Unnati is an issue-based, strategic and educational support organization. We are committed to fighting social exclusion and discrimination by enabling the poor and the marginalized to articulate themselves and raise their issue with the authorities concerned, demanding justice. Social accountability and decentralized governance are promoted by enhancing the participation of civil society leaders, enabling them to govern institutions for better performance. The reduction of poverty and vulnerability guides all our interventions. We work primarily in Gujarat and Rajasthan with some activities outside these two states.
We work at the field level in partnership with local civil society and people’s organizations. The collective experience, learning and insight enable us to work on knowledge building, training and advocacy. All initiatives are executed in a framework of collaboration and partnership to empower people for demanding their entitlements and enable the service providers, including the government, to deliver in a transparent and accountable manner. All our activities are carried out through three thematic centres –
• social Inclusion and Empowerment
• Civic Leadership, Social Accountability and Governance and
• Social Determinants of Disaster Risk Reduction.
Social Inclusion and Empowerment aims to invoke the principles of social justice among civil society actors and government organizations involved in social development, including poverty and vulnerability reduction. In partnership with grassroots organizations, we work on the rights of the dalits, women and persons with disabilities. Civic Leadership, Social Accountability and Governance program aims at strengthening the participation of the poor and marginalized sections so that they can influence governing institutions and policies. It seeks to create space for direct action by citizen leaders at the grassroots through mobilization, consultation and orientation to demand downward accountability to improve the access of the poor and the marginalized to services and development schemes. In social Determinants of Disaster Risk Reduction Program, the focus is on community based disaster risk reduction efforts and linkage building with development efforts so that mitigation and prevention initiatives are addressed on an on-going basis. Unnati has been working in accordance with the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-15 and the State and National disaster risk reduction framework. Besides the core area of our work, we provide institutional capacity building support, on request from our partners, to participatory training, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation and organizational management.
Vision
To create an inclusive society where all stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable, participate with full empowerment and gain equal access to and control over services, resources and institutions.
Mission
To promote social inclusion and democratic governance so that the vulnerable sections of our society, particularly the dalits, tribals, women and persons with disabilities, are empowered to effectively and decisively participate in mainstream development and the decision-making process.
Strengthening inclusive civic leadership for social accountability and effective service delivery of public programs in Rajasthan and Gujarat, India
The project ‘Strengthening inclusive civic leadership for social accountability and effective service delivery of public programs in Rajasthan and Gujarat, India’ aims at The project aims towards reducing poverty through improved access to public services and institutionalization of inclusive service delivery practices. It aims at creating an empowered demand for quality access of public schemes in the health care and nutrition, primary education and social security sectors from the most excluded groups of dalit population in Barmer district and tribal people in Sabarkantha district. Social security, especially for the elderly, persons with disability, pregnant women, widows, informal workers etc creates a safety net against economic shocks, sickness and other contingencies. It can lead to improvement in living standards. BPL families can move out of the poverty trap in five years if they are enabled to access a basket of relevant social security schemes. If about 20 schemes under the three broad programs are effectively made to reach the poor, it will enable them to make best use of government run primary education and preventive and curative health care to lead an economically secure life. It will enable them to fulfill their aspirations for greater political participation leading to an improved human development index and social capital.
Objectives
Specific objective of the project is ‘building inclusive civic leadership for demand articulation and social accountability in order to improve access, effective delivery and quality of public programs (health, primary education, social security and protection) in two backward district of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Target Group
300 citizen leaders from the dalit (SC) community, tribals, Persons with disability with a special focus on women covering 60 panchayats with 18,000 households
Final Beneficiaries
30,000 households of 180 panchayats of four blocks of two BRGF districts
Estimated Results
• Improved access to information services by mobilization, information dissemination and capacity building at the community level, particularly among dalit, tribal and persons with disability and with a gender focus.
• Good local governance practices strengthened through capacity building of PRIs, particularly district planning and gramsabha level social accountability
• Best service delivery practices demonstrated through capacity building of service providers and making the implementing mechanism responsive, through interfacing with the government at all levels
• Multi-stakeholder network developed on education, health and social security for sustained advocacy on policy and operational changes to improve quality of delivery of public services
Binoy Acharya
Director, Unnanti
Deepa Sonpal
Project Coordinator, Gujarat
Swapni Shah
COO, Rajasthan Programme Office and Project Coordinator, Rajasthan
Dilipsingh Bidawat
Project Officer for Patodi block
Tolaram Chouhan
Programme Officer for Sindhri block
Paridhi Yadav
Programme Associate for Poshina block
Yogendra Katewa
Programme Associate for Poshina block
Vandana Singh
Programme Associate for Vijaynagar block
Akalima Karbhari
Programme Associate for Vijaynagar block
Thepa Parmar
Community facilitator for Poshina block
Jayant Layek
Programme Associate for Patodi block
Geeta Dodiyar
Community facilitator, Vijaynagar block
Pemparam Barupal
Community facilitator, Sindhri block
Khemaram Joya
Community facilitator, Patodi block
Motaram Gaur
Community facilitator, Patodi block
Chaini Choudhary
Community facilitator for sindhri block
International Women’s Day Celebration, 10 March, 2015 at Vijaynagar, Sabarkantha District, Gujarat
Orientation on Mainstreaming Disability for Inclusive Development, September 2-4, 2015, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Soochana Swabhiman Yatra, March 16 – April 3, 2015, Badmer, Rajasthan
Campaign for Access to Information on Public Programmes and Entitlements with Dignity
Information of Public Schemes on Social Security, Health and Education in Rajasthan state
Information of Public Schemes on Social Security, Health and Education in Rajasthan state.
(The NVDA ( Non visual desktop access) application can read the text in audio format)
To download NVDA click on following link: http://www.nvaccess.org
Information on Public Schemes on Education, Health and Social Security in Gujarat State
Information on Public Schemes on Education, Health and Social Security in Gujarat State
(The NVDA ( Non visual desktop access) application can read the text in audio format)
To download NVDA click on following link: http://www.nvaccess.org
Vichar Vol 20 no 1 HINDI_Jan-March15
Vichar Vol 20 no 1 HINDI_April-June15
Vichar Vol 20 no 3 HINDI_July-Sept15
Vichar Vol 20 no 4 HINDI_Oct-Dec15
Vichar Vol 19 no 1 HINDI_Jan-April14
• During the year information was disseminated on the government schemes and programs to 7932 households in the project area.
• IRCs have taken up 694 cases of non–access to services and 359 of them are successfully redressed. IRCs have also supported 2121 HHs to access different schemes. Around 50 demands have been facilitated in the gramsabhas.
• 179 Citizen Leaders (51 women and 128 men) from SC, ST, minority community and person with disability were identified and supported to undertake citizen centric actions. They undertook 357 actions benefitting 1349 households. During the year, 49 meetings of community organizations of public programs (37 SMC meetings and 37 meetings of VHSNCs) were facilitated.
• Special information campaign was initiated in the project area in collaboration with the district administration. The study of proactive disclosure was undertaken in collaboration with the Gujarat State Information Commission.
•18 types of services and schemes were covered in the first round of longitudinal participatory monitoring of public services facilitated in 70 villages of 23 gram panchayats between October and December 2014. It resulted in increased awareness about the programs and several local level social accountability and information disclosure actions were initiated
Presentation: ANNUAL REVIEW AND PLANNING MEETING – May 6-7 2015, New Delhi
G 1/200, Azad Society
Ahmedabad – 380015. Gujarat. India. Phone: 91-79-26746145/26733296