Systemic Recommendations for NGOS  

(Code Of Conduct For Non Profits (Ngo’s)

- Sundar Vadaon

Voluntary sector, NGOs not profit making organizations   sector has become very important in 21^st century. The sector is growing rapidly all over the World.

          Further Corporate Social Responsibility has grown tremendously in the last two decades. Several corporate sector  social development outfits viz Bill Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation , etc., are doing yeoman service all over the world in combating poverty, HIV-AIDS, Cancer, Landmines, and with so many other approaches of social development.

           Community banking also has become a very important sector of development. Several banks all over the world are involved in a big way in Social developmental activities

          Individual philanthropy has grown leaps and bounds in developed nations viz., USA, UK, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand. It is also growing in countries like India, China and South Africa.

          All the above approaches are leading to implementation of social development projects by the NGOs in developing Countries.

Several Countries viz India, USA, South Africa, Canada have evolved laws and certain mechanism of Government Coordination of social development funds of NGOs. Yet the sole responsibility, accountability and transparency of managing the expenditure of funds of the NGOs, lies purely with NGOs since several Governments are still respecting the Social Work by Non Profits and keeping Non Profits in high pedestal without much interference from the Government.

          In such a situation of freedom of Non Profits, the Non Profits are required to evolve a code of conduct for them selves. But the real problem of Non Profits unfortunately is that many of them do not see eye to eye with each other. On the top of it not many, several of them are working in competition with each other, and also in seen and unseen conflict with each other.

          In India in the State of A.P., in Ranga Reddy, Ananthapur and Chittoor districts several NGOs are complaining and petitioning against each other. There are several negative campaigns, being run by a few organizations, against the other organizations. Many functionaries within the organization also have several grievances against the Bosses of the organizations or lack of accessibility and interaction.

          While many of the Non profits are doing wonderful work, of reaching out to the unreached, helping those who are in need, working in the most hostile areas at times, working against odds many a times, coming to the rescue of millions of people effected by natural disasters, and lighting the lamps in the lives of millions of poor all over the World, a few black sheep here and there are unfortunately tarnishing the image of the Non Profits.

Hence there is the need of Code Conduct for the NGOs. A few NGOs in several districts of Andhra Pradesh and other States of India and in other Countries have shown the way by forming federations of the NGOs. They are conducting regular meetings of the members of the federations, deliberating the issues concerning them and social work and coming with certain resolutions on coordinating mechanisms, promotive activities, sharing of expertise and experience, and conflict resolutions. The author has the unique opportunity of promoting such federations in chittoor, Ananthapur, and Ranga Reddy districts of Andhra Pradesh. The author also had the unique opportunity of participating in the meetings of such federations in Andhra Pradesh and other States of India. The need of the hour is cooperation, coordination, conflict resolution, multi sectoral Coordination and convergence among the NGOs first, and among the NGOs the Government and the Stake holders of the projects next.

          There is an urgent need for Capacity Building of NGOs. Capacity Building in the areas of building up the organizations, creating infrastructure, training the manpower, technical expertise, effective implementation of the projects, subject matter specialization  of various subjects, managerial skills, Procedures and formalities, Government  and the NGOs collaboration, multisectoral coordinations and convergence, proper documentation, management information systems, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, action research, impact assessment and social audit is urgently required for the Non Profits.

          Inspite of tremendous growth of non profit sector all over the world, it is unfortunate that the required focus and attention on this sector is not forth coming to the extent required from the Government departments and agencies, of several countries all over the World.

          Govt. officials are required to be trained so as to enable them to appreciate the work of non profits, as well as to have a proper & positive approach towards NGOs.  The  indifference, lack of tolerance, exploitative, repressive and negative approaches of the officials towards NGO are required to be reoriented towards positive and promotive approaches by Capacity Building training Programmes.

          It is also unfortunate that there are no promoting polices, no environmental building, no coordination, no cooperation to the required extent from the government to the Non profits. Several Countries unfortunately have negative and repressive approaches towards Non Profits and Social development all over the world.

          It is also highly regrettable that the Government of India which floats funds to the NGOs to a tune of more than Rs.10, 000 crores per annum, directly and involves the NGOs in the  schemes viz National, Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Integrated Water Shed Development Scheme, Drought Prone Area Programme, Tribal development etc to a tune of Rs. 50,000 crores per annum has not come with any tangible and sustainable approaches of collaboration and coordination with NGOs, and there are not many training Programmes organized by the Govt. of India for Capacity Building of the NGOs.

          Based on an innovative approach given by the author, the Govt. of AP has formed a Govt. & NGO coordination cell in AP headed by the Hon’ble CM, and district level coordination cells headed by the district in-charge Ministers.  After few meetings, unfortunately the theme of an institutionalized coordination and collaboration in between the Govt. & the NGOs is yet to make any headway inspite of a coordination committee in place. Many a times we are victims of the systems in our great Nation, and silent sufferers of red-tapism inertia, indifference, and laid back approach of the majority of the bureaucracy of our country. Good governance in its true sense is yet to dawn both in India and several other Countries of the World.

          The less we talk about lack of information, non implementation of Right to information, non cooperation for social development and wide spared prevalence of corruption both in the Govt. and Non profits, more the better since it opens up plethora of issues and panderos box, where in we may loose the sight of good work being done by a few bureaucrats and many non profits in various countries of the World.

          To set the matters right, there are several measures that are required to be taken up for proper functioning of the non profits as well as in evolving code of conduct for the NGOs.

Important issues and suggestions are:

1.                 Govt. of India, various State Govts. are required immediately to evolve people friendly, promotive, positive policies of the Govt., NGOs and the Stakeholders collaboration aimed at sustainable development.

2.                 NGOs are required to work in collaboration with stakeholders and Govt. and reorient their approaches and convert their organizations as professional organizations.

3.                 There is an urgent need for planning by non profits and evolve long term, short term, and annual Plans aimed at sustainable development.

4.                 The Plans may include Geo-graphical areas, projects, and important fields of work, finances as well as collaboration and net working mechanisms.

5.                 There is need for formation of federations of the NGOs and coordination committees of the Govt. and NGOs and sharing of information, expertise, resources and areas of operations.

6.                 There is need for transparency, participation of stake holders in the developmental process including stake holders decision making in the organizations, on the lines of Grammena Bank of Bangladesh where self help group members are 3 board of directors out of 12 directors of the Board of Grammena Bank.

7.                 NGOs must be accessible, both to the functionaries in their organization as well as to the stake holders. Lack of accessibility is a serious lapse on their part and is a major disappointment to the stake holders.

8.                 There is need for democratization of the functioning of the NGOs, where-in one person shows must end, group functioning, and group decision making must give way to the stake holders, due share in the decisions making of the functioning of the organizations.

9.                 Training in the Capacity Building is urgently required in all the areas viz., managerial skills, technical expertise, financial management, MIS, impact assessment, and social audit. The training programmes be implemented by both the Govt. & the NGOs for the officials as well as the NGOs.

10.            Capacity Building also should focus on democratization of functioning of NGOs, stake holders participation and decision making stake holders satisfaction of the services being provided by the NGOs.

11.            The NGOs must exercise restraint and not to resort to empire building, exhibiting  luxuries & wealth including of costly gold, juwellary and diamonds, luxury Vehicles, luxury travel, Lavish life style and to be in the air at the slightest opportunity and in conferencing eternally and living globally and not locally, which are unfortunate ills and side effects of the social development.

12.            The NGOs must fallow 80:20 principle and the 80% of the resources must go for implementation of the projects while the establishment and training cost to be limited to 20% on an average.

13.            The functioning of the NGO must be transparent, must account for all the funding mobilized, not resort to double booking, pilferage of funds, and not involve in simultaneous ventures like real estate and investments.

14.            The Federation of the NGOs in collaboration with the stake holders and the Govt. must release performance grades, based on the indicators of the development, impact assessment, social audit and the satisfaction of the stake holders.

15.            Good grade NGOs will function and others unfortunately may not survive in the bargain.

Ultimately the urgent need of the hour is to design the code of conduct for non profits, which that must come voluntarily with commitment, sincerity, service motive, to serve and to sustain on long run but not to gain and run a-way from the social development on a short spell.

Organizations who will have the code of conduct, and offer good quality services to the stake holders satisfaction only will progress and prosper and others may unfortunately have to perish and disappear from the social development.

The choice of reorienting the organizations as professional organizations and voluntarily follow the code of conduct purely and solely is the responsibility of the NGOs themselves, and for their welfare and for the welfare of the people for which they are working.