APresentation by:

SWANG COMMUNICATIONAHMEDABAD

Social Audit Monitoring & Evaluation Visual Documentation

Overview

India is strongly committed to bringing about decentralized governance, and concrete steps have been taken for this.

However, the challenge lies in making governance systems effective, accountable and transparent at the district level and below, to plan, implement and monitor service delivery.

Inclusion, whether in the broader sense of actively involving citizens and factoring in their voices in the development processes - or more specifically, proactively reaching the disadvantaged or vulnerable groups - remains a challenge.

Community empowerment for citizens to demand their entitlements, participate in the planning process and in social audits, evaluation and documentation have also been identified as priorities.

To analyze and implement this precarious situation further, a new management technique is evolved, known as “Strategic Social Management”.

Strategic Social Management (SSM) “The management process, which integrates Social Auditing, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Visual Documentation altogether chronologically.”

SSM is a periodic observation activity by socially disadvantaged groups as local citizens who are project participants or target beneficiaries.

It focuses on the neglected issues of social impacts systematically.

It could also take the form of action intended to enhance participation, ensure inclusiveness, articulation of accountability, responsiveness and transparency by implementing agencies or local institutions, with a declared purpose of making an impact on their socio-economic status.

It captures the ethical and corporate responsibilities to control the overall mission of crafting the strategic and tactical operations.

Strategic Social Management (SSM)

Social Auditing(SA)

Monitoring &Evaluation

(M&E)

VisualDocumentation

(VD)

THE SSM Paradigm

What is Social Auditing ?What is Social Auditing ?

SA is a management tool and accountability SA is a management tool and accountability mechanism which can enhance an mechanism which can enhance an organization’s capacity to:organization’s capacity to:

Evaluate their impact on stakeholdersEvaluate their impact on stakeholders Determine how well they are living up to the Determine how well they are living up to the

values they espouse.values they espouse. Improve their strategic planning process by Improve their strategic planning process by

identifying potential problems before they identifying potential problems before they come up; andcome up; and

Increase their accountability to the groups Increase their accountability to the groups they serve and depend on.they serve and depend on.

What is M&E ?What is M&E ?

Monitoring - a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to compare how well a project, program, or policy is being implemented against expected results.

Evaluation - assessment of a planned, ongoing, or completed intervention to determine its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability.

What is Visual Documentation?What is Visual Documentation?

The most general definition of the visual documentation is a The most general definition of the visual documentation is a screenshotscreenshot evaluation of a person, organization, system, evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, project or product.process, project or product.

It is performed to ascertain the It is performed to ascertain the validityvalidity and and reliabilityreliability of of information, and also provide an assessment of a information, and also provide an assessment of a system's system's overall execution.overall execution.

The goal of visual documentation is to express an The goal of visual documentation is to express an illustrating illustrating opinionopinion on the person/organization/system/process etc. under on the person/organization/system/process etc. under evaluation based on work done on a test basis.evaluation based on work done on a test basis.

The process only seeks to provide the The process only seeks to provide the reasonable quality reasonable quality assuranceassurance, so that the mistakes and errors can be rectified , so that the mistakes and errors can be rectified proactively. Hence, proactively. Hence, keeping and maintaining records on keeping and maintaining records on handhand is the top most trait of visual documentation. is the top most trait of visual documentation.

SSM- The RationaleSSM- The Rationale

Strategic Social Management creates an impact upon governance. It Strategic Social Management creates an impact upon governance. It values the voice of stakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups values the voice of stakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups whose voices are rarely heard. SSM is taken up for the purpose of whose voices are rarely heard. SSM is taken up for the purpose of enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bodies.accountability and transparency in local bodies.

SSM permits the stakeholders of an enterprise to be ethical and moral SSM permits the stakeholders of an enterprise to be ethical and moral responsible firmly.responsible firmly.

SSM permits the stakeholders in the enterprise affect its behavior.SSM permits the stakeholders in the enterprise affect its behavior.

SSM allows enterprise to report on its achievements based on verified SSM allows enterprise to report on its achievements based on verified evidence rather than on anecdote and unsubstantiated claims. evidence rather than on anecdote and unsubstantiated claims.

TWO Crucial IssuesTWO Crucial IssuesUnder SSMUnder SSM

Ethical/Moral ResponsibilityEthical/Moral Responsibility

Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility

Ethics

Ethics are the moral principles and Ethics are the moral principles and values that govern the actions and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual or group. decisions of an individual or group. They serve as guidelines on how to They serve as guidelines on how to act rightly and justly when faced with act rightly and justly when faced with moral dilemmas.moral dilemmas.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The planned effort to contribute the The planned effort to contribute the communities, in particular the communities, in particular the underprivileged by an enterprise to underprivileged by an enterprise to develop the goodwill and mutual develop the goodwill and mutual understanding amongst all the focused understanding amongst all the focused groups, target beneficiaries and the project groups, target beneficiaries and the project participants. participants.

Three Major Social ResponsibilitiesThree Major Social Responsibilities

Profit Responsibility

Stakeholder Responsibility

Societal Responsibility

SSM- The PracticeSSM- The Practice

The crux of Strategic Social ManagementThe crux of Strategic Social Management

SSM- The StructureSSM- The Structure

Steps in conducting SSMSteps in conducting SSM

Assemble organization and secure agreement and commitment.Assemble organization and secure agreement and commitment.

Define and prioritize the organization’s objectives and establish the action it intends Define and prioritize the organization’s objectives and establish the action it intends to perform to meet them.to perform to meet them.

Identify the organization’s “stakeholders”Identify the organization’s “stakeholders”

Agree upon indicators, information, benchmarks and targets.Agree upon indicators, information, benchmarks and targets.

Data gathering & Reporting systems put in place.Data gathering & Reporting systems put in place.

Collating, analyzing and interpreting resultsCollating, analyzing and interpreting results

External verification processExternal verification process

Disclosure and act on resultsDisclosure and act on results

Reasons to conduct a SSMReasons to conduct a SSM

Know what is happeningKnow what is happening Understand what people think and wantUnderstand what people think and want Tell people what you are achievingTell people what you are achieving Strengthen loyalty / commitmentStrengthen loyalty / commitment Enhance decision-makingEnhance decision-making Improve overall performanceImprove overall performance

Elements of SSMElements of SSM

Multi-perspectiveMulti-perspective ComparativeComparative ComprehensiveComprehensive RegularRegular VerificationVerification DisclosureDisclosure

Focused GroupsFocused Groups

The poor The poor The rural communitiesThe rural communities The scheduled tribesThe scheduled tribes People living in inaccessible areasPeople living in inaccessible areas People with insufficient health facilitiesPeople with insufficient health facilities People with disabilitiesPeople with disabilities Disaster prone/ Conflict prone areasDisaster prone/ Conflict prone areas Slum-dwellersSlum-dwellers The underprivileged people, particularly The underprivileged people, particularly

women and childrenwomen and children

SSM- The EssenceSSM- The Essence

Encouraging community participationEncouraging community participation

Training the communities on participatory planning and learningTraining the communities on participatory planning and learning

Benefiting the disadvantaged groupsBenefiting the disadvantaged groups

Promoting collective decision making and sharing Promoting collective decision making and sharing responsibilitiesresponsibilities

Developing human resources and social capitalDeveloping human resources and social capital

Scrutinizing the existing schemes and the local activitiesScrutinizing the existing schemes and the local activities

Enabling continuous learning so that inspections can become Enabling continuous learning so that inspections can become increasingly effective and efficient.increasingly effective and efficient.

Thank you!Thank you!