Rural Management Systems Series

What should MYRADA’s role be in the promotion and development of federations ? After much discussion, the following decisions were taken :

Stage

Approximate duration

MYRADA’s role

Preparatory

6 months (prior to formation of the federation)

· Discussions at SHG level on federation

· Training at SHG level on concept and roles of federations and their own roles as members

· Selection of SHG representatives to the federation, and orientation to the selected representatives

Formation

0 - 6 months federation and members

· Facilitate framing of Vision, Mission, Goals

· Facilitate framing of rules and regulations, activity plans, and clarify functions, roles and responsibilities of

Stabilization

6 - 24 months

· Capacity building inputs

· Facilitate processes on how to operationalise activity plans in accordance with Vision and Mission

· Facilitate building linkages with other institutions

· Facilitate establishment of documentation, financial management systems, and audits

Phasing out

25 - 36 months

· Continue to attend federation meetings periodically and facilitate federation strengthening processes

· Participatory evaluation

Withdrawal

After 36 months

· Occasional "friendly" appearances at meetings and events organised by the federation

Regular involvement of MYRADA	: Upto 24 months
Partial involvement	: 25 to 36 months
"Friendly" appearances	: After 36 months

Some DOs and DON’Ts for MYRADA :

What to encourage (a quick checklist of essentials)	What not to encourage
Circulation of federation meeting Minutes to all member SHGs	Do not : use the federation to achieve our agenda
Responsibility sharing among all member SHGs	Do not : pay travel costs and food costs of members attending federation meetings (this can become a habit and a pre-condition for attending meetings)
Periodic audits and sharing of audit findings with member SHGs	Do not : take the responsibility for calling federation meetings
Planning of all activities with focus on Vision, Mission, and Goals	Do not : host federation meetings on our Project premises (our experience shows that they will expect us to make all the arrangements including cleaning up after the meeting)
Periodic assessment of achievements against plans	Do not : get involved in decision making on behalf of the federation
Training programmes to strengthen the federation	Do not : hold or write the books and documents of the federation Do not : be a signatory to the federation account Do not : pay faculty charges, service fees, etc. directly to federation members, if engaging them as resource persons. Discuss with the federation and pay the federation directly; the federation can then pay the concerned individuals Do not : give subsidies/grants to the federation (except under special circumstances that are clearly discussed at the Project level and with Programme Officer) Do not : encourage the federation to perform any activity that can well be performed by individual SHGs - including collecting savings, giving loans, etc. (the issue of raising funds and lending to SHGs for on lending to individuals is still being debated)

The final session of the Workshop dwelt on developing clear-cut criteria for the grading of federations. Holalkere and Kamasamudram Projects shared the detailed documents they had earlier prepared on the same topic. The Workshop participants decided that grading could be categorised under the ‘Six Features of an Organisation’. Accordingly, the following table was developed. This is just a first attempt and is intended to be further developed and improved:

Grading Criteria for Federations of Self-help Groups

Criteria	Indicators	Means of Verification

Vision and Mission

Vision and Mission

Developed by the federation and known to all at the federation level as well as at the level of all the member SHGs

· Written Vision and Mission Statements
· Minutes Book
· Interactions with members

Goals and Activities

Framed in consonance with the Vision and Mission

· Minutes Book
· Action plans and reports
· Discussions with members

Organisational Management

Size	Not less than 10 and not more than 20 SHGs (20 to 40 representatives at the rate of 2 members per SHG)	· Admission Register · Attendance Book
Meetings	Regular meetings as per schedule (preferably atleast one meeting per month)	· Minutes Book · Attendance Book
Attendance at meetings	All member SHGs are represented at all meetings (atleast 80% attendance at any given meeting)	· Attendance Book · Minutes Book
Rules and Regulations	Framed by the federations with the acceptance of all member SHGs, and known to all concerned. Maintained and followed, with penalties for violations of rules	· Minutes Books · Written copies of rules and regulations · Fines collected, etc. as penalties for violation · Discussions with members
Sharing of responsibilities	Task forces formed and functioning, with different members taking the lead in different things	· Interactions with federation representatives and SHG members · Minutes Book
*Financial Management*
Bank account	Bank account opened in the name of the federation	· Bank pass book
Fund raising	Funds mobilised from different sources	· Minutes Book · Accounts books & documents · Interactions with members
Fund utilisation	Proposed activities taken up following proper procedures	· Accounts books & documents · Discussions with members · Discussions with others
Book keeping	All books (listed elsewhere) maintained on their own and kept up-to-date	· Verification of books
Auditing, reporting, and follow-up	Annual audits conducted, reports shared and follow-up action taken	· Audit reports · Discussions with members · Minutes Book
*Organisational Accountability*
Rotation of representatives	Regular change of representatives according to guidelines, including annual change of cheque signatories	· Minutes Book · Interactions with members · Bank documentation
Sharing of information	Activities of the federation known to all members, as well as to donation-givers and other stakeholders	· Circulation of federation meeting Minutes · Discussions with members and other stakeholders · Evidence of reports circulated to others, if any · Evidence of any annual gatherings organised to share the work of the federations with others
Distribution of benefits (if any such programme taken up)	Distributed according to established conditions and procedures (not cornered by a few more powerful members)	· Minutes Book · Accounts books & documents · Discussions with members
*Linkages*
Linkages with other institutions	Established good relations with member SHGs, other federations, other local level institutions, technical and financial resource institutions, etc. in keeping with Vision, Mission, and Goals	· Minutes Book · Interactions with federation representatives and member SHGs · Interactions with other institutions · Evidence of resources mobilised (accounts books)
*Learning and Evaluation*
Work reviews and performance appraisal	Regular review of activities during meetings Annual review of activities in relation to action plans Obtaining feedback from member SHGs and others on the performance of the federation	· Minutes Book · Interactions with members and others · Annual review reports, performance appraisal reports, etc., if any
Training programmes	Good initiatives shown to solicit training programmes and attend training programmes	· Correspondence · Training records · Discussions with members
With this, the Workshop came to a close. Plans are being made to share these discussions with all the other Project Staff not present at these discussions, and initiate appropriate action.