Partnership with civil society organisations

Role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) engaged in MGNREGS

• Organise the workers into formal groups/labour collectives to improve their participation in implementation and to ensure provision of entitlements provided under the Act.
• In awareness-building, mobilisation, support and strengthening capacities of wage-seekers and creating an interface between implementation structure and wage-seekers so that they are able to secure their rights, demand work and demand payment for work on time.
• In training and support for institutions at Central, State, District, Block and Sub-block levels.
• As implementation support teams for GPs at cluster level, especially to provide technical support.
• In transparency process relating to vigilance and social audit.
• In monitoring and evaluation, taking up action-research to develop new models.

Roles of CSO identified as Resource Agency

CSOs identified as resource agencies at the National and State levels will be as follows:

• Support in framing and reviewing MGNREGA guidelines.
• Assessment of Needs for Human Resources and Review.
• Provide support teams at the State, District and Block level for different aspects of programme implementation.
• Capacity Building Plan:
• Identification of Training Institutions and Resource Persons
• Number of training programmes for different levels
• Content and duration of training
• Sourcing and Production of Training Material
• Certification Systems
• Developing of Monitoring and Evaluation Systems:
• Identifying indicators and parameters on which the programme will be monitored across different levels of implementation.
• Identifying the management systems that are required to respond to this monitoring.
• Identifying IT needs to make this monitoring possible.

The selection criteria for CSOs to become part of Resource Agency Pool at the National and State level

• Impeccable track record and integrity
• A minimum of 10 years of community based work focusing on entitlements, grassroots mobilisation, technical support and facilitation, preferably with experience of work on any aspect of MGNREGA
• Proven track record of building partnerships with government and other non-State stakeholders.
• Organisations of eminence should be invited to join the National level Resource Agency. A high level search committee should be appointed to nominate members to this resource pool.

Roles and responsibilities of CSO identified as Training and support organisation

• Impart training to district level training units.
• Provide backs topping support to district level teams and implementation partners.
• Organise exposure for district, block and cluster level implementing partners, village communities, PRIs, wage seeker associations etc.
• Develop location-specific training material for MGNREGA.
• Customise training content and framework to State’s needs.
• Provide feedback to State and national level resource agencies on required changes in training content, training material and training strategy.

The Selection Criteria for CSOs to become Training and Support Organisation

• A minimum of 10 years of community based work focusing on entitlements, grassroots mobilisation, technical support and facilitation, preferably with experience of work on any aspect of MGNREGA.
• Impeccable quality of field work.
• Proven track record of creating training material.
• Presence of trainers in team with required communication skills.
• Minimum training infrastructure (hostel, lecture halls, mess, kitchen, audio visual equipment and living laboratories for learning for MGNREGA related interventions).
• Experience of partnership in training or support provided to State Governments in MGNREGA or other entitlements based interventions.
• Sound quality financial and management systems.

Roles and responsibilities of CSO identified as Implementation Facilitation and Support Team

• Developing a thorough understanding of the baseline situation with respect to MGNREGA implementation, wage payments to workers, asset creation, worksite facilities, work demand, workers' perceptions and so on
• Capacity building and exposure of local stakeholders and officials, PRI leadership, village communities, barefoot mobilisers and engineers
• Supporting PRIs and Gram Sabhas in developing plans and shelf of works
• Testing out innovative ideas that are potentially scalable and will have an impact on the policies and processes of MGNREGA.

The selection criteria for CSOs to become Planning and Implementation Facilitation and Support Organisation

• The CSO should have sound financial and organisational systems in place for discharging responsibilities under the project.
• Organisations with an established track-record and demonstrated experience of about 3 to 5 years in working on participatory planning approaches on a watershed/NRM basis.
• The partner CSO should have presence in the State/district to work in the selected area / location, adequate and qualified human resources.
• The partner CSO must also enjoy the confidence of the GPs in their area. This may be reflected in a resolution of the GPs (which they intend to work with under this scheme).

Roles and responsibilities of CSO expected in Mobilisation, Vigilance,Monitoring and Social Audit facilitation

CSOs, if involved in mobilising, vigilance, monitoring and social audit facilitation, the following are the objectives of such agencies:

• Generating awareness among the people about the Act, Guidelines, and process of implementation
• Capacity building of village communities and PRIs on their entitlements.
• Documentation of status of implementation of the schemes per training to MGNREGA.
• Strengthening people’s organisations to facilitate people’s rights.
• Ensuring transparency through participatory monitoring and social audits.

The Selection Criteria for CSOs to become Mobilisation, Vigilance, Monitoring and Social Audit Facilitating Organisations

• CSO should have sound financial and organisational systems in place for discharging their responsibilities.
• CSOs must have an established track record and demonstrated experience and capacity of mobilising the people.
• CSOs must have formed and facilitated active SHGs, UGs, SIGs, Federations of women/ workers' farmers, etc.
• The partner CSOs must have presence in the State/district to work in the selected area/ location and have qualified human resources.

Roles of local Community Based Organisations

Community Based Organisations (CBO) involved in grassroots work such as SHGs, watershed committees, water user groups and the like may be actively involved in different processes related to MGNREGS. Some of the activities for which CBOs may be engaged are listed below:

• Creating awareness about the programme and mobilising needy workers to raise demand for work.
• Supporting PRIs in micro level planning and convergence with other schemes/programme.
• Helping to identify mates for organising works under the programme.
• Providing support services like lending implements and setting up the on-site facilities as envisaged in the Act.
• Providing suitable volunteers to be trained as barefoot engineers or barefoot auditors.
• Providing skilled labour or persons who could be trained as skilled workers.
• Facilitating Social Audit especially by providing volunteers.
• Community-based monitoring of the programme.
• Coordinating registering of grievances and follow-up their redressal as a people’s collective.

Source : FAQs of MGNREGA operational guidelines - 2013