[Politics] Civil Society Organisations
Ranjith
Civil Society Organisations refer to the wide range of citizens’ associations that exists in virtually all member countries to provide benefits, services, or political influence to specific groups within society. CSOs include business forums, faith-based associations, labor unions, local community groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), philanthropic foundations, and think tanks. Branches of government, individual businesses, political parties, and the media are usually excluded.
In the quest for an alternate development model that is humanizing, equitable and environmentally sustainable, a people-centered development with greater people’s participation has been recognized as a new development paradigm today. In the globalised era, On the one hand, the state has been shrinking in its functions and resources and unable to meet the growing social welfare and developmental challenges, on the other, the profit motivated private enterprises though expanding rapidly, however, are little concerned with the social developmental considerations and rural development. The role of third sector i.e. the voluntary sector thus assumes special significance and it is widely recognized internationally and nationally. There is a greater need in strengthening the civil society i.e. the associations of people, families and communities which are independent and autonomous of the government & economic enterprises. CSOs have crucial role to play in strengthening of the civil society.
Note: In most cases CSOs and NGOs are used interchangeably, but NGOs are just part of it.
Definition of NGO: voluntary, dependent, not-for profit, self-serving.
There are two approaches to defining NGOs, broad and narrow, can be found:
- Broad: Every organisation in society that is not part of government and which operates in civil society. This includes political groups, labor and trade unions, religious bodies and institutions, guilds, sports clubs, arts and cultural societies, trade associations, professional associations.
- Narrow: A specific type of organisation working in the field of development, one that works with people to help them improve their social and economic situation and prospects.
History of NGO in India:
India has a long tradition of social service, social reform and voluntary agencies. NGOs emerged in India soon after Independence when Mahamata Gandhi made a plea for dissolving the Indian National Congress (the political party which came into power upon Independence), and transforming it into a Lok Sevak Sangh (Public Service Organization). This plea was, however, rejected; nevertheless, it did not halt the formation of non-governmental organizations in India. Many Gandhi followers established voluntary agencies to work closely with the governmental programs on social and economical issues. These agencies organized handicrafts and village industries, rural development programs, credit cooperatives, educational institutions, etc.
The second stage of growth of NGOs in India was around 1960 when many individuals noticed that the governmental programs seemed to be inadequate to deal with the deprived sections of India. These groups formed organizations that worked on behalf of the poor, the landless, the tribals, the bonded labourers, and many other social groups that were being discriminated against by the policies of the state and social structure. These grass roots organizations work at the micro-level and work with limited resources and lack of coordination.
Since Independence in 1947 until around 1980 there was little effort on the part of the Indian Government to define the role of a voluntary agency or to recognize its importance. In 1980, however, with the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985), the government identified new areas in which NGOs as new actors could participate in development. In 1986, the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) to encourage, promote and assist voluntary efforts in the implementation of rural development programmes. The series of recent empowering pieces of legislation—Right To Information, Forest Rights Act, Right to Education and rural employment guarantee Act—saw NGOs play a major role in their enactment.
The work undertaken by NGOs is wide-ranging but NGO roles can be usefully analyzed as having three main components:
· Implementer,-> mobilisation of resources to provide goods & services to the needy people. Increasingly ‘‘contracted’’ by governments and donors with governance reform and privatization policies
· Catalyst, -> NGO’s ability to inspire, facilitate or contribute to improved thinking and action to promote social transformation.
· Partner -> to work with government, donors and the private sector on joint activities
NGOs main activities: the delivery of basic services to people in need, and organizing policy advocacy and public campaigns for change. NGOs are also active in a wide range of specialized roles such as democracy building, conflict resolution, human rights work, cultural preservation, environmental activism, policy analysis, research, and information provision.
Community Based Organisations:
A community based organization can be defined as a public or private nonprofit organization that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community, and is engaged in meeting human, educational, environmental, or public safety community needs.
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CBOs |
NGOs |
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Work mainly to solve the problems of their members |
Mainly assist in solving the problems of others
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Have a narrow scope |
Area of scope of is much wider and usually involves multiple communities |
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Mainly established for the short-term objectives
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Usually work for long term objectives |
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Financed from internal and external sources
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Financed from external sources |
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These have the advantage of membership |
These have professionalism as their advantage |
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Raises issues and seeks solutions |
Work as a watchdog of Government institutions |
In the long term, NGOs will continue to play a larger role in nation-building. Increasing prosperity and increased focus on Corporate Social Responsibility spending will definitely help in increasing the focus on the disadvantaged sections of society. Those NGOs that are able to adopt best practices and bring about the maximum transparency through auditing and reporting will be best placed to receive a larger chunk of funds in the coming years. NGOs such as Akshya-Patra have grown enormously in scale by consistently delivering results year after year. CSR spending will benefit only the most credible organisations and allow them to grow in scale. This is a good trend, larger and more accountable NGOs will be able to deliver more effectively and efficiently, making best use of resources.
NGOs in the 21st century are increasingly operating in a more complex environment. On the one hand, they have higher levels of visibility and influence on government and business and the development discourse, but on the other hand, they are under new kinds of pressures revolving around their ‘operating environment’ and the need to respond to challenges to their accountability, transparency and legitimacy. What this tells us is that if civil society is to hold government to account, to act as a watchdog and challenge it in such areas as accountability and transparency, it needs itself to demonstrate how it addresses these questions.
References:
http://nehakamal.in/g-s-paper-2/development-industry-in-india-note-1-ngo-an-introduction/
http://nehakamal.in/g-s-paper-2/note-3-development-industry-in-india-the-third-sector/
http://nehakamal.in/g-s-paper-2/note-7-civil-society-accountability/
http://www.anand.to/india/ngo.html