Rural Management Systems Series

MYRADA

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Domlur Layout
BANGALORE 560 071. INDIA.

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Rural Management Systems Series
Paper 30A

SELF HELP GROUP GRADING CRITERIA

Sl.No		Good	Average	Poor	Very poor	Objectively Verifiable Indicators	Remarks
1.	Vision, Mission, and Goals	Discussed and established in the SHG with the participation of all members Written down and easily available on request (may also be displayed pronimently in the community hall) Known to all members Members make efforts to see that all their actions are in consonance with their Vision, Mission, and Goals	Discussed and established in the SHG with the participation of around 75% or more members Written down but may or may not be displayed or easilty available. Not all members are familiar with it. SHG activities are not consciously aimed at achieving the Vision and Goals	May be discussed, but not well established and written down. Even if established, and written down, it is more due to the effort made by staff. Less than 50% of the members are familiar with it. Only the representative may know what it is. Aligning SHG activities with the Vision and Goals is absent.	Not discussed and not established. Some group members may be aware that other SHGs are engaged in this process, but even this knowledge does not interest them to do the same in their own SHG. Even if staff initiate discussions, participation by members is poor.	Discussions with members Discussions with Project Staff Minutes Book Vision, Mission, and Goal Statement, if any available for reference.
2.	Size of SHG	15 to 20 members	21 to 30 members	31 to 35 members	36 and more members	Admission Book Attendance Book Minutes Book	Small sized groups functionmore efficiently. Meetings & training programmes also become easier. Forbank linkages also, size has to be less than 20.
3.	Economic status of members · Newer SHGs (0 to 3 years) · Older SHGs (over 3 years)	All members are poor, from the lowest economic stratu of the village More than 80% of the members show improved economic status. Few continue as poor but none are poorest	A mixture of better off and poor members. Poorest are few in number More than 50% of the members show improved economic status. Some are poor, some continue to be poorest	Better off members are more in number. Few are poor and none are poorest Less than 50% of the members show improved economic status. Status of many poor and poorest members unchanged.	All members are from the better off sections of the village Hardly any improvement in the economic status of members since the time they formed the SHG Interactions with members Observations	Interactions with members Observations Reports and case studies	There is no distinct cut-off period from when a new group becomes an older group. However, as the group matures, more and more members must be better-off than when they first started. To assess this becomes easier if baseline data on members is collected when the SHG is new.
4.	Meetings ·Frequency · Time and place	Weekly meetings Regularly held Fixed day, time, &place; known to all and followed	Fortnightly Regularly held Fixed day, time, & place. Known but not well maintained	Fortnightly or weekly but not so regularly held Fixed day, time, & place. Not clear to all and not kept	Monthly meeting Not very regularly conducted These details may be fixed or not. Not many know or care	Attendance Book Minutes Book Minutes Book Discussions with members	More than frequency, regularity should be given weightage Fixed meeting days & times are important indicators of discipline
5.	Attendance of members at meetings	Average attendance 95% or more per meeting. Absence only with prior intimation	Average attendance around 75% or more. Absence with and without intimation. Explanations maybe given later	Average attendance around 60%. No system of prior intimation. No explanations asked or given	Average attendance below 60%. No system of prior intimation. No explanations asked or given	Attendance Book Minutes Book Discussions with members
6.	Participation of members in decision making	Issues fullyunderstood by all members. Decisions fully collective by all members	Issues understood by representatives/ promoters and some members, who also influence decisions	Understanding of issues and decision taking limited to representatives and one or two members. Staff also influence decisions	High dependence on Promoter and/ or on Staff to take all decisions	This has to be assessed through discussions with members. Minutes Book to be referred to identify issues.