4/25/20151 Webinar for NGOs Conducted by: Soumitra Ghosh (Founder CEO, CSO Partners) Building Credibility

Demonstrating accountability Being transparent Building visibility NGO Accreditation

Growing demand for transparency Anticipated investment to bring in Rs.15,000 – 18,000 crores to the sector Foreign contribution to voluntary sector – Rs. 10,334 in 2011 Govt on an average provides Rs crores every year to NGOs* Large mobilization of resources Having emerged as protagonist of transparency there is a growing need for NGOs to demonstrate great transparency Need for NGOs to demonstrate transparency Across the spectrum - donors, public, community, media, corporate,, government, etc. there is growing demand for NGO transparency Rising expectations of different stake holders Source: * ASIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. This is not complete data

Questioning the legitimacy of NGOs To what extent do NGOs form a ‘legitimate’ voice of the civil society Rapid growth of NGO sector (over 3 million) Changing role of NGOs from traditional service delivery to the policy advocacy role Growing role and influence of NGOs: Engaging with government and corporate houses Factors adding to the legitimacy concern are

Judging the performance of NGOs As they question the performance of governments for the way they spend public funds, NGOs too must demonstrate that they have done better with the money that they received Short-term functional performance (accounting for resources, resource use and immediate impacts) Strategic performance (accounting for the impacts that an NGO’s actions have on the actions of other organizations and the wider environment)

Demonstrating accountability Dimensions of accountability Transparency Legitimacy Performance

Accountability matrix Trustee Staff Government Participants, Community, Society, Beneficiaries Peer Organizations Donor

Demonstrating accountability Being transparent Building visibility NGO Accreditation

Scenario thus far….. Accountability/transparency incentivized either by funding opportunities or by regulatory coercions Need to submit report on annual activity and financial report to registration authorities and Ministry of Home Affairs in case of foreign funding annual financial reports to the income tax authority for exemption of tax on the donation or grants they receive Different funding agencies prescribe their own reporting requirements to the recipient NGOs All of these reports are not subject to public disclosure

Demonstrating Transparency provide pertinent programmatic, organisational and financial information Programmatic section to include initiatives, target groups, major achievements, difficulties and setbacks and future plans Organizational section to include About the organization, vision and mission, board members, governance process, etc Financial section to include audited statement of accounts and an abridged version of financial details Annual report as a tool

Demonstrating Transparency It denotes people’s scrutiny of an organization’s mandate, plan, action and performance based on information disclosed by the particular NGO about its various projective initiatives It is an effective tool to empower stakeholders with transparent information and authority to scrutinize the duty bearers While it has been advocated for social audit to ensure state accountability many NGOs are yet to embraced it in their initiatives Social audit

Demonstrating accountability Being transparent Building visibility NGO Accreditation

Building visibility Disseminating information is key to building transparency Providing access to information to diverse stakeholders Technology could be used to make information accessible to wider audience

Building visibility This can be achieved through – Having a website – Virtual presence in social media Facebook Niche sites – Propoor, NGO Marketplace – Retail donation platform Give India United Way Global Giving

Demonstrating accountability Being transparent Building visibility NGO Accreditation

Types of standards and frameworks Self certification Ratings/ Evaluation AccreditationPeer review Code of Ethics of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation InterAction PVO Standards Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations Standards of Excellence Credibility Alliance BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator ISO 9000 Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy NPO Certification Program CSO Partners

Types of standards and frameworks Self certification Ratings/ Evaluation AccreditationPeer review Low cost Easy to administer Reflective and introspective process for NGO Accessible to a wide range of organizations More rigorous evaluation Value through network Can be decentralized Parameters predominantly set by the rating organization Lends itself for comparisons and benchmarking of NGOs across sectors and geography Extremely rigorous evaluation Third party validation provides strong assurance Serve as a seal of approval and make it easier for different stakeholders in identifying good credible NGOs

Existing initiatives to promote accountability in India InitiativesInformation CSO Partners’ Outstanding Annual Report Award for the Voluntary Sector Aims to promote public disclosure, readability and quality of financial reporting within the voluntary sector Accreditation by credibility alliance -Accreditation based on two sets of norms: Minimum and Desirable norms. -Accreditation is based on assessment by CA assessors - Accreditation provided based on recommendation of Accreditation Committee

Existing initiatives to promote accountability in India InitiativesInformation Accreditation by CSO Partners Robust multi-layered accreditation system that is aimed towards primarily validation of self disclosure by NGOs on the process and systems of their governance, management and programme GiveIndia-An online retail donation portal which enables individuals to make contributions to credible NGOs across the country -Credibility of NGOs is established based on their ability to meet the norms of transparency and accountability set by Give India

Existing initiatives to promote accountability in India Government of India is planning to bring NGOs under a regulatory mechanism to make them accountable – CAPART (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) has worked out norms and modalities for accreditation of voluntary organizations having the credibility norms as the starting point

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess CSO Partners Governance Organizational Capacity Financial Management Programme Management Marketing and Fund Raising Self assessment based on self assessment tool Staff of various functions and senior management is involved in the accreditation exercise Submission of the assessment along with evidential proof On field assessment of NGO along with accreditation rating and a note on areas to be improved upon Accreditation renewed at stipulated interval

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess Credibility Alliance Basic and desirable norms. Desirable is more advanced and stringent Norms cover: Identity Vision, Objective and Achievement Governance Operations (Programme, Management, HR) Accountability and Transparency NGO submits accreditation form along with supporting document CA reviews the form and documents Assessors does assessment and submits the findings to CA CA shares the report for NGOs comments CA issues certificate based on the recommendation of central accreditation committee of CA

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess InterAction PVO Standards Governance Organizational Integrity Finances Communications to the US Public Management Practice & Human resources Program Public Policy Implementation Self-certification process through Self Certification Plus (rigorous self assessment and validation of compliance with standards) Board level committee oversees standards and compliance There are various sections in the Standards Document; an organization needs to express compliance or non-compliance to each statement. Where non-compliance is mentioned, an Action Plan for compliance is required to be inserted. Supporting documents and evidence for compliance also needs to be submitted. Certification must be renewed every other year which other members, CEO and/or board chairperson must agreeably re-certify compliance

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations Standards of Excellence 8 Guiding principles and 55 Individual Performance Standards Members of association commit to guiding principles while association provides assistance to help them comply with 55 specific standards Voluntary certification procedure involving application and provision of extensive supporting materials Volunteer peer review group examines compliance Recommendation to standards and review committee ‘Nonprofit Seal of Excellence’ can be displayed for 3 years; post which renewal is required

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess ISO 9000Customer Focus Leadership Involvement of People Process Approach System Approach to Management Continual Improvement Factual Approach to Decision Making Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships Certifications are carried out independently of ISO by more than 750 certification bodies active around the world. These organizations are accredited by the member bodies of ISO in each country in which they operate.

Existing standards NameIndicatorProcess BBB Wise Giving Alliance Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability Governance and oversight Measuring effectiveness Finances Fund raising and informational materials Organizations report according to Alliance’s Standards Third party reviews and rates Charity Seal Programme to assist donors in making right giving decisions – option for rated organizations to purchase seal

Points to ponder over Is accreditation merely a donor requirement or is it for NGO organizational development? Should accreditation be undertaken by government or corporate? Should accreditation be a one-time effort or be looked at on a continual basis? Should accreditation be done by a neutral third party or NGO networks and federations?

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