THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ON ROLE OF NGOs (CHAPTER 1) ……..NGOs can complement government’s efforts by bringing in additional funds, expertise and single-minded commitment to causes. Experience in countries like Ethiopia shows that the sector is not without its inherent disadvantages. The tendency to replace government efforts, competing with the political class for gaining community loyalty, denial of ownership of programs to the community members and creating a perception of being condescending, are the negative factors. NGOs could put their intrinsic strengths to good advantage by operating at the apex level extending wholesaling, funding, training, technical assistance and consultancy services. The grassroots could be left free for community institutions, NGOs promoted by local initiatives and cooperatives – the last, as in the case of Ethiopia. Thus, overall, NGOs do have an important contribution to make toward development but the country’s context, political sensitivities and the strengths of locally bred institutions would determine the kind of structure which NGOs could fit into to enhance the total effect. ON CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL MARKETERS (FROM CHAPTER 2) Social marketing is more challenging than commercial marketing, since most often it is engaged in “selling” ideas for adoption and bringing about sustainable behavioral transformation. Promoting a healthy diet and getting people to change their dietary habits are good examples of social marketing. Any attempt at changing behavior, and in most cases on permanent basis, inevitably faces resistance. In commercial marketing accepting the use of a product also involves change but of a type that allows trial and reversal if the change is unacceptable, without serious consequences. Even after change to the new product, adherence to it for a period of time, comprising many repeat cycles of purchase and use, is enough to meet the commercial objectives of the marketer. So the marketer does not have to seek a permanent irreversible change to his new product. In social issues involving health, drug use etc. not only is change needed but it has to be a permanent self-sustained change in a habit or behavior pattern. Unlike in commercial marketing where the change (say, to a new product) is offered for the choice of the prospective buyer, although subject to “hard- sell” persuasion, in social behavior non-adoption is fraught with risks to health. The target group may not recognize the need to change their diet and even if they did, might offer resistance to the very idea of change as change is unsettling and, therefore, imparts a sense of insecurity and uncertainty. (Bellamy et al, 1997)2. ON RELATIONSHIPS (FROM CHAPTER 3) The nature of the relationship between government and NGOs varies from country to country ranging from one of mutual distrust to that of harmonious partnership complementing each other according to relative strengths and deficiencies. NGOs get financial and technical assistance from domestic and external funding agencies and philanthropists. The less developed a country the higher are the chances of a large portion of the total fund flow from external sources. With reasonably good supply of funds and technical training reinforced by a relatively higher accountability to funding agencies, many NGOs are able to acquit themselves well in accomplishing set objectives compared to local government bodies entrusted with similar responsibilities. Political parties suspect the larger influence of NGO leadership over local populations as a source of rival influence in times of elections to local, state or central bodies. This complex tends to prevail in less developed economies where domestic resources are scarce and poverty is acute. DOES ACCOUNTABILITY IMPINGE ON AUTONOMY? (FROM CHAPTER 4) They (NGOs) are accountable for two major aspects – one, in the sense of accounting for resources received and spent and two, how effectively the resources produced impact with reference to objectives stated in terms of social change. Accountability and autonomy often provide the basis for grievance and friction between the benefactor and the beneficiary organizations. The latter argues that accountability is constraining their decision making freedom and ability to respond speedily to changing field situations. The former justifies, for example, the periodicity and content of reporting formats as a means of ensuring that unmonitored managerial freedom does not lead to inefficiency and/or misuse. It is not a question of choosing one or the other – accountability or autonomy. Both the concepts are valid and needed; but they need to be balanced since too much of one is bad for the other, affecting organizational effectiveness. They are not antithetical as they may seem. They are incompatible if the brake and the accelerator in an automobile are considered incompatible. The presence of the brake facilitates safe acceleration and speed. Accountability and autonomy thus provide the organization the necessary check and balance to make for stability and growth. A balance between rigid accountability and total autonomy has to be achieved. ON SUSTAINABILITY (FROM CHAPTER 5) Sustainability can be viewed in four stages. First, funding in the hands of good leadership is the basic means by which the organization can function to fulfill its mission. The basic means comprise money and leadership. Second, money in the hands of a dedicated leader can create the mechanism to deliver the services or output - namely, the organizational structure, managerial systems and technical competence. The delivery mechanism comprises institutional strength and technical competence. Third, appropriate marketing strategies and tools comprise the program and its implementation methodologies which can be called the output. Fourth is the outcome – are the effects of the NGO’s projects of a lasting self-sustaining nature? The effects may, by design, be confined to a target group or aimed at involving the whole community in a way that community institutions take over the replication of the model program to cover the whole community. ON TOOLS (FROM ANNEXES) The book offers two practical tools – the first is a Social Marketing Model suggesting a checklist of good practices and the second, a Rating Guide for NGOs that can be used either for honest self-evaluation or for independent assessment.