programmes. With a large percentage of people below the poverty line, government implements a wide range of schemes aimed at poverty reduction. The formulation and implementation of such schemes and programmes can be strengthened with improved consultation with poor people and civil society, as can communication about reforms.

Civil society plays an important role in the development of Orissa. Like the rest of India, Orissa has many civil society organizations (CSOs). Apart from youth clubs, religious units and small welfare organizations, it is estimated that in Orissa there are nearly 5000 NGOs with established infrastructure and regular staff. These organizations played a significant role in the aftermath of the cyclone. The focus of some CSOs is shifting from service delivery to advocacy.

Most CSOs in Orissa lack knowledge and skills to engage in dialogue with the state and other actors in an effective manner without being seen as playing an adversarial role. The following constraints have been noted: 

• A lack of effective interaction between CSOs and government, and restriction of CSOs role to service delivery. 
• CSO need to strengthen their capacities for advocacy, to understand macro-level policies and reforms. 
• There is much awareness raising activity by organizations in Orissa, but there is a general lack of experience on how to sustain campaigns.
• There is inadequate high quality analysis relating to policy reform, due to limited information and lack of skills among CSOs.
• Networking and federating between NGOs is limited. CSOs recognize the need for a stronger base to communicate civil society experiences. 

Project Goal

The DFID Programme will support activities that enhance accountability, responsiveness and transparency. The goal of the programme will be improved dialogue and collaboration between government and non-governmental actors. This implies strengthening voice, knowledge and identity:

• Enhancing transparency relates to clear procedures, public decision-making, and the absence of discretionary control of public officials. Poor people and CSOs need the knowledge to be able to benefit from and contribute to increased transparency, access to information, capacities to carry out for example social audits, and advocacy/research capacity and publications to feed into the policy process.
• Stronger responsiveness of the government refers to capacity to respond flexibly and predictably to citizens legitimate claims and entitlements. This implies the need for a proper articulation of the interests of 'the poor', particularly of different groups among the poor with separate identities. CSOs need to be able to articulate those different needs, for example regarding women or SC/ST representation in panchayats or user groups.
• Increased accountability relates to how government actions and policies are monitored, by commissions etc. Poor people need to be able to articulate voice, on specific issues and in the system of representative democracy. CSOs have a role to play in for example training of voters and local councillors, or strengthening capacity of media.

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