A monthly update of Credibility Alliance
CREDIBILITY ALLIANCE IMPROVING GOVERNANCE BUILDING TRUSTThis newsletter intends to be the voice of the sector and
we want our members to use this as an organ of communication with their stakeholder as well as Alliance.
Do send us information of programs/ events at your end and we can share it with other members of the Alliance.
Gujarat committee meeting held at Janpath: Gujarat committee meeting was conducted on 13th November 2006 with an objective to develop strategies to implement the decisions taken in the earlier state committee meeting held on 10th August 2006. Twelve members from 10 different organizations gathered to discuss the matter and few important decisions were made-
Credibility Alliance, Give India and YASHADA meet for accreditation of Maharashtra NGOs: As we had mentioned in our first newsletter of October’06, Credibility Alliance and Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration YASHADA, an apex training and research institute of Government of Maharashtra have signed an MoU to promote accountability and transparency within the voluntary sector. On 14th of November 2006 Credibility Alliance had a joint meeting with Give India and YASHADA to discuss the operational strategy and assessment methodology for launching the pilot accreditation of a sample of voluntary organizations in Maharashtra. The meeting was held at YASHADA premises in Pune. |
Dear Members, WE WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is great to know that our association with each other is strengthening day by day and state chapters are taking keen interest in promoting the noble initiative taken by the Alliance. Recently we came to know about initiatives being taken in the state of Himachal Pradesh by Shastra Society and we thought to share it with all the members of Credibility Alliance. To promote the initiative they have taken help of print media. Recently published article titles – We expect such enthusiasm and initiative from all over the country and we congratulate our members for being part of the largest network of voluntary organizations in India committed to enhance accountability and transparency within the voluntary sector. Also, we would like to share that chief functionary of our partner NGO Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra(NBJK) attended GLOBAL MICROCREDIT SUMMIT 2006 IN CANADA and as a contribution to our e-newsletter he has submitted a brief report on the same. This would help organizations/individuals engaged in micro credit activities to benefit rural poor. To tell you more about the concept we have dedicated this issue of newsletter to “Accreditation”. ACCREDITATION OF VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION: Recognizing the advantages of carrying out developmental activities in partnership with the Voluntary Sector, there has been an increased thrust towards getting projects done through Voluntary Agencies. This has also resulted in burgeoning of voluntary sector and doubts on the credibility of certain organizations, which then affects the credibility of the whole sector. Therefore the need for evaluation mechanisms such as accreditation has become apparent. Credibility Alliance has developed set of norms for good governance in rigorous consultation with thousands of voluntary organizations in India. On the basis of these norms the Alliance is going to start a process of accreditation and certification for voluntary organizations in India. Accreditation: What does it mean to CA? Accreditation is a process of periodical review and certification of an organization complying with Credibility Alliance norms. Certification is based on the report that conforms to the requirements specified by Credibility Alliance and is based on an unbiased external evaluation by a panel of assessors selected by Credibility Alliance. How Accreditation is different from Credibility Alliance membership? Credibility Alliance membership is purely based on self declaration by an organization to adhere to the norms set by the alliance and is on recommendation of concerned state committee. Accreditation officially states that the organization follows the set norms and is credible in true sense. This involves periodical and thorough evaluation by a panel of assessors and certification by Credibility Alliance. |
| West Bengal state committee held on 15th November 2006: West Bengal state committee meeting was held on 15th November 2006 at Credibility Alliance office. Representatives from organizations like Calcutta Urban Service, CINI ASHA, SASWATO KEKA, ASHA and Maharani Charitable and Welfare Society participated in the meeting and discussed various issues with Credibility Alliance (CA) regional coordinator Robert Dequadros. There was a discussion on distinction of Credibility Alliance membership with Accreditation process and members were requested to fill up the transparency profile provided to them and send it to credibility Alliance head office at Mumbai. This is required for NGO profiling on CA website. There was also a discussion on capacity building and enrichment activities through a series of workshops, It was proposed that the next Enrichment Programme will be on “Organisational Financial Management” probably in second week of January 2007. Along with this there was also a discussion on new Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, state budget and few other important matters of the Alliance.
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What is the need for accreditation? The emergence of voluntary sector as a major contributor in social development process, its rapid growth both in size and numbers and huge flow of money towards it from Government/private and international organizations has put a question mark on the credibility of voluntary sector itself. Also, the report of the steering committee on voluntary sector for The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) recommends that: “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) needs to be promoted. To attract corporate funding and partnership with private sector, accrediting or validation of VOs / NGOs and a methodology for that is required.”Accreditation/certification of voluntary organizations would be useful for both public and private sector and also for international donor agencies to select credible organizations for funding. What are the benefits that an organization will get? Every credible organization should follow the process of public disclosure of information and must comply with the norms developed by credibility alliance in consultation with thousands of voluntary organizations across India. Further a certification process would provide following value addition to the organization-
Accreditation model adopted by Credibility Alliance for its pilot project On pilot basis Credibility Alliance has adopted a process based on Self Assessment followed by Peer Team Assessment or assessment through selected agencies. This would help in cutting the cost of accreditation and also an unbiased evaluation. Certification would be based on the report submitted by the team of assessors on organization’s compliance with credibility norms.
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| Questions / comments/ contributions? | ||
| Credibility Alliance is a registered organization under Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860. As an independent, voluntary (not for profit) organization, we aim at building trust among the stakeholders of an organization such as staff, the Board, donors, volunteers, the general public and the media. We do this by advocating norms for public disclosure and good governance that will help organizations become more transparent and accountable to their stakeholders. The draft of our norms was published in 2003 in English and later translated into six other languages - Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. More than 15000 copies of this booklet have been distributed. | ||
To know more about us please write at: Credibility Alliance 3rd Floor, West Khetwadi Municipal School, Lane# 5, Back Road Khetwadi, Mumbai -400004. Ph: 022-23894046/47 Visit us at: www.credall.org.in |