semester at sea explorer's seminar on role of ngos final

Role of NGOs in Development: Case Study from Oxfam in India

Presentation made to Semester at Sea

Nisha Agrawal, CEO, Oxfam India

October 6, 2011

Topics to be Covered

1.The Global Challenges2.Oxfam International’s Role 3.The Challenges in India 4.The Role of Oxfam India

The Challenge of Increasing Equity within

Ecological Limits

Pop: 7bn

2010 2050

Resource share of the worst off 20% of people

Ecological impact of global resource use

Pop: 9bn

Planetary boundaries

Three Global Challenges• The Earth’s population is expected to grow from 7 billion

today to 9 billion by 2050

• Even as global population significantly expands, we must deal with three challenges

1. The Sustainability Challenge--Reduce the impacts of consumption to within sustainable limits;

2. The Equity Challenge--Redistribute consumption towards the poorest; and

3. The Resilience Challenge—Reduce vulnerability to climate change.


1.The Global Challenges2.Oxfam International’s

Role 3.The Challenges in India 4.The Role of Oxfam India

What is Oxfam?• Oxfam was formed almost 70

years ago in 1942 to respond to a food crisis in Greece during World War II; it is an example of a major global institution being created by a few active citizens coming together to provide a solution to a perceived problem

Demanding Rights for All6

Oxfam International

• Today, it is an international confederation with 15 members--Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Quebec, Spain, and the US


A Growing Family

• Oxfam India is the newest member of the Confederation; two new Oxfam's are currently forming (Japan and Italy) and few more are likely to be formed by 2020 (in places like Brazil, South Africa and others) to align with the new power structure (G20, IBSA, BRICSAM) of a multi-polar world so that we can tackle global problems together


Oxfam’s Identity• Oxfam is a network of rights-

based, advocacy organizations that fight poverty and injustice by linking grassroots programming done through partner NGOs to local, national, regional, and global advocacy and policymaking



1. The Global Challenges2. Oxfam International’s Role 3. The Challenges in India 4. The Role of Oxfam India

Context for Big Bang Liberalization in India in 1991

• Balance of payments crisis in 1991

• Elections in 1991 of a new Government

• Abandoning of piece meal approach to reforms and launching systemic reforms

Poverty has declined…but still high

1990 2010

Official Poverty Rate %

45.3 32.2



1. The Global Challenges2. Oxfam International’s Role 3. The Challenges in India 4. The Role of Oxfam India

Vibrant Civil Society in India• By some estimates there are about

3.3 million NGOs in India (one each for 400 people); the number of NGOs grew at an average annual rate of 10% between 2006 and 2009; on average, over the past 3 years, 700 NGOs opened every day (India Philanthropy report, Bain and Company, 2011)


Changing role of NGOs • With growing resources of the Indian

government as it becomes a middle income country, as well as the emergence of a number of other players, in particular, the middle class and the corporate sector, the traditional role of NGOs is changing from direct service delivery for the poor and marginalized to a much more complex and challenging one--to evidence building and advocacy.


Evidence Based Advocacy

• “In a context where many social programs have to be implemented and fine-tuned, civil society has an important role to play in gathering data about successful social policies and to point out gaps or failures. It will need to generate information at the community level and bring it into a debate at local and national levels” (Dubochet, 2011)


What Can Bring About Change? s

1. Empowering the poor and marginalized to demand their rights;

2. Engaging the middle class—especially the youth--to become active citizens

3. Advocating for an effective and accountable state;

4. Working with corporations to create better opportunities for poor people

5. Working with India as a global player

Empowering the poor to demand their rights

• A lot of good laws (Right to Information, Right to Education, Right to Work), policies and programs are now in place

• The challenge is in their implementation

• There is a huge challenge to build the capacity of the poor and marginalized to demand their rights Demanding Rights for All18

Engaging the middle class to become active citizens

• The middle class in India has tended to be urban, upper caste, educated, exclusionary

• Need to work with them to change attitudes and behaviors towards a more inclusive development path


Advocating for an effective and accountable state

• “The Indian state in our view is beholden to guarantee special measures and safeguards to protect the rights and universal entitlements for the most socially excluded people residing within its jurisdiction. All planning and development processes should be inclusive of all socially excluded groups”


Engaging with corporations for better CSR policies and

practices• The Corporate sector is growing

and changing rapidly in India• Traditionally, civil society has

played a watchdog role to hold businesses accountable on human, social, and economic rights of communities; this role is even more vital todayDemanding Rights for All21

Influencing India as a global player

• India’s international position is one of increasing influence and assertiveness

• In recent years, in several international negotiations (trade, climate change), India has emerged as an influential actor; it is also a member of G20Demanding Rights for All22

• Thank you for your attention


Roadmap

Visit us at http://www.oxfamindia.org

Demanding Rights for All

semester at sea explorer's seminar on role of ngos final

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