Governance

December 10, 2015

THE NRLM-MGNREGS-CFT Convergence Project: A Weapon for Change

Providing a platform for women’s collectives to collaborate with PRIs and the state administration, and to actively design appropriate plans for the social and economic needs of their communities, the CFT project is slowly transforming the face of not only MGNREGA but also of other ailing social schemes as well
December 2, 2015

Joining Hands for MGNREGA

Realizing the need to have women participate in the governance of their villages so that they can contribute more effectively to their own well-being and the society they live in, Sampurnna and PRADAN take on the responsibility of unleashing the immense power of people at the grass roots for development action
November 20, 2015

The Impact of the MGNREGA–CFT Programme: Steps towards Transformation

Campaigning for the Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise and initiating village level meetings, the Sarguja Gramin Vikas Sansthan, through MGNREGS and a series of effective interventions, has been successful in transforming barren, eroded lands to flourishing fields yielding different crops and fruit all year round
October 19, 2015

CFTs in Maharashtra

Required to be run by the government and be embedded in the local community, Cluster Facilitation Teams need to provide the necessary impetus to generate demand, to create the right type of infrastructure for the people and the area, and to strengthen gram panchayats to take decisions for their communities
October 18, 2015

Exploring Mendha Lekha: An Ideal Village

Stepping out of the position of being a passive receiver of state largesse, a tiny village in Maharashtra has found its power, over the last two decades, in a collective decisionmaking process that takes cognisance of the needs and capabilities of each of its people, paving the way for enhanced confidence to interact with the government, agencies and the outside world, and creating living conditions and environment worth emulating
October 17, 2015

Kudumbashree-PRI Collaboration in Kerala: An Approach to Poverty Alleviation

Starting in a modest way by engaging in neighbourhood groups, the Kudumbashree model spread like wildfire through the state of Kerala, which was already practising devolution of power and decentralized planning; it became “a process, a project and a delivery mechanism for the poor.”
October 10, 2015

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK Reflections on the MGNREGA-NRLM Convergence CFT Project

Seeking to transfer, in a sustained and well-designed manner, the knowledge of best practices and theoretical understanding of concepts from CSOs to frontline functionaries, the CFT project promises rich and multi-fold dividends from this investment in human resources, impacting all programmes at the block level
October 9, 2015

Deepening Democracy

Emphasizing the immense value of having women in leadership roles in village bodies, this article laments the restrictive steps being taken by governments to impose mandatory criteria such as having a bathroom in the house or being able to read and write on candidates wishing to contest elections
September 4, 2015

Applying Organization Development Principles in Gram Panchayats to Effect Change: A Case Study

That gram panchayats through organization development, including appropriate organization design, incentive structures, and behaviour norms, strengthen and improve local governance and ensure service delivery to citizens at the last mile effectively is being proved in Karnataka and Maharashtra
September 1, 2015

PRI–CBO Convergence: Democratic Equations

Carving out an alternative space for ensuring the advancement of the interests of the poor, community based organizations work with panchayati raj institutions in many areas of public service delivery and poverty alleviation, despite deficient state laws and policies on the one hand and inadequate human and financial resources on the other