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8th - 10th 2003, Chennai
Theme : Making Partnerships Work PROGRAMME DETAILS
REPORT Background Sampradaan Indian Centre for Philanthropy (SICP) is a national non-profit organisation with a mission to foster a caring and sharing culture in India and to re-establish philanthropy as a way of life. In order to achieve its aims, it undertakes various activities such as research and documentation, dissemination of information, advocacy and networking of donors. As part of its dissemination and networking objective, it has been conducting workshops in different parts of the country for Trusts and Foundations. At one such workshop held in April 2001 at the TERI Campus, Gurgaon, Haryana, the representatives of foundations expressed a need for an annual event that would provide a forum for exchange of ideas and also for looking at issues calling for joint action. Thus the conference was instituted as an annual event organised by SICP with a three-fold objective: 1) to provide visibility to Indian philanthropic organisations; 2) to provide a forum to these organisations for professional exchange of ideas; and 3) to formulate a common strategy for advancement of philanthropic interests in India. Subsequent to the TERI Conference, the 2nd Annual Conference was held in 2002 in Mumbai, and the third was held in 2003 at the Indian Bank Management Academy for Growth and Excellence (IMAGE) in Chennai. While quite a few Trusts/Foundations and NGOs from Chennai and neighbouring parts of Tamil Nadu participated, others were drawn from Udaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In all 27 participants from across the country participated in the conference. (The list of participants is given in Appendix II) Programme The two-and-half day conference, held from 8th -10th January 2003 (Agenda is given in Appendix I), focused on the theme --“Making Partnerships Work” -- that unfolded through six sessions enriched with the presentations of experts who have achieved a high level of excellence in their fields (The list of resource persons is enclosed in Appendix III). The objective of the conference was to focus on societal driven alliances and joint ventures between the government, NGOs and the corporate aimed at tackling broader societal issues such as education, crime, unemployment, poverty alleviation, environmental degradation, youth development, urban renewal and rural development. Some of the questions that the conference focused on were: l What are the ground rules for establishing a partnership? l What makes a partnership a success or a failure? l How does one sustain the interest of the partners in a partnership? l What is the effective way to take collaborative decisions in a partnership? l What kind of organisational innovations are necessary for an effective partnership? This is
not a report of the proceedings of the conference. For the benefit of
our readers, we thought it appropriate to put together the key ‘learnings’
from each of the six sessions. Certain ‘learnings’ may come
across as a repetition but they are incorporated, nonetheless, as they
are relevant to the particular session where they appear.
INAUGURAL SESSION The conference actually began on 9th January. (On 8th evening there was a special lecture in a pre-dinner session, which is reported towards the end under the section ‘Special Lecture’.) In her welcome address, Mrs. Pushpa Sundar stated the two main objectives behind organising the conference: Firstly to give more visibility to Indian charitable foundations, and secondly to knit foundations together into a strong network so that they can learn from each other’s experiences and become more engaged in public policy debate. After giving a brief account of the evolution and activities of SICP, Mrs. Sundar introduced the theme of ‘partnership’. She said that though there are partnerships between government and NGOs, between government and companies, and between companies and NGOs, there are very few instances in India of collaborations between Foundations.
Generic Learning about Partnership in the words of Mrs. Sundar A true
partnership implies equality between different partners, each contributing
their different strengths and in turn receiving what they lack. In practice,
the two partners are far from equal; usually it is the stronger partner
who holds the purse strings and calls the shots. When the relationship
becomes that of a superior to a subordinate, the partnership obviously
cannot last. Only if each side recognises, in all humility, that they
are receiving as much as they give, can the partnerships be fruitful
and enduring. Perhaps there can be no better symbol of a successful
partnership than the concept of Ardanareeswar -- the male and the female
principles combining seamlessly in one whole in recognition of the dependence
of the one on the other.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Ram highlighted the need for organised philanthropy that would provide a fillip to the delivery mechanism of NGOs, which had already made a difference to the quality of life at the grassroots level. In his keynote address, Mr. Subbiah presented a fascinating view as to why partnerships did not work in India. Apart from misuse of funds, scandals, bureaucracy, lack of accountability and trust among partners, he traced the failure to the fact that Indian civilization had developed in the hospitable Indo-Gangetic plain which, with a little effort on the part of the individual, gave ample returns. He did not, therefore, have to depend on others for survival. By contrast, Mr. Subbiah said, the people in western countries, faced with a more difficult environment, needed to work together as a team for survival. SESSION I : WHAT MAKES A PARTNERSHIP A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE: AN OVERVIEW Mr. Shambhu V. Sista - Founder, Sista’s Pvt. Ltd.. Mumbai, Mr. Vikram Rajaram - Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, Titan, Bangalore Providing a macro view on the subject, Mr. Shambhu V. Sista, a reputed advertising professional, said: "There is no rocket science involved in making a partnership a success. Some basic management principles (which the Corporates can provide), a fair amount of experience on the ground and a track record (which NGOs bring to the table), and a large dose of common sense is all that would be required". Speaking on the same subject, Mr. Vikram Rajaram enumerated the positive partnership between Titan and a reputed Bangalore-based NGO called MYRADA. In Mr. Rajaram's view, the success of corporate-NGO partner-ship essentially lies in “managing each other's expectations”.
Key Learnings from Session One l Some basic management principles are necessary. For instance, a project should be designed, keeping in mind the expectations of the partners; objectives of the project should be clearly delineated and understood by the parties involved; periodic monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is absolutely essential for the success of a partnership, and the M&E parameters need to be formulated and adopted by the partners at the very outset of the project implementation. l A fair amount of experience on the ground and a track record is needed. Right selection of the partners (whether it is a corporate or an NGO) is the key to a successful partnership. l Commitment to the partnership is crucial. Initiation by the top management is important but what is more vital is that it should percolate down to the lowest rung so that ownership of the project is assimilated at all levels. l Managing each other's expectations is also important for successful partnership (whether it is NGO-corporate or NGO-government or corporate-government). l Publicity
by the media plays an important role too in boosting the success of
a partnership project. SESSION II : COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING: ORGANISATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION Ms. Kalpana Kar - Member, Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), Bangalore Mr. S. R. Mohanty - CMD, Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation, Bhopal In this session, Ms. Kalpana Kar and Mr. S. R. Mohanty presented the success stories of their respective projects – the BATF experiment and the Rogi Kalyan Samitis respectively – to stress that a successful private-public partnership is possible. (BATF is a non-profit group with a mission to make Bangalore the best city in the country by year 2004. Rogi Kalyan Samitis are patient welfare committees in Madhya Pradesh’s public hospitals. They levy nominal user fees and seek donations to improve conditions in medical colleges, district hospitals and community health centres. The Planning Commission and the UNDP have chosen this initiative, which has spread to over 600 hospitals, as one of the 20 successful experiments other states can learn from.) At the outset, Ms. Kar clarified that BATF was constituted through an order by the Karnataka state government. Stating its unique identity, she said that BATF was “formed by the government to work for the government” and that BATF staff were not employees of the Karnataka state government. With a vision to make Bangalore city the best city in India by year 2004, Ms. Kar said that the BATF experiment was a collaborative experiment wherein the task force worked in partnership with the government. Ms. Kar elaborated that BATF specifically sought to provide upgraded infrastructure and civic amenities through public-private partnership, common forum for interaction, greater involvement of the citizen and private sector, and greater transparency and accountability. Through an audio-visual presentation, Mr. Mohanty enumerated the success of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti project that evolved with the initiative of the Madhya Pradesh government, particularly under his leadership while he was the Collector at Indore.
Key Learnings from Session Two In a private-public partnership, note the following points: l A strong political will, devoid of any vested interest, is a pre-requisite to make a private-public partnership successful. l It is important to identify the correct organisations to partner with. If there is a conflict of interest, the partnership is bound to fail. l In a private-public partnership, people’s participation is a must. Best would be to allow the project beneficiaries to draw up the broad parameters of the project. l Institutionalising of partnerships is also a key step in providing a firm base for the partnership to grow. When the partnership is formalised through an agreement or a memorandum of understanding with clearly delineated goals, deliverables and budget, the value placed is higher. l Coupled with the requirement of formalising partnerships in some manner, is the fact of credibility. Both partners must bring to the partnership an acceptable level of credibility. Credibility is important for mutual respect and as a value addition to the partnership. l In a private-public partnership project, it may be a good idea to seek corporate funding or innovative financing methods such as Joint Ventures and Build Operate Transfer projects. l Given the structure of government organisations, where the top management rotates and the heads of government organisations keep changing, it is important to identify internal champions from the middle management who have sufficient decision making powers and who are able to directly motivate field officers involved in direct implementation. l In a
private-public partnership it is also essential to constantly upgrade
the internal capacities of the relevant staffs of both the partners
through training. SESSION III : DIFFERING MINDSETS AND POWER RELATIONS Ms. Andal Damodaran - Chairperson, Indian Council for Child Welfare Mr. Kamal Mahendroo - Eklavya, Bhopal Ms. Andal Damodaran of the Indian Council for Child Welfare and Mr. Kamal Mahendroo of Eklavya (a non-governmental organisation working with the Madhya Pradesh government on literacy, among many other programmes) presented their views on ‘differing mindsets and power relations’ where they highlighted the need for amicable partnership between the government and the civil society. Ms. Andal Damodaran said in India government-funded social development projects succeeded only in cases where they were implemented by active NGOs willing to limit their involvement within the boundary of service delivery. However, she clarified that even though this was true, NGOs should learn to pull out of partnership with the government once self-help groups were formed. In a similar vein, Mr. Kamal Mahendroo enumerated the sweet and sour relationship that Eklavya had experienced with the Madhya Pradesh state government while implementing an education programme (specifically promoting the scientific temper among school students) in government-run primary and middle schools.
Key Learnings from Session Three Different forms of partnerships involve different mindsets with varying power relations. However, the following points may be treated as generic lessons: l In any form of partnership, trust between the stakeholders is the key to success; and the establishment of this trust depends on the personal relationships between the key players in the partnership. l In partnership with international agencies, problems often occur because their ways of doing things may not be to the NGO partner’s liking. l Service clubs like the Rotary and the Lions are good partners for events but not for long-term development. l It is dangerous to depend on only one partner. l To avoid becoming the subordinate partner in the relationship, NGOs must clarify their nature of responsibilities right at the beginning. l The success of a partnership between an NGO and the government (commonly termed as private-public partnership), for instance, depends on the mutual understanding of the fact that the partnership is meant to bridge the gap between policy directives and ground realities. l Private-public partnership cannot succeed if there is a landlord-tenant relationship. Both stakeholders have to be treated with equal respect. l In a private-public partnership, both the parties should take equal interest in the monitoring and evaluation of the project. l In a private-public partnership, it is better to involve the beneficiary community for the success of the project. Specifically, NGOs should learn to pull out of partnership with the government once self-help groups are formed and empowered. l Personal equations are important to the success of a partnership. l True
partnership involves “letting go”, giving space to the other
partner. SESSION IV : SUSTAINING INTEREST IN THE PARTNERSHIP Ms. Nalini Gangadharan - Executive Director, Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, Hyderabad Mr. C. Antony Samy - Managing Director, Worth Trust, Katpadi, Tamil Nadu By presenting the varying shades of relationships in a private-public partnership, both Ms. Nalini Gangadharan of Dr. Reddy’s Foundation (founded by the reputed pharmaceutical company -- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories) and Mr. C. Antony Samy of Worth Trust (works on vocational projects for disabled people) acknowledged the importance of sustaining a partnership but, more importantly, underlined that it needed understanding on the part of the partners and a will to work at making the partnership a success, changing the original parameters if necessary. Key Learnings from Session Four Partnership can be sustained by observing the following principles: l Attempt should be made to bring together the best of the expertise of all the worlds: n Commitment, skill and efficiency of the NGOs n Financial resources and professional expertise of the business sector n Policy making/advocacy competency of the government sector l Define the roles of all the partners at different stages. l It is necessary to be specific on workable/measurable and realistic targets/goals, and have the stakeholders agree to them right at the outset l It may be worthwhile to adopt an adhoc approach in process management – n Everybody’s involvement is important in general but everyone need not necessarily participate all the time n Successful patterns should not be taken for granted. Implementation guidelines, well-defined roles and clear delegation are critical components l It is important to demonstrate “small can be substantial and successful” n Keep professional numbers small and volunteers as many as necessary. “Membership coalitions are more successful than staff-heavy partnerships” l It is crucial to think win-win always n Put yourself in your partner’s position and consider how you can contribute to your partner realising his agenda in the shared vision l Respect each other’s views and agree to disagree when necessary. l Maintaining transparency, however, informal, is very important, whether -- n in funding n on issues of power and authority n in written agreements n in conflict-resolution, and n in grievance redressal systems l It is a good idea to use the following indicators in measuring one’s efforts in sustaining partnership: n Reinforcement of enthusiasm n Building of commitment n Development of mutually beneficial shared vision n Examination of current efforts and future plans to identify strengths and weaknesses n Provision for change in certain policies and practices to allow space for the partners l Reposition the partners and the parameters as the situation evolves, even to the extent of seeking new partners when necessary. l Celebrate
partnerships through events, media publicity etc. SESSION V : MONITORING AND EVALUATION Ms. Nalini Krishnan - Coordinator, Resource group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health (REACH), Chennai Talking in the context of public healthcare issues that are addressed by REACH, Ms. Nalini Krishnan highlighted the relevance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and urged the need for a clear understanding between two partners from the very beginning on the terms and conditions of M&E. She said: “The very nature of partnerships and the modalities of their formation reflects directly in the problems presented in monitoring and evaluation of these partnerships.” Hence, she said, that the greatest test of a partnership based project lies in the efficiency of its monitoring and evaluation systems.
Key Learnings from Session Five The following points need to be kept in mind for ensuring successful M&E systems: l The modalities of forming partnerships influence M&E. l The partners need to set clearly defined objectives, parameters and deliverables, and, most importantly, these should be understood by and acceptable to all. l All the partners should be involved in setting up the systems so that M&E becomes easier to achieve. The parameters should be transparent to all and there should be no hidden agendas. l It should be ensured that there is space for all stakeholders to get involved. l Self-assessment is to be preferred to M&E from outside. l The monitoring
and evaluation should be a joint exercise. SESSION VI : VISION OF THE FUTURE: POTENTIALS, OPPORTUNITIES, APPROACHES Mr. Viraf Mehta - Chief Executive, Partners in Change, New Delhi Mr. Viraf Mehta of Partners in Change (a non-profit organisation working on NGO-corporate partnerships) presented a conceptual overview of the myriad complexions of partnership. He clarified that partners and partnerships were not synonymous and concluded that the new forms of social partnerships have to evolve in future and their success will depend critically on whether they are capable of delivering societal benefits that cannot be achieved more effectively through other means. Mr. Mehta said, ultimately such partnerships would have to deliver mutual benefit by delivering both greater social cohesion and equity, and improved economic competitiveness for participating businesses and society as a whole.
Key Learnings from Session Six l Tri-sector partnerships, involving business, civil society organisations and government agencies, are amongst the more complex partnerships. They pose particular challenges because they seek to draw together often very diverse interests, perspectives and organisational cultures. However, they also offer significant potential gains if this diversity can be effectively focused and operationalised. l Wrong partnerships can do more damage than good. l Before forming partnerships between Corporates and NGOs, one must ask – Partnership for What? The end object must have a good fit with the Corporate agendas and the NGO goals. l It is important to assess possible risks involved in the partnership before formalising it. l New forms of partnership are needed to address societal problems where traditional, single sector approaches are proving inadequate. New social partnerships are defined as “people and organisations from some combination of public, business and civil constituencies who engage in voluntary, mutually beneficial, innovative relationships to address common social aims through combining their resources and competencies”. l The principles of new social partnerships are briefly given below: n Societal Aims: Participants come together specifically to achieve social benefits through joint actions. n Innovation: The partnership seeks to explore new approaches to addressing social and economic problems and opportunities. n Multi-Constituency: Participants are drawn from two or more of the following: public bodies at the local, national or international level; private sector entities, ranging from individual companies to business associations; and civil society, ranging from local community initiatives to trade unions, academic institutions and national and international non-governmental organisations. n Voluntary: Participation is voluntary in the sense that it is based on the active decision by each partner to engage, rather than the imperative of statutory compliance. l To be effective, new social partnerships need to demonstrate clear value addition at: 1. The LOCAL level in building sustainable livelihoods and improving quality of life, in a way that actively and practically engages local communities and beneficiary groups; and 2. The STRATEGIC level in helping national and international government bodies to create an enabling environment for addressing socio-economic problems. l There is need for more documentation of successful partnerships. l Equally important is to build theories based on actual practice, which can be used for training on how to build partnerships. l It is
important to develop skills in conflict resolution, risk assessment
and M&E of partnerships. SPECIAL LECTURES Apart from focused presentations for different sessions, there were three speakers who delivered special lectures at the conference. Special Lecture by Mr. S. Muthiah, renowned author on Chennai and editor of the reputed journal -- Madras Musings. Speaking in the context of successes and failures of partnerships between the government and the civil society, Mr. Muthiah, while eulogising Madras in his speech for the number of 'firsts' that the city had to its credit in the development of India as a nation, was anguished by the lack of civic apathy evident today. Mr. Muthiah took the participants along a historical journey of Chennai’s evolution, and, along the way, recounted innumerable instances of philanthropic works that the city had been involved in. For example, as the first-ever organised philanthropy in Madras, he quoted the establishment of the Monegar Choultry (Famine Relief Fund committed to feeding and tending the poor and the sick) as early as in 1782 by the state government and St. Mary’s Church. Mr. Muthiah also cited the examples of the Pachaiyappa as the “greatest contributor to charity in Madras ever known” and the Chettiars as a socially responsive community. Thereafter, Mr. Muthiah narrated his personal involvement in a number of partnership-related projects. He drew on numerous examples of failed partnerships and concluded that partnerships failed because of lack of commitment to the end goal by either or both parties.
Mr. Muthiah’s Learnings About Partnership l Public sector will only act if political will is demonstrated by leadership. l Private sector finds it difficult to join hands with the public sector – top-level cooperation between the two sectors is particularly low. Hence the private sector sends PR Managers to represent public sector meetings; the problem is that PR Managers cannot take decisions. l Civil society groups treasure their individualism and cannot network; and even if they do, they do so with only those who will support them with funds. l Professional sector people (retired bureaucrats for instance) only look for job/consultancy opportunities and are least interested in the success or failure of a partnership. l Sustainability
of projects is the key area of concern. For instance, if Senate House
is restored, what next…If Heritage Act is enacted, what next…
Special Lecture by Dr. K. P. Mishra The speech by Dr. K. P. Mishra, senior consulting cardiologist with Apollo Hospital in Chennai (one of the leading hospital chains in India), refreshed and recharged all the participants as he drew examples from the Vedas and other Indian scriptures, and from the lives of great Indian saints, to bring home the point that none of us could overlook partnership at any level. As human beings, he said, we were interdependent on each other and stressed that our very existence was founded on a harmonious relationship between nature and the physical world. Special Lecture by Dr. K. M. Thiagarajan Dr. K. M. Thiagarajan, chairman of the Micro-credit Foundation at Chennai and former chairman of the Bank of Madurai and ICICI, talked about the evolution and activities of the Micro-credit Foundation. |
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Phone : + 91-11-2689 9368, Telefax : + 91-11-2612 1917 E-mail : icp@ndb.vsnl.net.in / info@sampradaan.org Web : www.sampradaan.org |
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