Orissa Civil Society and Poverty Programme (OCSPP)

Objectives

• Strengthening civil society capacity to:
  • Produce knowledge relevant to pro- poor policy making
  • Articulate the voice of poor and marginalized people in policy arenas.
  • Articulate the interests and concerns of different groups among the poor particularly marginalized, women and disabled people.
• Strengthen local governance institutions, such as PRIs and municipalities.

Geographical spread

The project was implemented in 19 districts of Orissa with the help of 33 organizations.

Key areas / components

• Being the Project Management Agency (PMA) of OCSPP, PRIA had the primary responsibility of monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the projects being implemented by partner CSOs.
• PRIA also facilitated documentation of the innovations, good practices, key learnings and experiences and organized forums for sharing and dissemination of the knowledge. The team associated with the project made regular visits to the partner organizations to monitor and review the progress of the project including financial aspects, help and guide the project staff in effective implementation of the project and provide hand-holding support as and when required.
• PRIA made a capacity building need assessment of the partner CSOs. On the basis of the common needs of the organizations it conducted several training programmes to build their capacities. As a part of capacity building, PRIA provided handholding support to the partner organizations for carrying out research on 5 topics, i.e., role of panchayat in service delivery, role of panchayat in natural resource management, status of implementation of RTI in Orissa, status of implementation of NREGA in Orissa, and status of implementation of decentralization of power in Orissa.
• PRIA also conducted a management audit to review the financial management system of the partner CSOs as well as to help the organizations strengthen their financial management systems.
• Review meetings were conducted at regular intervals with the partner organizations to review the progress of individual projects in particular and OCSPP in general. These meetings created opportunities for mutual learning among the organizations.
• OCSPP had a nine- member Steering Group consisting of representatives from DFID, PRIA, civil society and government. The group met regularly, at least once every quarter, and reviewed the progress of the programme. As an apex body it took decisions on policy issues and approved programme related decisions.

Key outputs

• The partner CSOs were able to mobilize communities to raise their concerns on various issues like demand for work under NREGA, payment of proper and equal wages, monitoring of primary school and mid-day meal provision, PDS, RTI, demanding claims under Forest Rights Act, etc.
• Communities began raising their voice and critically questioning different government schemes and programs.
• People centered participatory plans developed to address poverty related developmental issues. Effective facilitation of micro planning exercises among community people and potential stakeholders created a collaborative sense of accountability. The micro plan was prepared as a dynamic document, expected to be updated at regular intervals.
• Efforts were undertaken by the CSOs to streamline and strengthen the palli sabhas and gram sabhas. Increased awareness among PRI representatives about their roles and responsibilities and obligations for poor people lead to increased participation in palli sabhas and gram sabhas.
• Inclusive approach taken up by the CSOs to involve dalits and other marginalized and vulnerable groups in their operational areas.
• Efforts taken up by the CSOs to collaborate with PRIs for convergence of different development programmes.
• The trainings organized for the partners helped in enhancing their knowledge and skills on various themes. The research skills of the partner organizations were enhanced by undertaking joint research on common themes.
• Partner organisations sensitized on gender issues and efforts were taken up for equal opportunities and facilities to women. Formation of Committee Against Sexual Harassment in the partner organizations.
• Women were empowered and their participation in the decision making process in the decentralised governance increased. Participation of youth and women directly in governance and related campaigns/issues initiated a marked change in gender attitude of the community and the women themselves.
• The various interfaces with different stake holders drew the attention of various stakeholders including government line department towards initiating a common idea for poverty alleviation from the region.

Year/period

2005-2008

Client

Department for International Development (DfID)