FGR Bureau
Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s leadership, motivation, enthusiasm towards addressing these pandemic has been timely and prudent for 1.3 billion Indians.
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are ‘Jagrit Nagriks’ working through ‘integrated and whole of society approach’ understanding the pulse at the grassroots and engaging closely with communities, especially at grass root level. Many CSOs in India stands out of the basket of socio-economic support, financial mechanisms, manpower and availability of alternate livelihoods amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Given their passion for society, If CSOs are incentivized and galvanized, can’t they play an instrumental role to bring change and support ‘Rashtra Nirmaan’ efforts?
Leveraging ‘horizontal partnerships’, CSOs are the eyes and ears of government and showcase a repository of ‘good samaritans’ amongst public especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It is heartening to hear India’s leading think-tank NITI Aayog, successfully galvanizing a network of 92,000 CSOs and NGOs to harness their strengths and resources, expertise in key social sectors-nutrition, health, sanitation, education, and extensive reach in the community. Moreover, through Track 2 and 3 diplomacy channels, success stories and best practices are communicated from local to global platforms and vice-versa but have failed to garner support for its own lifeline. The stimulus package placed for MSME sector worth 20 lakh crore and other agriculture, health sectors amidst COVID-19 is timely and CSOs must be similarly provided ‘bail-out packages’ and ‘soft loans without collateral’. In order to maintain a pendulum balance between our road ahead to recover from COVID-19, fulfilling national priorities ofNew India @75 and SDGs 2030, CSOs role as a ‘catalyst’ is going to be foundational and profound given our presence right from the local to expanded global arenas. The role of CSOs working in tandem with Public-Private-People partnership shall foster symbiotic relationship for collective societal impact.
Stressing an empowered role for the fifth pillar of governance, it is necessary for a comprehensive ‘Atmanirbhar social package’ with sound privileges; protection and social security benefits like medical, travel, insurance benefits etc for the CSOs as well. Isn’t it the right time to revitalise the CSOs on similar lines of media, institutions and corporates?
But today, gaining access to appropriate donors is a major component of this challenge. CSOs have limited resource mobilization, source of regular income, capacity building and infrastructural sustainability shrinking many CSOs in jeopardy. In the past, it is witnessed that mistakes by some have tarnished the image of ‘concerned & awakened’ CSOs. But today, a makeover is necessary that even CSO understands. In a nutshell, we are far from neither funding, appreciation nor national/regional encouragementand self reliance is still a distant dream. Key CSOs that are professional, sustainably funded and branded are involved in policy advocacy, institutional and infrastructural support to realize various socio-economic development prerogatives. Moreover, foundations are supplemented through philanthropic funding by which most of the CSOs are truly left behind and large multi-national companies route the designated 2% Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to their own created Foundations.
In ancient times, universities like Taxila disseminated learning and good practices and similarly, CSOs are a powerhouse of ‘soch and samarth’ (ideas and resources) binding communities and communicating innovative ideas. CSOs feedback communication channels leading from the front highlighting people-driven approach, nation-wide advocacy and behavioral communication about prevention, hygiene, social distancing, isolation, motivating frontline workers, develop communications strategy in different vernaculars whereby they become active partners extensively engaged with likeminded CSOs, and NGOs, development partners in creating awareness especially at the community grass root level. A network of umbrella CSOs have been given an opportunity in designing Europe’s COVID-19 recovery plan and in Bangladesh, they have shown the way to come together with its own set of strategies to support the government. Latin American CSOs like in Brazil and Argentina are on the front lines of response, filling the gaps governments cannot or will not fill. We are living in unprecedented times and in such a scenario, the biggest source of strength now is partnership with missing CSO sector’.
