The EU Delegation to India and the New EU Civil Society Policy

On 12 September 2012 the European Commission (EC) adopted the Communication The Roots of Democracy and Sustainable Development: Europe's Engagement with Civil Society in External Relations. This policy proposal further developed the position towards Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) set out in the Agenda for Change and the Communication on the future of EU budget support, as well as the Busan Partnership for Effective Development. 

The Communication, which was endorsed by the Council of the European Union on 15 October 2012, outlines an enhanced and more strategic approach to the European Union's (EU) engagement with local CSOs in developing, neighbourhood, and enlargement countries. It sends a strong message about the importance the EU attaches to a dynamic, pluralistic and competent local civil society and of constructive relations between states and CSOs.

Given the focus on the country level, EU Delegations will be at the forefront of implementing the new policy. However, for many EU Delegations the policy directions set out in the Communication are not new.

The EU Delegation to India, for example, has already come a long way in terms of supporting local CSOs. Years ago it decided to focus on Indian organisations, although it is still open to good proposals from European organisations. Approximately 65% of the CSOs currently funded by the Delegation are Indian ones.

Of course India is known to have a vibrant and large civil society presence: according to some statistics, India has one non-profit institution for every 400 people), including many experienced and visionary ones. A good example is MAMTA - Health Institute for Mother and Child, one of India's foremost health NGOs which is present in 14 Indian states. MAMTA is currently leading an EU-funded project to improve the reproductive and sexual health of young people by increasing the age at marriage and delaying the first pregnancy in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This project represents the largest EU grant to a CSO in the health sector.

The European organisations funded by the EU include organisations such as Christian Aid, Welthungerhilfe, Church Development Service (Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst) and Concern Worldwide. They work very closely with local partners, which is indeed a mandatory feature for EU support. Often their own role in the implementation of projects is very limited. 

For example, Christian Aid received funding to implement the project 'Reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV in India: Improving access for positive women to public health services'. However, the project is actually implemented by four experienced local partners: the (HIV) National Positive Women's Network as well as one partner in each of the three targeted states: The Positive Women’s Network (PWN+) in Rajasthan, the Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association (TNVHA) in Tamil Nadu, Arogya Agam in Tamil Nadu and the Society for People’s Action for Development (SPAD) in Karnataka. Christian Aid brought these different partners together to enhance outreach, mutual learning as well as impact on people's lives, and public health systems at the local, district and state levels. It is responsible for the overall coordination of the project, providing technical support and monitoring, as well as co-funding. It also facilitates the experience and information sharing among the partners and ensures the achievements of the overall project results.

Guidelines for Calls for Proposals prepared by the EU Delegation in Delhi clearly specify the need for projects to be in line with, or complementary to, government (sectoral) policies and interventions. They also call for close cooperation, engagement as well as capacity development of local level functionaries, institutions and stakeholders. They are expected to actively involve 'Panchayati Raj' institutions (i.e. local administrations at district, block and village level) and other actors engaged in the implementation of services, be they governmental, private or not-for-profit.

In many projects, CSO staff actively link beneficiaries to government structures and schemes - and vice versa. For example, doctors in several government health facilities in Karnataka refer women who have tested positive for HIV to networks of positive women supported by ChristianAid and its partners; they commend the effectiveness and motivation of the positive (volunteer) women who provide the counselling.

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In Uttar Pradesh, referrals work the other way around: teenagers with concerns about their reproductive and sexual health are encouraged by MAMTA and partner staff to go to a special weekly consultation at a nearby government health centre that is organised separately for adolescents to provide them with the necessary counselling and services. The adolescent health centre is in line with the mandate of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a flagship programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Government of India. Effective roll out of this programme has been delayed considerably. MAMTA and its partner are organising an orientation of government staff and enhancing their capacities in providing adolescent friendly services and counselling. This effort is not only linking beneficiaries to government facilities but is also helping the government to carry out its mandate while building trust and confidence among people and reaching out to beneficiaries at large.  

Although the Government has set up numerous public support schemes for the poor, there is a lack of awareness about these schemes, particularly in rural areas. The EU Delegation recently launched a Call for Proposals entitled 'Improving access to information on public schemes in backwards regions in India' (under the Thematic Programme for Non State Actors and Local Authorities) in order to address the implementation gaps that occur in public schemes when trying to effectively reach the poor. Projects to be funded should help improve the transparency and accountability of public schemes at district and village/ward level.

In order to capitalise on the diverse experiences gained, the Delegation organises regular dialogue forums bringing together different EU-funded CSOs in a specific sector. These dialogues, which cover technical, programmatic and operational issues, emerged from the need for a dialogue space for the EU Delegation to India and its CSO partners.

India will be one of the 'graduated' countries which will no longer receive bilateral EU support from 2014 onwards. The challenge in the coming years will be to strategically support CSOs within a changing context. The country-level ‘roadmaps for EU engagement with CSOs’ –proposed in the Communication - may prove a useful tool for this.

Source 3.3 million NGOs study: A Survey on Non Profit Institutions in India - Some Findings, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, India, September 2009.

The photos and video footage are courtesy of Renée Zandvliet. For more information on CSO's in India, please read the Voices & Views: Human Resources for Health: A Capacity Development project implemented in India, and CSOs in India use the Right to Information Act for Accountability and Transparency also by Renée Zandvliet.