the civil society fund major development projectdac1dcb1... · 2017-06-28 · the civil society...

THE CIVIL SOCIETY FUND – Major development project, rev. January 2016 0

1. Cover page

THE CIVIL SOCIETY FUND MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (budget between DKK 400,000 and 3,5 million)

Project title A Local Self Government initiative for a contextually more appropriate education for rural youth to alleviate rural poverty

Danish applicant organisation iiINTERest E-mail: [email protected]

Other Danish partner(s), if any N.A.

Contact person for the intervention Name: Poul Daugbjerg E-mail: [email protected]

Local partner organisation(s) (please insert the necessary rows below)

Country(-ies) Country’s GNI per capita

AHEAD Initiatives India $ 1,586 (UN 2014)

Commencement date: 1st January 2017 Completion date: 31st December 2020 No. of months: 48 months

Amount applied for (DKK) 2.991.752

Is this a re-submission? [x] No [ ] Yes, please note the ref.no.(j.nr.):

Is this

[ ] a new project? [x] a project in extension of another project previously supported (by the Civil Society Fund or others)?

Do you want a response letter in (choose one) [ ] Danish or [x] English

Do you want the Assessment Committee’s notes about the application in (choose one)

[ ] Danish or [x ] English

Synthesis (maximum 10 lines – must be written in Danish, even if the rest of the application is in English)

Denne anden fase af iiINTERest-AHEAD’ uddannelses-initiativ fokuserer på fortalervirksomhed over for de

lokale amts-kommunale uddannelsesmyndigheder. Hensigten er i et kapacitetsopbyggende partnerskab

med disse myndigheder og 6 CSOer dels at udbrede et uddannelsesindhold der er målrettet behovene

blandt landsbyernes skolesøgende børn og dels at afprøve et ’efterskole’-koncept for unge, der har forladt

skolen uden eksamensbevis, således at de kan skabe sig et levegrundlag og bryde fattigdomscirklen.

Gennem konkrete modeller og strategiske serviceydelser vil projektet vise hvilke resultater, der kan opnås i

samarbejde med lærere, lokale ressourcepersoner samt lokale og statslige uddannelsesmyndigheder.

Projektet gennemføres i områder af forskellig etno-kulturel karakter med sigte på at øve indflydelse på den

statslige uddannelsespolitik. De primære målgrupper er 5500 skolebørn og 2500 unge i 50 skoler i 25

kommuner i 6 ’blocks’ i 6 distrikter i delstaterne Vestbengalen og Odisha i Indien.

13-09-2016 Date Person responsible (signature)

Nørrebro POUL DAUGBJERG, SECRETARY OF IIINTEREST

Place Person responsible and position (block letters)

mailto:[email protected]


2. Application text A. THE PARTNERS

A.1 The Danish organisation

iiINTERest is a development organisation working on a voluntary basis with development aid to the neediest rural areas of Eastern India. Its main focus is on establishing food security for the poor rural population, in particular those belonging to the marginalised classes including Dalits and the many tribal minorities based on local democracy. In addition, iiINTERest also addresses educational issues in its areas of interest with the intention to create long term development in relation to children and youth of the same target groups. iiINTERest and its local partner will by end 2016 have completed its first project in this regard with one important achievement being a fruitful cooperation with the local authorities and CSOs.

iiINTERest has a close and longstanding partnership with the local partner Ahead Initiatives (more in section A.3) and has through this organisation established relationships to its local institutional member organisations throughout West Bengal and neighbouring states (Jharkhand and Odisha).

The active members of iiINTERest - also constituting the board - have a long history in development aid projects in this part of India from iiINTERest as well as other organisations, including leading roles as project administrators of ten projects among which five have taken place under the auspices of iiINTERest. iiINTERest has strengthened its administrative capacity over the last 1 ½ years by employing a student assistant to handle a range of tasks like membership contact, payments, updating of the webpage (www.iiINTERest.dk) and assistance to the Board. This capacity is assisting iiINTERest in developing towards being a more viable and effective organization, including seeking recruitment of active volunteers and further development of the member base.

The experience and capacities gained from the existing education project will be maintained and expanded in the project applied for. iiINTERest has in relation to the existing first phase of the education initiative ending December this year (12-1105-SP-apr) launched a number of information activities involving Danish pupils in primary schools and will further develop and expand these activities in the years to come (more in section E.1).

iiINTERest has furthermore started a comprehensive strategic planning for the development of the organization in other areas. Possible financing sources will be evaluated and especially the possibility to engage in CSR partnerships with companies and institutions seem to be interesting elements in the efforts to complement financing from The Civil Society Fund in the future. iiINTERest will also establish closer networking relationships with other organisations in Denmark with focus on education (see more in section E.1). The learnings of the current phase of the education project, in particular the unique strategy of close cooperation with responsible authorities, would be focal point for the discussions with other likeminded organisations in the development aid sector.

A.2 Other Danish partners (to be filled in if several Danish organisations are forming an alliance)

Se section A.1

A.3 The local organisation

Though AHEAD Initiatives (hereafter AHEAD) was started in 2008 and received its formal registration in early 2009, the organisation’s strength and prior experience stems among others from 15 years of co-operation of all its senior staff members with board members of iiINTERest in Danida & Minipool funded projects which they had led (see section A.4).

The Directors and staff of AHEAD have core competencies in the proposed activity as a result of previous cooperation with iiINTERest on a similar activity. The cooperation includes the


Partnership Activity (1.4.2011 - 30.9.2012) and the ongoing Education project (1.1.2013 - 31.12.2016) funded by the Civil Society Fund /CISU (see also section A.4 below).

Apart from the organisation’s 26 institutional rural CSO members from West Bengal and now the neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Orissa, its present 22 individual members include very senior bureaucrats, distinguished academicians, media individuals, chartered accountants, senior corporate executives etc. The individual members represent key resources as advisors and enablers through their personal network at the state level. The 26 rural CSOs (see Annex I for a map & location details) constitute a local member network situated in the rural areas in 12 of the 18 districts of West Bengal and 1 district each in the States of Jharkhand and Odisha with a total membership base of 2,265 individual members. The CSOs are well established grassroots' organisations which have come together on the basis of a shared belief in the main objectives of AHEAD. The CSOs capacity has been strengthened by AHEAD by involving them formally in all its projects as partners.

Through many years of engagement in NGO-work, the organisation has well-established relations to national government agencies, local government (at state, district, block and community level), international donor agencies (e.g. DFID), international NGOs (e.g. Care India), and local NGOs such as CRY (Child Rights and You). More recently it has established strong contacts with the West Bengal Education Network (WEBEN) with which it intends to intensify its engagement in this phase of the education initiative.

AHEAD’s growing presence in the state level advocacy arena is reflected by the action initiated by the State Commissioner of the National Right to Employment Guarantee programme (NREGA) to implement an AHEAD proposed micro family based nursery and plantation programme at the State level (see Annex II). This has more recently been followed by a State level invitation to AHEAD’s technical team (see Annex III) to train District level technical teams from all of West Bengal’s districts in the family based nursery cum plantation in Common Property resources with usufruct rights which has now become a National Scheme.

An individual member of AHEAD (a former member of the syllabus committee reform) was able to in some measure successfully advocate a more rural centric contextually appropriate curriculum which is the core element of AHEAD’s education initiative. This has been followed up by a number of representations at the State level where AHEAD’s activity based modules for rural school children and other print material for teachers and Audio-visuals for children have been appreciated. AHEAD has also received a formal request (see Annex IV) to allow its Managing Director to assist the Fourth State Finance Commission on backwardness based allocation of ‘untied funds’ as an entitlement to local government.

Apart from funds through iiINTERest, AHEAD has till date worked with various minor funds - from 1) British Petroleum, 2) Rural Development Institute (now called LANDESA), 3) the SHG promotional Forum, 4) Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) and 5) the Department of Science and Technology of the State Government. More recently, it has successfully secured pilot phase funding of 625,000 INR from the Smriti Sansanka Memorial Foundation (SSMF) for a long term development programme in Bardhhaman district in West Bengal which blends the work in food security with its initiative in the sphere of Education. It also proposes to take advantage of the now mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility legislation in India to promote its vision of Corporate-LSGI (Panchayats) partnerships facilitated by local CSOs. Apart from ongoing discussion with the Tata Foundation, a CSR seminar scheduled for November 2016 is hoped to engage leading companies in Eastern India on possible funding. The seminar draws on iiINTERest’s Chairman (in his capacity as an Associate Professor on CSR at the Copenhagen Business School) and the AHEAD Chairman’s contacts with Corporate bodies.

The key persons of the organisation are quite experienced. Most of its present Directors have 20-30 years of experience in Rural Development stretching from exemplary grassroots Action Research & Capacity Building to successful Advocacy. Academically, the majority of its Directors


are postgraduates in the Sciences, Humanities and Business Administration, while others are graduates (see below in section A.4 for more detail of prior experience). The previous experiences of AHEAD and its member organisations are substantial, but the most important lesson has been the importance of mainstreaming efforts in order to improve the living conditions of the poor through evidence based advocacy. Core elements have been the poor's ownership of the institutions and processes of local government, and the need for focusing on decentralised natural resource management and localised contextually appropriate education as a principal sustainable strategy for addressing poverty.

A.4 The cooperative relationship and its prospects

The key persons of iiINTERest and AHEAD have a long history of cooperation. All in all, five projects were headed by them in their previous engagement in Indien Gruppen Fyn (IGF) and LKP respectively in the period from 2002-2008. The cooperative relationship has continued and deepened as a result of an additional five projects undertaken in the following period from 2010 up to now as part of their engagement in iiINTERest and AHEAD. In addition to the projects mentioned above in section A.3, the projects include Phases I-III of the Food and Livelihood Security initiative (1.7.2010 - 31.12.2018).

In addition to the project cooperation, the two organisations have launched a Partnership Strengthening Program in 2014 which at the outset involved a visit from 4 senior members of AHEAD to Denmark to get a deeper insight into Danish culture, agriculture, democratic governance, public sector organisation and education. The continuation of the program is intended to involve staff members of AHEAD and project staff members in capacity building activities during their visits to Denmark. The next visit is planned to take place in 2017 when it is also proposed to share the learnings of a local self-governance approach with other CISU members and possibly float alliances with them for what can be a sustainable community driven strategy for poverty alleviation, given that local government is ideally positioned as ‘duty bearers’ by sheer virtue of their proximity and can be held accountable by the poor as ‘rights holders’.

This phase of the intervention intends to advocate the involvement of block level LSGIs (Panchayat Samitis) and State & National level sectoral government departments at the block level in more responsible roles in order to engage mainstream institutions and processes in contextually appropriate education and establish an innovative model for skill building to provide income opportunities for the rural youth with low educational attainment. The organisations have so far not engaged these stakeholders in a thorough manner as regards education and hence new learnings will emerge. iiINTERest and AHEAD are capable of meeting these challenges and will further consolidate the capabilities and network of the organizations (see section A.1 above). This includes collaboration with the West Bengal Education Network (WEBEN) which AHEAD has already engaged. The involved local CSOs will have their capacities drastically expanded.

B. PROJECT ANALYSIS

B.1 How has the project been prepared?

The project application is the second phase of what had been proposed as a phased programme initiative. The first phase at the grass root level of the lowest LSGI tier of the Gram Panchayat and individual schools has fulfilled its objectives, created attention from media (see Annex V for media reports etc.) and has also proved invaluable in terms of learning experiences of the way forward in institutionalising the demonstrated approaches and advocating for mainstream adoption of these approaches (as indicated in Annex VI, this has already partly happened).

In addition, the application has been shaped by numerous neighbourhood meetings with the community and rural youth, Parents/Mothers-Teachers meetings, teachers workshops and a continuing interaction with LSGI’s both at the lowest tier of the Gram Panchayats (GPs) and increasingly more recently with the Block level Panchayat Samities (PSs) which is the lowest level where the State Government’s Department of Education has executive functionaries.


More formally, a review was conducted by the external evaluator who visited all project areas and presented his findings at the intensive iiINTERest capacity building residential workshop in November 2015 for AHEAD and 12 of AHEAD’s active rural CSO institutional members. There was also a formal meeting arranged for iiINTERest and the evaluator with one Block level LSGI (PS) with the Chairperson of the District Standing Committee on Education also present along with Block level State educational authorities. The latter resulted in a request from the PS for collaborating to replicate best practises in schools of other GPs of the Block (see Annex VII). More recently, a second similar request from Bagmundi Block of Puruliya District (see Annex VIII) demonstrates the concurrence of 2 Block level LSGIs and their willingness to collaborate with AHEAD to replicate and adopt demonstrated approaches by mainstreaming them in all GPs of their Blocks. The two PSs have also agreed in principle to contribute input costs amounting to 1,100,000 INR per annum (~ 430,000 DKK over the project period).

The project further builds on the first phase which conducted a baseline survey of the below poverty line families from which it was evident that the educational attainment levels of the youth of families are even more alarming than just the rural-urban educational divide discussed below (see section B.2 and Annex IX). Finally, the Executive summary of the interim report (Annex X) of the external evaluator includes two major learning experiences, which also have shaped the present application;

While the lowest tier of the LSGIs (the GPs) has been able to successfully strengthen the role of the community in schools and assist teachers in unfolding some activity based contextually appropriate modules by providing a modicum of funds, a Block LSGI focus and advocacy is necessary for the GPs to engage Block level State educational authorities to institutionalise demonstrated approaches, and

The vast majority of rural youth, particularly those from poor families, has not even completed Middle School. This makes them ineligible for all National and State sponsored skill building for livelihood opportunities. Hence, this group needs greater focus as a target group and an important task should be to demonstrate and seek institutionalisation of skill building opportunities within close proximity of their locality.

B.2 In what context is the project placed?

India has witnessed high economic growth in the last 15-20 years. However, it is an acknowledged fact that this has yet to benefit the rural poor. In this geographically vast and culturally diverse country, two disparate urban and rural segments are emerging. While the urban areas bear increasing witness of the economic growth, many rural districts have a per capita district domestic product which is a quarter of India’s average, with only countries such as Burundi, Liberia and Congo having a lower per capita GNI.

This state of backwardness is shown by the rural-urban divide in educational attainment levels of youth shown in an analysis of Census 2011 data for West Bengal (see Annex IX). In spite of a national and state flagship initiative in the last decade and a Right to Education Act in 2009 the data for the 20-29 age group who constitute 20% of the population is alarming. For this age group in the rural areas of Bengal, 57% males and 64% females have only been able to complete primary school while the corresponding figures in urban areas are 38% and 40% respectively. These Census figures are confirmed by a comparison with Socio Economic Caste Census Data (SECC 2011 - see Annex XI) which shows that in the targeted rural areas of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha and the 2 districts of Puruliya and Alipurduar in West Bengal as many as 71.22%, 71.21% and 66.35% respectively (all ages) have only been able to complete primary school.

Eastern India is home to the largest segment of marginalised groups, namely Tribals, Dalits and Minorities with the highest percentage of its population below the poverty line. Here, current educational efforts and content have little relevance or impact because of a ‘one size fits all’ approach (see more in section B.3 below). A large segment of the youth with low educational


attainment levels are dependent on livelihood opportunities afforded by sustainable natural resource management and minor forest produce as their habitation is far removed from mainstream opportunities, even that of manual labour. This context is endemic to the now dwindling vast tracts of forests in India which are inhabited by tribal people, including the primitive tribal groups.

The two target blocks in Alipurduar and Puruliya in West Bengal also have a tribal population of 40% and 25% respectively. Puruliya is recognised as the most backward district of West Bengal and Alipurduar district (which recently was constituted from the backward eastern region of Jalpaiguri district) has its own challenges due to its many closed tea gardens and populated forest areas (Buxa Tiger Reserve). While Alipurduar district constitutes a unique socio-economic and geographical setting bordering Bhutan, local governance has only been introduced in the last decade or so (Annex XII data profiles the areas on their development indicators in comparison with other districts of West Bengal).

The targeted project areas in Odisha are also situated in special tribal demarcated zones in what are known as PESA areas (Panchayat Extension in Schedule Areas) where the Constitution requires the integration of their customary tribal structures with the Panchayati Raj vision and structures. The present non-existent integration in itself poses a new challenge to a Local Self Governance approach.

The mixed political scenario extends from the conservative Hindu fundamentalists and Muslim fundamentalists to left leaning parties including the Communists. Deprivation, marginalisation and loss of identity and of control over their own lives and resources has had its impact on the rural poor and given rise to a rapidly growing armed Maoist movement particularly in Puruliya of West Bengal.

Of key importance in this context of marginalisation and of access for the rural poor to contextually appropriate education are Local Self Governance Institutions (LSGIs), called Panchayats. The 73rd Amendment (1993) in India’s Constitution has instituted a three tier system of Zilla Parishad (ZPs - district councils), Panchayat Samitis (PSs - block councils) and Gram Panchayats (GPs - municipalities) which constitute the LSGIs. They are seen as the principal proactive stakeholders in development processes in India and have been entrusted with the responsibility to implement various pro poor development programmes as Self Government ‘duty bearers’. The Schedule 11 in the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India (see Annex XIII) has also made them responsible for rural education. A continuing interaction with LSGIs of different tiers has revealed their helplessness in educational matters. Though the LSGIs have formal Standing Committees on education, they have little role or resources to address local educational needs. In spite of legislative changes, education continues to be the domain of the State and Central Governments.

There have been a vast number of initiatives in the educational sector. Most, including the flagship central government initiative “Sarva Shiksha Abhijan”, have focused on creating necessary infrastructure, on universal enrolment, school dropouts, providing a mid-day meal, etc. In West Bengal, the onetime DFID supported Rural Decentralisation state government programme also focussed on these issues. Many NGO’s have also taken a right’s based approach and campaign for implementation of the Right to Education Act (2009) which assures free and compulsory education to all up to the age of 14. There has been a slow realisation that the problem laid not just in the necessary infrastructural needs, but also in the content of education that the rural youth receive, particularly the children and youth of poor families. There have been isolated efforts of alternative schools run by NGOs to provide more contextually appropriate education and vocational skills appropriate for the rural environment.

There has also always been a wide recognition both by the National and State Government of the need of vocational skill building education for unemployed youth and a National Skill building Mission has recently been rolled out. However, it does not address the core issues faced by rural youth as discussed below (see section B.3).


B.3 Problem analysis

In spite of increasing resource allocations which have no doubt addressed some infrastructural needs, the educational sector in West Bengal is in a dismal state. This situation is reflected in government of India educational statistics showing a 38% dropout in classes I-V, 62% overall dropout in I-VIII, and over a 75% dropout in classes I-X (see Annex XIV) and accordingly in the low education attainment levels of rural youth discussed above (see section B.2). The reality in the rural areas with regard to education is further aggravated by the diverse socio-cultural conditions and educational needs in remote poorer districts. The school children and youth are not only deprived of local indigenous knowledge which is a key resource for empowering communities to combat marginalization, poverty and impoverishment, but they are also weaned away from their cultural roots, which is intrinsic to their identity and which defines their aspirations and sense of fulfilment.

The root causes of poor education provided in rural schools are a) an urban-centric and uniform approach to education and b) a centrally managed educational sector. Though clearly related, each root cause will be elaborated separately in this section. Many of the problems of the education sector have their roots in the Western style education tailored for ‘modern’ industrial society with its urban-centric emphasis initiated many years ago (see Annex XV).

The urban-centric and uniform approach to education is far removed from the local socio-economic and cultural setting of the rural communities as it in essence leads to graduates with skills aimed for urban, administrative types of functions. Such skills are highly inappropriate to the educational needs of the rural children, including those from the poorest families, where the employment opportunities available are rural based, practical and hands-on. This reflects our own field experience during the past years and has been summarized by the National Knowledge Commission’s Report on School Education 2008: ‘… Curriculum reform remains a critically important issue in almost all schools. School education must be made more relevant to the lives of children. … programs must be expanded rather than reduced, and given a different focus that is directed towards improving life skills and meeting felt needs, especially (but not only) among the youth. ….’ (See the extract in Annex XVI).

This has led to the situation where knowledge on issues like local self-governance, health, nutrition, livelihoods, awareness of human trafficking, safe migration, etc. is urgently needed among the rural school children, but is not part of the curriculum in the rural schools. Hence critical shortages in skills both for those completing schooling and those who only manage to complete some amount of schooling exist. In addition to the limited skills, rural children and youth are also deprived of their own local indigenous knowledge because of a breakdown in their traditional transmission mechanisms. The breakdown is due to a lack of exposure to local history and to their physical and cultural heritage, both which are intrinsic to their identity.

From the experiences of the on-going Educational project, this problem is compounded by the loss of wages as agricultural labourers or the youth’s inability to travel distances to avail of opportunities. The latter is particularly true for young married women who constitute half the target group. Also, as is often the case in these poverty stricken areas, where seasonally wage labour is also difficult to find, many of the young men (who lack a multipronged livelihood strategy) migrate to other states in search of better paid year round wage labour though with its concomitant dangers of abuse, exploitation and family problems. The rural youth particularly from the poorer families are handicapped as the irrelevant educational content has lead them to drop out of school before acquiring a school leaving certificate. Now, their (extremely) low educational attainment levels exclude them from all the National and State level initiatives in skill building and vocational education which require a school leaving certificate or in some instances at least completion of middle school. Without role models and examples of alternative sources of income, both young women and men are stuck in their dire situation.


It could be argued that traditional values and ‘agro’-culture are the very obstacles to ‘development’ that education aims to replace through a social transformation which should provide the poor opportunities to benefit from the higher standards of living afforded by urbanized modern industrial society. However, even if that were true, the present and stark reality is that a growing number of frustrated youth, including the very poor, do not have a) the vocational skills to address their livelihood issues in the rural context, b) the life skills to ward off human trafficking, etc., nor c) the abilities to use participative democratic processes necessary to combat marginalization, impoverishment and poverty for improved health, nutrition, etc.

Closely linked to this, is the second root cause: The centralized management of the educational sector. In spite of constitutional amendments and supposed reconfigurations of functional domain, the decisions regarding the educational sector continue to be determined by the Central and State Governments. This situation not only conserves the just mentioned urban centric and uniform approach, it also hampers resource allocations and reduces the influence of LSGIs. Though acknowledged by the National Knowledge Commission’s Report on School Education 2008: ‘… Community participation is an important instrument to ensure accountability and improve the day-to-day functioning of schools. This in turn means that the management of schools, including the use and management of funds, should be decentralized to local authorities…..’ Local Self Governments are yet to be provided the funds and given control over functionaries.

Not only are the LSGIs being prevented from addressing the inappropriate curriculum topic wise (as described above) and location wise (as the curriculum does not correspond to the varied context of the Eastern states of India). In addition, and in spite of increased allocation of funds to the educational sector, LSGIs also have a limited say in how the funds are used whether for wages, equipment/facilities, and pedagogics. These limitations mean that LSGIs are constrained in addressing issues concerning limited qualifications and abseentism among teachers; lacking use of local resources and knowledges; restrictions on usage of the facilities (which means that the schools are closed off at an early hour and no further activities can take place), and a limited use of modern technology (ICT & IEC). So, low attention to class is maintained as few classes are conducted, with an ‘irrelevant content’ and based on traditional pedagogics, while the potential of involving local resource persons (also when teachers are absent), using ‘relevant content’ and e.g. the audio-visual medium is not explored (and hence there elements are not leveraged for higher attendance and retention nor is the highly suitable audio-visual medium used to illustrate and revive past oral traditions).

B.4 Stakeholder analysis

The project addresses a range of target groups who are elaborated upon in section C.1. They also constitute some of the stakeholders involved at the lower levels of local governance.

The principal stakeholders are the rural poor families and the communities that they live in who could be termed ‘rights holders’ or those with basic entitlements, with the main target group being the rural youth and rural children of school going age in general.

It has been argued that with demonstrated approaches and evidence based advocacy the Panchayats (LSGIs), particularly a partnership of Block level PSs and village-level GPs, need to emerge as an important stakeholder and over time be capacitated to become ‘duty bearers’ to the skill building needs of rural youth with low educational attainment levels and some degree of localisation of contextually appropriate supplementary school education. While the GPs are pivotal for the very necessary community participation, ownership and accountability of functionaries, with regard to education, the experience of the first phase has demonstrated that Block-level PSs and to a lesser extent the district level Zilla Parishads (ZPs) are also important tiers of Local Self Government positioned where State Education authorities are present and can be engaged by LSGIs.


The teachers and the individuals within these communities who are the repositories of local indigenous knowledge and culture are also important stakeholders. While the first group needs to be convinced about the benefits of a new curriculum, new pedagogics and involvement of local resource persons, the second group is present excluded from the educational sector. Accordingly, the local resource persons needs to be involved and trained to convey their knowledge to the school children and the drop-outs.

The local rural CSOs/NGOs constitute an additional target and stakeholder group who however presently have insufficient capacity to support LSGIs in addressing the needs of the rural youth or help them manage community resource organisers for schools. Most of these local rural CSOs/NGOs work with the community, but lack the clarity and focus of mainstreaming development goals, including experience in working with LSGIs.

A final, important stakeholder group is the state and national level bureaucrats, politicians, social leaders, policy makers or influencers and others at both the local and State level, which house the relevant departments and Missions/Boards (School education Board, Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, including the West Bengal State Council for Vocational Training (WBSCVT)). This group of stakeholders needs to be targeted with evidence based advocacy to provide LSGIs mainstream national and state financial resources. This group is very important in two ways; 1) it is a key to instituting any supply side change in terms of better policies and greater devolution of funds and mainstreaming of the proposed programme intervention on a State wide basis, and 2) it also includes the key influencers at the local level who could take these changes forward to implementation. In a similar vein, the State Educational authorities need to be targeted to institutionalise space for local government in localisation of contextually appropriate education through evidence based advocacy.

Strength & Weaknesses of some stakeholders

Stakeholder Strengths Weaknesses

Rural School Children

Unbound enthusiasm and receptivity to content that meets their interests and needs

Can play an extremely important catalytic role in their families as regards nutrition, health and hygiene

Under stress because of parental pressures on competing by an urban set of standards for a place in the ‘city’

Rural Youth with low education attainment levels

Full of energy and willing to learn to master new relevant skills that will diversify the livelihood avenues of their families

Prevented from National and State level vocational training schemes; under pressure from their families (in the case of males) to migrate because of a lack of opportunities

Community Repository of a vast body of indigenous knowledge on natural resource management, medicinal herbs, etc.

Also a repository of the rich culture of rural West Bengal, not just in folk forms and artistic expression, but also in traditional values and structures (which can provide a safety net for the poor)

Lack of substitute transmission mechanism for equipping the next generation with body of local indigenous knowledge

Little effort of innovation and renewal of traditional culture and values has led to erosion with sense of community and co-operative endeavour eroding fast

Little knowledge in this or the next generation of participative grassroots democracy or their responsibilities and entitlements vis-à-vis Panchayats and


local governance

Partisan politics have created divisions among communities

Teachers and Schools

Teachers in rural West Bengal form a vast resource of literate and educated individuals

Committed teachers are abound in rural West Bengal and have traditionally commanded the most respect from the community

Rural schools are found in any locality and infrastructural shortcomings are quickly being addressed

Fully controlled by a distant State Government with little space for innovation (e.g. Government ‘Circle Learning Resource Centres’ for teachers play no role in localisation of content or rural life skills)

Committed rural teachers lack networking or experience sharing mechanisms or supportive structures and training in the use of IEC materials Schools are closed off and not used in afternoons and evenings

Panchayats GPs are recognized by the individual, family and community as their nearest institution

Panchayats have a critically, important role in delivery of major central and State government ‘schemes’

PSs (Block LSGI’s) in many areas have been able to effectively engage Block level State Government departments

Panchayats’ capacity in terms of skill, knowledge, exposure and experience weak

Panchayats presently have little independent role in education

Panchayats are for the most part extremely partisan

State Education Department / School Education Board

Directorate of Vocational Education and Training

Control an army of functionaries & major fund flows and have power to make new policies

Have linkages to the Block level to service rural schools

Recent changes in curriculum provide a rural context and scope of localisation

Education Department protective of

their sectoral responsibility and

unwilling to collaborate with LSGIs

(Panchayats)

Bureaucracy laden structures in the Directorate of Vocational Education make it difficult for LSGI’s to launch vocational courses

Local CSOs Have an everyday presence with local communities and the potential to link local issues to LSGIs

Lack experience and capacity to

effectively engage LSGIs in

development of education

C. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

C.1 Target group and participants

The project’s target groups and project areas are determined by a strategy of a expansion in model building in different ethno-cultural, socio-economic and agro-climatic rural locales on the one hand but more importantly follow up the successful advocacy at the level of the Block and initiate collaborations with the PSs to engage block level school education authorities and mainstream adoption of demonstrated approaches to build towards a state level advocacy (see section C.4).

The primary target group in terms of strategic service deliveries consists of two segments. The first consists of rural school going children in backward areas with a predominant population of


marginalised communities. Here the project targets 5500 school children in a total of 50 schools in 25 GPs in 6 Blocks in the 6 districts of Alipurduar, Puruliya, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas (in the part to be the bifurcated as a new Sundarbans district) and Bankura in West Bengal and Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. The second segment is the rural youth in these areas with low educational attainment levels having dropped out even before completing middle school. Here, the project targets 2500 young men and women with skill building modules by innovatively testing an ‘after school’ programme so as to allow them to strengthen their livelihoods. The 2 segments together thus include 8,000 poor families with an approximate population of 45,000 (for an overview, see table 1 below).

Table 1. Overview of primary target groups (school children and youth drop-outs), divided into schools, Panchayati Raj level according to state and districts as well as strategy (intensive and extensive):

Area / Category: Children & youth Schools GPs Blocks Districts

Intensive:

Total: 8000 50 25 6 6 School children: 5500

West Bengal 4840 44 22 5 5

A. Alipurduar District (Kalchini Block)

B. Puruliya District (Bagmundi Block)

22

16

11

8

1

1

1

1

C. Birbhum, North 24 Parganas, Bankura districts

2 2 2

1 1 1

1 1 1

1 1 1

Odisha 660 6 3 1 1

West Bengal & Odisha Youth (Drop-outs):

2500 (same 50 schools)

(Same 25 GPs)

(Same 6 blocks)

(Same 6 districts)

Extensive: Total:

West Bengal (areas A+B) 45000 380+ 19 2 2

In West Bengal the primary target group consists of 4840 schoolchildren in 44 schools. At least 38 schools (19 middle schools and 19 primary schools) are located in all the 11 GPs of Kalchini Block in Alipurduar district and all the 8 GPs in Bagmundi Block of Puruliya district in collaboration with respective PSs. An additional 6 schools (1 middle school and 1 primary school in each of 3 GPs) are located in 3 ‘new project’ districts of Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and Bankura. In Odisha, the proposed target group consists of 660 schoolchildren in 6 schools (3 middle schools and 3 primary schools) in 3 much smaller GPs in the 100% tribal target area in Mayurbhanj district. Here a Block level LSGI approach and advocacy is to be followed from the outset as GPs are much smaller and even more ill equipped than in West Bengal. The 3 GPs are located in the extensive Simlipal Forest Bio-Reserve area of Jashipur Block of Mayurbhanj district, a distinctive locality (socio-culturally and geographically as mentioned in Section B.2).

As part of a more extensive strategy, it is hoped that Block level PSs are able to convince school education authorities to adopt some core elements of the localised contextually appropriate input. Hence, the target in the 2 Blocks of Kalchini and Bagmundi is to reach out to all middle schools and most primary schools (numbering 380 more schools with a 5-14 years old school going population of about 45,000 children).

The primary target group will consist of children and youth from the poorest families among different ethnic groups, principally tribal, Dalits and other minorities which constitute between 50% to a 100% of the population in the target areas (see also section B.1). Overall, the gender


distribution is to be 50/50. Though there will be a similar number of boys and girls among the school going children, girls are likely to be the majority because of the propensity of male youth to migrate. It is usually not an issue of conflict to assist different groups in a local community as the main focus of the project intervention are children belonging to all segments of the community. West Bengal and in general Eastern India, has a history of more harmonious interaction between the different ethnic groups compared to the Northern and Southern States of India.

A primary target group and primary duty bearer both in relation to capacity building and to advocacy is constituted by a) the 3 PSs in Kalchini, Bagmundi and Jashipur Blocks, particularly their Standing Committees on education, b) the 25 GPs with their Standing Committees on education, c) the 3 Block level School Educational authorities in the same Blocks. A fourth segment is constituted by the 4 State Technical departments in each of the 3 Blocks (related to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and their local farms and extension centres). The staff of these departments are repositories of technical knowledge, who have an important role in advocating adoption and adaptation skills among the rural youth taking part in the ‘after school’ programmes at the village schools.

A secondary target group for capacity building in the intensive areas are: a) 200 teachers of the target schools (though given the high level of vacancies in these remote areas experienced by AHEAD, the number may be limited to less than 150 teachers), b) 50 Community Resource Organisers (CROs), proposed by communities and school management communities, with the task to interface with their schools and facilitate localised input and activity based modules, and c) 250 Local Resource Persons (LRPs) from the surrounding communities as repositories of local knowledge, skills and culture (with 5 of such persons for each (of the 50) schools targeted where it is expected that at least a third will be women). These identified individuals from the local community would predominantly be in five categories, namely a) vegetable nurseries and kitchen gardening for nutrition, b) preventive health care including the use of medicinal herbs for primary health care, c) sustainable natural resource management and various livelihood activities such as fruit/agro-forestry nurseries, animal husbandry & fisheries, cottage industries, etc., d) those well versed in both traditional participative decision making and the present statutory institutions and processes of local self-governance, and finally e) folk artists, musicians, storytellers and such like who embody local culture and history. The same 250 LRPs from the immediate surrounding communities and skilled trainers from surrounding areas (CROs and mainstream government departments) will be mobilised for the ‘after school’ programme for youth (for an overview of the target groups, see table 2 below. The division of schools, GPs, Blocks and Districts is similar to table 1).

Table 2. Overview of secondary and tertiary target groups (to work with school children and youth (drop-outs and to be capacitated to do so)

Second target groups Tertiary

Area: Category: Teachers Community

Resource Organisers (CROs)

Local Resource Persons (LRPs)

Rural CSO partners

Intensive (total): 150 50 250 6

West Bengal 132 44 220 5

A. Alipurduar District (Kalchini Block)

B. Puruliya District (Bagmundi Block)

66

48

22

16

110

80

1

1

C. Birbhum, North 24 Parganas, Bankura districts

6 6 6

2 2 2

10 10 10

1 1 1


Odisha 18 6 30 1

Extensive (only school children - total):

At least 380+

Nil Nil 2

A tertiary target group are the 6 local rural CSO institutional members in partnership with whom the initiative is to be implemented. The emphasis in terms of capacity building will be on the 3 CSOs engaged with the Block level initiatives in the 3 Blocks namely, North Bengal Dhumkuriya Academy Trust in Kalchini Block of Alipurduar district, Bandhdih Rural Health & Environment Improvement Society in Bagmundi Block of Puruliya district, and CREFTDA in the Simlipal Bio-reserve area of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. In partnering with AHEAD and through the engagement of the CSO Capacity Managers (see Annex C), it is expected that their capacity will be further developed. As part of the Block wide initiatives, these ‘more rural clubs and smaller village level’ types of CSOs will be provided scope to act on behalf of their GPs in mobilising communities around schools and managing Community Resource Organisers (CROs) for localised contextually appropriate activity based modules for school children. A more limited and slightly different emphasis will be provided by the CSO Capacity Managers to the 3 local rural CSO (NGO) institutional members in the 3 new project areas, namely Friends of the Poor in Bankura, Paschim Sridharkati JanaKalyan Sangha in North 24-Parganas and Tantipara Jagaron in Birbhum. These CSOs are to take up 2 schools each in each of 3 GPs in 3 very different ethno-cultural and agro-climatic zones.

C.2 The project’s objectives and success criteria (indicators)

The overall Development objective is

A Local Self Governance role for a contextually more appropriate education input to alleviate rural poverty in India

[with the perceived impact that a local self-governance role in providing a more contextually appropriate input to education for school children and rural youth is mainstreamed in Eastern India to enhance livelihood security, health, nutrition, rural life skills and participation in democratic processes of self-governance]

Immediate Objectives

Immediate objective - 1

Advocate and start implementing a Block LSGI (Panchayat Samiti) led partnership with State controlled School authorities and GPs to provide contextually appropriate localised input including nutrition, health, sustainable livelihoods, environment, self-governance and other necessary life skills for rural schoolchildren using demonstrated approaches

Indicator for realisation of Immediate objective - 1

1.1 3 Block LSGIs in Alipurduar, Puruliya and Mayurbhanj districts are in partnership with block state controlled school authorities in West Bengal and Odisha and are using demonstrated approaches by providing contextually appropriate localised input in 44 Schools in 22 GPs.

1.2 3 Block LSGIs in the 3 (new project) districts of Bankura, North 24 Parganas (Sundarbans) and Birbhum of West Bengal are working to mainstream demonstrated approaches by providing contextually appropriate localised input in 6 schools in 3 GPs.

1.3 LSGI resources from PSs and GPs are flowing to the involved schools totalling not less than 25% of costs (to meet critical gaps in school authorities allocated resources).

1.4 District and State authorities begin to recognise the need for localisation of contextually appropriate supplementary curricula as a necessary educational input for rural schools and that local history, local geography, local language, indigenous knowledge and culture needs to be integrated as a key educational resource.


Means of Verification

1.1 44 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between LSGIs and Schools (in 22 GPs, in 3 Blocks in 3 Districts in two States), Resolutions, Minutes of meetings and other Communication between LSGIs and State controlled School authorities.

1.2 6 MoUs between 6 Schools and 3 GPs in Birbhum, Bankura and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, Resolutions and minutes of meetings between involved parties.

1.3 PSs and GPs budgetary records (showing the amount of funds being distributed for the project activities), PSs and GPs Action Plans.

1.4 District and State level records (minutes, accounts etc.), LSGI budgetary records (showing the amount of funds being distributed for the project activities from the District and State level authorities), Action Plans by responsible LSGIs.

Immediate objective - 2

Demonstrate and advocate an ‘after school program’ in State schools for rural youth with low educational attainment levels for appropriate supplementary livelihood skills aimed for institutionalisation by Local Self Government

Indicators for realisation of Immediate objective - 2

2.1 The ‘after school’ program for skill building of rural youth with low education attainment levels are conducted regularly in at least 50% (or 25) of the target schools.

2.2 At least 25% (625) of rural youth who have taken part in the after school modules are actively using their new skills to supplement their income.

2.3 The success of LSGIs ‘after school’ programme ensure support from the West Bengal State Council for Vocational Training (WBSCVT) or other National and State mainstream funding for LSGI managed Skill building.

Means of Verification

2.1 GPs and PSs records, ‘after school’ register / records, interviews and End Of Project (EOP) Evaluation.

2.2 Register of youth participating in ‘after school’ courses and starting own income generating activities (through the Management Information System (MIS) of the project), and EOP evaluation.

2.3 Records, interviews, media coverage, ‘after school’ records and MIS documents, and EOP Evaluation.

C.3 Outputs and activities

Immediate objective – 1

Advocate and start implementing a Block LSGI (Panchayat Samiti) led partnership with State controlled School authorities and GPs to provide contextually appropriate localised input including nutrition, health, sustainable livelihoods, environment, self-governance and other necessary life skills for rural schoolchildren using demonstrated approaches.

Expected outputs Activities

1.1 3 Block LSGIs in Alipurduar, Puruliya and Mayurbhanj districts are in partnership with block and state controlled school authorities and have adopted an intensive strategy with 22

1.1.1 Advocacy at Block level with LSGI and State’s School education department and with all GPs of the Blocks through 100 discussion sessions, presentations and meetings

1.1.2 50 Exposure visits of GPs and Schools, both


GPs (whereby demonstrated approaches of providing contextually appropriate localised input on appropriate nutrition, health, sustainable livelihoods, environment, self-governance and other necessary life skills are conducted in 44 schools)

for political executives, executive functionaries and teachers to areas and schools that have successfully implemented the approach

1.1.3 Strengthening of standing committees on education at GP and PS level; review meetings and joint meetings to monitor progress

1.1.4 24 Joint workshops of LSGI standing committees on education, education department officials and teachers at Block and at GP level to discuss how to localise and strengthen curriculum at local schools

1.2 3 Block level LSGIs in 3 (new project) districts of West Bengal are committed to using demonstrated approaches by providing contextually appropriate localised input on appropriate nutrition, health, sustainable livelihoods, environment, self governance and other necessary life skills in 6 Schools in 3 GPs.

1.2.1 Advocacy with 3 GPs in 3 new project districts on adopting a local self governance role in education both for school going children and skill building of rural youth through discussions, presentations and meetings

1.2.2 Inter District exposure visits for GPs and School Teachers to GPs that have successfully initiated localised activity based modules for a contextually appropriate education input

1.2.3 Strengthening of standing committees on education at GP level and review meetings with teachers

1.2.4 Advocacy at Block level with PSs and Block’s State School education department officials through discussion, presentations and meetings

1.3 50 teachers (one in each) of the target schools are working with 50 CROs (one in each school) and are channelling indigenous knowledge, skills and culture input from 250 LRPs.

1.3.1 Engagement with teachers (minimum 50 and one in each school) through 12 Teachers’ workshops on contextually appropriate activity based learning modules

1.3.2 Orientation and capacity building sessions with teachers, training on use of the audio-visual medium and on usefully using resource persons with local indigenous knowledge

1.3.3 Community engagement, neighbourhood meetings, School Management Committee (SMC) meetings, Parents-Teachers meetings on initiative

1.3.4 GP facilitated Community identification of 50 CROs for their schools

1.3.5 Identification with community of 250 LRPs from the local area who are the repositories of local culture, indigenous knowledge, livelihood skills, medicinal herbs, etc.


1.3.6 Capacity Building sessions with 50 CROs on working in schools and effectively assisting in other activity based modules which require local knowledge

1.3.7 Capacity building sessions with 250 LRPs on delivery skills and child specific learning

1.4 40 Activity based modules on contextually appropriate content designed, produced and distributed to target schools - and some modules being replicated in other schools throughout the Blocks

1.4.1 100 Community / neighbourhood meetings to prioritise and suggest to local government content of activity based modules

1.4.2 100 Teachers’ workshops to give shape to and systemise activity based modules

1.4.3 In house and out house development and production of 40 sets of materials particularly with audio-visual as the medium of choice.

1.4.4 Engaging schoolchildren in activity based modules such as for example;

Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement activity as a springboard for learning on nutrition

School nutrition gardens as a activity based learning and used for the mid-day meal

Vegetable nurseries for planting in school’s nutrition garden and carrying them home to initiate their own nutrition gardens at home

Nurseries for fruit trees as a learning module and planting and caring for the same at home

1.4.5 Health related learning activity modules on sanitation, hygiene, immunisation, adolescent health and familiarity with local herbal usage for primary and preventive health care

1.4.6 Out of class activities on multipronged rural livelihood approach including small animals, tree farming, organic farming techniques, etc.

1.4.7 Social awareness modules on human trafficking, safe migration and the like

1.4.8 Bal (Children's) Panchayats within the school to put to practice their learning of LSGI processes

1.4.9 GP sponsored and organised annual ‘Srijan Melas’ (Creative fairs) for school children to showcase their year round creative efforts in Folk arts, local culture, handicrafts, displays of local knowledge base

1.4.10 Local government sponsorship of tournaments sports and games, particularly of local dying forms

1.4.11 GP organised excursions, walking tours to


explore local history, local geography and local heritage landmarks supported by virtual audio-visuals of the same

1.5 A library of developed and collected Information, Communication and Educational (IEC) materials in multiple local languages is available to the 50 schools and the LSGIs in the target areas and is being accessed by other schools and LSGIs beyond target areas

1.5.1 Networking with other institutions involved with education to collect and develop useful materials

1.5.2 Niche quarterly magazine Nabodisha for rural teachers teaching in Bengali and others involved in education to share experiences, exchange ideas and learn new ones and access materials

1.5.3 Vernacular Nabodisha website with a lot of learning materials, ideas and modules available online to teachers & educationists

1.5.4 Updating ‘Nabodisha’ education website and ‘Nabodisha’ magazine with available multiple language materials for wider audience

1.5.5 (At least) 12 exposure visits to target schools, networking and workshops for teachers in rural schools outside the target areas who are trying to introduce supplementary and localized input

1.6 District and State authorities made aware of and have started supporting Block LSGIs on the need for localisation of contextually appropriate curricula as a necessary educational input for rural schools and that local history, local geography, local language, indigenous knowledge and culture needs to be integrated as a key educational resource

1.6.1 Material for ‘evidenced based advocacy’ collected and produced (in the form of reports, documentaries, folders, posters and similar)

1.6.2 (At least) 12 evidenced based advocacy initiatives through visits to project areas, reports, presentations and meetings for/with District and State educational functionaries and in cooperation with other NGOs

1.6.3 Networking with other institutions (in particular through the West Bengal Education Network) involved with education for mutual exchange to learn of and introduce new ideas

Immediate objective – 2

Demonstrate and Advocate an ‘after school program’ in State schools for rural youth with low educational attainment levels for appropriate supplementary livelihood skills aimed for institutionalisation by Local Self Government


2.1 6 PSs and 25 GPs agree to support an ‘after school’ program in 50 schools for skill building of 2500 rural youth with low education attainment levels

2.1.1 Joint Advocacy with Block LSGIs to secure consent from District School Councils to make school premises available to LSGIs after school hours for an ‘after school’ program and formalise roles and responsibilities regarding administering program

2.1.2 Advocacy with Block level livelihood related


State government departments to adopt ‘after school’ mode to provide and deliver skill development modules for rural youth

2.1.3 Training of 250 Local Resource Persons (LRPs) to have necessary skills to train and instruct rural youth in the 50 ‘after schools’

2.2 10 localised skill building modules drawn up for each of area and are being implemented as part of the ‘after school’ program

2.2.1 Neighbourhood meetings with youth to define skill building modules in demand and generating enthusiasm for engaging in new income generating possibilities

2.2.2 10 modules per area based on 2 hour daily sessions drawn up including printed guides for trainers and Teaching Learning Materials for skill building modules

2.2.3 Modules made available such as for example;

- Bio-intensive market gardens including new crops and organic techniques

- Year round nurseries for fruit trees and other in demand saplings

- Vegetable nurseries for farmers

- Animal feed production from azolla

- Vermicompost production for farmers

- Grinding and mixing animal feed formulations for different small animals

- Cutting and grafting for self or as services for villagers

- Production centres for supply of improved varieties of small animals and immunisation services for same, etc.

- Local handicrafts initiated with local skills, local demand and local resources to be value added through external input to create a wider market

2.3 2500 rural youth have taken part in ‘after school program’ in 25 GPs in 6 Blocks in 6 districts in West Bengal and Odisha

2.3.1 50 ‘after schools’ are catering to rural youth in batches of 5-10 youth per modules

2.4 At least 25% of rural youth (625) are being supported in using their new skills to supplement their income

2.4.1 GP input support for poorer youth to actively pursue supplementing their income with acquired skills

2.4.2 Follow up modules for youth actively pursuing supplementary livelihood

2.5 Evidence based advocacy of the ‘after school’ programme allows LSGIs to engage the West Bengal State Council for Vocational Training (WBSCVT) for

2.5.1 LSGIs host WBSCVT officials to inspect ‘after schools’ and to consult active youth in at least 3 project areas

2.5.2 Reports, presentations and case studies


mainstream funding produced for evidence based advocacy at District and State level so as to ventilate ‘after school’ program

2.5.3 Joint Block level LSGI representations to engage District and State functionaries for District and state level financial resources to supplement own resources of LSGIs

3. Outputs and Activities that go to realise all the objectives


3.1 6 of AHEAD’s rural CSO institutional members have the capacity to support LSGIs for a possible local governance role in contextually appropriate supplementary and localised educational input to poverty alleviation

3.1.1 Capacity Building of 6 AHEAD Local CSOs on LSGI approach and rural educational needs

3.1.2 Handholding support through collaborative implementation of programme with 6 Local CSO members

3.1.3 Continuous orientation & capacity building sessions and resources for CSOs (NGOs) to facilitate support and synergy with LSGIs and schools of their area

3.1.4 Joint workshop of all of AHEAD’s active rural CSO institutional members with iiINTERest

3.2 AHEAD able to secure funds from ‘new sources’ by being recognized as having the capacity to advocate and implement demonstrated approach to a possible local governance role in contextually appropriate supplementary and localised educational input to poverty alleviation

3.2.1 Monthly review meetings by iiINTERest with AHEAD staff

3.2.2 2 Capacity building sessions of AHEAD staff by iiINTERest during project visits

3.2.3 2 Project Monitoring Visits & evaluation to feed into shifts in strategy and activity content

3.2.4 AHEAD representatives to Denmark as part of iiINTERest-AHEAD partnership strengthening activity

3.2.5 Reference materials procured as well as necessary inventories

3.2.6 Learning and skill enhancement opportunities for AHEAD and CSO staff

C.4 Strategy: how does the project cohere?

This phase combines a process-intervention and activity strategy in order to ensure to handle the three parts of the civil society development triangle (strategic services deliveries, advocacy and capacity building). The strategic service deliveries include on the one hand the replication of the localised modules for the primary and middle schools to a large number of GPs across 6 blocks and the development and testing of an ‘after school program’ among the same LSGIs. This include a two-pronged approach of a) an intensive strategy of demonstrated approaches with the help of AHEAD in select target schools in collaboration with GPs of the Blocks and b) an extensive strategy of replicating the same in all other schools in two of the Blocks. Six thrust areas have been defined through consensus as the areas where activity based modules need to be developed and supportive IEC Teacher Learning Materials including audio-visuals need to be created. The specific style and content of the material to be developed in the six (broad) topic areas and further materials are to be developed in support in local indigenous knowledge in various spheres. All


materials will necessarily be localized and will be designed and developed as an outcome of assessed needs based on an iterative process of dialogue and locally determined demand. Our rationale (or ‘theory of change’) is that the project by implementing the activities first secures a large number of motivated school children (and teachers, CROs and LRPs) and engaged youth who are inspired to learn new skills. Secondly, that the school children will have increased awareness of how to deal with key challenges in their environment and possible avenues of future livelihoods as will the youth start new income generating activities. Thirdly, these developments will assist in changing the future in the rural areas e.g. for the youth to be able to break the present poverty situation.

The ‘success’ in terms of strategic service deliveries is an important pre-requisite for the advocacy strategy which is aimed at the Block level with both the State’s School Education authorities and block level PSs (LSGI). The latter will also require extensive advocacy with other State departments at the Block level concerned with rural livelihoods promotion (see section C.1). The activities here include engagement with members of the Educational committees and the PSs, showing examples of materials and audio-visuals, organising visits to schools, ensure participation in fairs and distributing reports and documents with summaries of learning of experiences. The longer-term aim is to synthesise the results in documentary form, which will enable a future ‘evidence based’ advocacy at the State level for necessary policy changes with a State wide footprint. The principal elements of change that the project seeks to bring about are a) an acceptance that the urban-centric national curriculum that is imposed on rural society is incomplete and devoid of the rural life skills and vocational skills that the poor need to address their impoverishment, b) that Local government can be entrusted to be responsible for localizing a part of the curriculum to locally relevant life-skills, vocational skills and traditional indigenous knowledge, and c) that the LSGIs in partnership with schools also can frame and run very locale specific certified skill building courses for school dropouts i.e. those who only have completed primary school and hence being ineligible for National and State skill building initiatives.

The advocacy strategy also seeks to bring about an institutionalisation of skill building opportunities for the poorest segments of rural youth in their local school as an ‘after school’ programme held after school hours. While the first phase of the project included multi day-long skill building sessions at the LSGI community halls, our learnings and experiences have shown the need to take skill building sessions to the youth in their local village primary school. If provided 2-3 hour sessions as part of an ‘after school’ program, this would not disrupt their wage labour and other subsistence activities but allow them to gain and then benefit from supplementary livelihood skills. Though the emphasis is on the livelihoods for the youth, the ‘after school’ initiatives could evolve to cover creative skills and also cater to all ages in the true spirit of the Folk High Schools (Folkehøjskoler) and ‘Efterskole’ in Denmark.

As the foundation for the strategic service deliveries and the advocacy work is an expanded capacity building strategy, which has four distinct components. At the core is the capacitation of AHEAD in order to undertake the activities and ensure fulfilment of the objectives. The elaborate requirements for human resources to take the many and varied processes and activities necessitates a substantial part of the budget being allocated for salaries for AHEAD staff and input from external resource persons (see Annex C). Though AHEAD as an organisation will be heavily involved in the project, the 3 CSO Capacity Managers will have a key role in connecting all the elements. Secondly, enlarging and strengthening the local knowledge base is important. This is to ensure that the 6 CSO members of AHEAD are equipped to manage both activities and processes in each their locality on a day-to-day basis. Thirdly, teachers, CROs and LRPs need to be engaged and motivated to not only conduct the school and ‘after school’ activities, but also to act as promoters of the new types of curriculum and pedagogics which come along with the modules. Fourth and finally, the combined efforts aim to mainstream a methodology of strengthening the capacity of the next generation of poor families to address their impoverishment with contextually appropriate life-skills and vocational skills through the education system.


The proposed intervention contemplates some changes in policy which will have far reaching consequences on rural society and eventually aim to impact rural poverty by equipping children and rural youth with contextually appropriate education and skills. The project intervention has thus been envisaged as a (potential) phased intervention, where the salient points of the remaining phase are summarised below (and a visual attempt to illustrative the planned phases of the project is found in Annex XVII).

The third phase is to be principally about advocacy at the State level leveraging the state–wide networking and demonstrated models of localisation in different socio-economic and ethno-cultural rural contexts. Advocacy activities are expanded by targeting other blocks, districts and state level actors through a series of interventions (including lobby activities, meetings, workshops with government officials, politicians, State level NGOs and donor agencies as well as producing policy briefs, reports and engaging media in information campaigns, preferable with State level NGOs, NGO-network and academia). The objective is to influence the awareness of these actors on the need for a certain degree of localisation of educational content in rural areas. The aim is to improve the legislative framework, to enhance the allocation of resources for such activities (what in this project constitute the strategic service deliveries) and to ensure further support and resources to the rural schools where the children of the poorest sections go.

It has been the experience of the Director’s of AHEAD and iiINTERest in their earlier advocacy work at the State level which led to major LSGI policy changes that critical to such policy changes are the support of Civil Society and LSGIs in realising the intended pro poor changes of advocated policy decisions. Without the necessary support of grassroots civil society in capacity building and implementation of mainstream initiatives, policy changes remain on paper or their effective state-wide implementation is still-born or sabotaged by vested interests. Hence, towards the end of the third phase, it is essentially this support (that is envisaged to be provided through State level networking and support in necessary capacity building) has been transformed into a mainstream initiative.

The third phase finally intends to extend the learning experiences of the state level mainstream changes to neighbouring States, through emphasising a multi State/National level advocacy initiative. Accordingly, the intention is also to increase national level networking and advocacy, drawing on the collected experiences. Possibly also international networking and advocacy at relevant world forums could be undertaken in order to raise awareness of the core issue of educational content and pedagogy appropriate to diverse socio-economic and ethno-cultural situations of the poorest sections.

C.5 Phase-out and sustainability

At the end of the project and with the fulfilment of the objectives, it is expected that the ownership and involvement of the LSGIs in the intense areas (as the indicators (see section C.3) and the budget in Annex C show) has reached a level where the local institutions take more and more control while the CSOs and AHEAD slowly withdraw. In the new areas and regarding the ‘after school’ program the embeddedness of the activities will be more limited and hence the strategy will first and foremost be to work for a continued involvement of the CSOs and AHEAD in order to ensure institutionalisation of the activities over time. Should additional project funding not materialise, the engagement of LSGIs, teachers, parents, CROs and LRPs should enable the activities to be continued. But clearly, the foundation would be weaker and the time horizon for institutionalisation would be longer compared to a situation with project funds.

In terms of sustainability, the project seeks to provide local self-government institutions a platform for assuming their rightful role in education by tailoring specific programmes (in schools and ‘after schools’) and evolving ways and means for handling this role. This is based on the fundamental objective of ensuring a certain degree of localisation of content and a contextually appropriate education for rural children and youth particularly those of poor families. The strategy moreover provides a platform for a continued process of model building and networking of teachers, local


resource persons and CSOs in execution as part of local self-government’s constitutional role in education.

The project strategy thus seeks to address issues of long-term sustainability from the outset by establishing ownership of local government, schools and communities and advocating change in mainstream policy on educational content and skill building for rural youth. The two pronged strategy will be expanded both by intensifying the capacity building and advocacy of additional tiers of LSGIs (PSs and ZPs) and by the inclusion of concerted advocacy of political executives and functionaries at the state government level of education related departments and the West Bengal Skill Development Council (WBSDC) on the importance of localising education content. And our previous experiences indicate that the chances of securing long-term sustainability are more than fair. It is apparent that PSs and GPs are more than willing to play their given constitutional role in education but lack a clear vision and capacity as to how their efforts could add value and supplement rural education. So, while education remains on the concurrent list of functions of the PSs and GPs, the sector is at present the exclusive domain of National and State governments who control Funds and Functionaries.

To summarise, the strategy is an (innovative) attempt to ensure sustainability of the development processes initiated by integrating them with Local Government structures and processes while keeping the role of the NGOs in advocacy and capacity building temporary and catalytic in nature, while local CSOs can develop the capacity to form enduring partnerships with Local Government in their area. Thus, while a local self governance approach is in itself a means of ensuring sustainability it will also provide the means and strategy of addressing other issues that the poor need to surmount the vicious cycle of poverty. The core strategy to ensure sustainability & long term gains has been to adopt an inclusive and participatory local self governance approach to development and mainstreaming of interventions, where advocacy is assumed to strengthen the autonomous role of local government through untied ‘resource entitlements‘.

C.6 Assumptions and risks

The main assumptions are:

a) The State policy and political environment continues to be supportive of LSGIs and civil society initiatives in education and vocational training

b) Interest and willingness to participate and collaborate continues in PSs, GPs and schools

c) Local partner organisation is able to implement project activities as planned through the Project Implementation Body (PIB - see section D below)

The main risks are:

a) State level authorities prevent Block level School education department authorities though statutorily also answerable to Block LSGIs from cooperating in a Block level LSGI initiative

b) Fiscal crisis prevents government & local government contributing its own resources to further strengthen the resource support available to the LSGI-School partnerships, including providing funds for an ‘after school’ initiative

c) School inspectors, principals and teachers view the initiatives as an extra burden and express their inability to co-operate with the GPs because of tight control of State level authorities

d) The local partner and its CSO members are unable to initiate the outlined activities and gain the needed support from School authorities of rural schools, teachers and/or local resource persons

The project seeks to counter these risks by:


a) The initiative from the outset is posed as a Block LSGI initiative with the local partner only in a supportive role and only targets intensively 2 schools in each of its GP areas where experience has demonstrated that a sufficient number of schools, teachers and local resource persons can be identified who have the enthusiasm and willingness to cooperate to implement the intervention, including even to allocate substantial funds

b) The targeted PSs have a very good working relationship with its Block level school education department authorities and the local partner has established its credentials at the State level where the present curriculum framework provides scope for the various activity based modules proposed

c) The involved LSGIs will be assisted to integrate many of the financial resources necessary into National Flagship Programmes for school and ‘after school’ activities, hence minimising the need for its own resources and the (sometime erratic) statutory entitlements it is supposed to receive from the State as per the State Finance Commission awards.

D. PROJECT ORGANISATION AND FOLLOW-UP

D.1 Division of roles in project implementation

Responsibilities of iiINTERest (the Danish organisation) will be:

a) Contact to the Civil Society Fund/CISU, communication and delivery on project reports and accounts

b) Assisting in capacity building of Local partner, including mobilisation of resources (like expatriate expertise) when/if necessary

c) Technical Expertise, including providing input to Monitoring and Evaluation

d) Having role in overall decision making as regards strategy based on concurrent monitoring & evaluation and management information systems in place for reporting

e) Documentation of ongoing work as case studies (both successes & failures)

f) Project advocacy in Denmark and elsewhere for creating an awareness abroad of the problems of the rural poor and their challenges in education and training

The Board of iiINTERest will follow the project closely. It has appointed Poul Daugbjerg to be the Overall Project Coordinator, and Bodil Faber to be the Assisting Project Coordinator, hence continuing in the positions that they hold in the present Education Initiative. Both will be members of the Joint Steering Committee, JSC (see below).

Responsibilities of AHEAD (the Indian/local counterpart) will be:

a) Formation of executive and capacity building team (Directors and external Resource Persons)

b) Recruitment of field staff

c) Project execution and day to day decision making according to project document (activity plan and budgets) through the Project Implementation Body (PIB - see below)

d) Administrative and accounting responsibilities according to project activities and legal and Civil Society Fund requirements

e) Role in overall decision making as part of the JSC (as illustrated in the left part of the Annex XVIII).

AHEAD have decided which persons to take part in the project activities and handle the project responsibilities. The Project Implementation Body (PIB) will headed by the Project Director, and includes him and the other senior managerial project staff and representatives of the 6 Local


CSO members participating in the implementation of this initiative. The PIB is responsible for execution of the project and consists of senior managerial project staff described below (see Annex XIX for details), who are responsible for coordination of daily activities towards the main outputs. This will take place in communication and collaboration between the Kolkata Office and the various field offices. The roles, responsibilities and coordination procedures are more fully described in the Cooperation agreement between the two organisations and Management Information System, which has been signed.

Joint responsibilities between iiINTERest and AHEAD are:

The two organisations will share the overall responsibility of the project and the decision making in a Joint Steering Committee (JSC). The JSC will consist of two persons from each organisation (the Overall Project Coordinator and the Assisting Project Coordinator from iiINTERest, and the Project Director and the Director of Field Activities from AHEAD). The JSC will be in close contact through email and Skype video conferences and will meet during the project visits of iiINTERest as well as during visits from AHEAD staff to Denmark (as envisaged in the Partnership Strengthening agreement between the two organisations and similar to the first visit from AHEAD' representatives to Denmark in August 2014).

The strength of the collaboration is the large pool of experience that the two organisations entail as described in sections A.1, A.3 and A.4. In addition to the experiences as individual organisations, and in collaborating, the local partner also has a broad network in West Bengal (including a good reputation among key ministries and State departments at large and in the chosen districts). These institutions should ensure a high level of fulfilment of the project objectives to the benefit of the poor in the rural areas in West Bengal and Odisha.

D.2 Monitoring and evaluation in project implementation

The project will include several, related monitoring activities, which aim at ensuring appropriate information enabling adjustment of the project, documenting the achievements and realising the project objectives. This is the same setup which the two organisations have used earlier with very good results and are highly familiar with. The monitoring and evaluation setup is therefore considered appropriate also for the additional planned phase(s) of the project. The JSC and the PIB (see below) will be responsible for this systemisation of experiences, with the assistance from the external evaluator, as part of the intention to develop and expand their continuing relationship for subsequent phases.

Systematising the experiences will happen in three ways. Firstly, AHEAD and the participating member CSOs will gather the experiences and assess lessons learnt through regular contact and meetings throughout the project period. This focus will contribute to adjustment and refinement of the activities in this and provide a solid foundation for future initiatives. The aim is to identify models for localising education content, which can be advocated by an increasingly strong and competent NGO/CSO network. Secondly, the experiences are to be documented in print and on video and through an external evaluation by a local consultant who will be able to provide additional input to feed into any future initiatives. Thirdly, the JSC will ensure that Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities will take place, that the collected data is systemised and the learning experiences distilled. This will take place particularly through email correspondence, Skype-meetings as well as during project visits and regular video-conferencing and eventually also will feed into the final Assessment.

The PIB will undertake the following activities as part of the internal project reporting:

- Internal Project Implementation Body reporting (monthly)

- Internal review Workshops on lesson learning experiences

- MIS Reports consolidation (bi-annually), which feeds into


- Project Status and Final Reports & Annual and Final field accounts to the JSC and to the Civil Society Fund

The JSC will undertake the following management activities related to monitoring and reporting:

- Terms of reference (TOR) for local consultant and M & E activities

- Inception Report of JSC

- Monthly Joint steering Committee (JSC) video conferences, sometimes including senior staff members

- iiINTERest project visits & AHEAD Partnership Strengthening visits to Denmark, including

- Joint iiINTERest & AHEAD review and capacity building workshop, and

- Overall management responsibilities (approving Project Status and Final Reports & Annual and Final field accounts) and any necessary adjustments of the outlined project setup

Finally, the project will employ one local consultant to undertake the following Monitoring and Evaluation activities:

- A Joint Review (and experience sharing/capacity building workshop) with AHEAD

- End of Project (EOP) External Evaluation Report

E. INFORMATION WORK

E.1 Has project-related information work in Denmark been planned?

The primary objective of the project-related information activities of iiINTERest is to ensure cultural exchange between the Danish primary education sector on one side and educational actors in the project areas on the other side. iiINTERest wishes to promote a better understanding among Danish pupils for the cultures and existence of pupils of their own age in the project areas as a contribution to their development as global citizens. In order to ensure sufficient capacity to undertake the below described activities, the student assistant of iiINTERest will be engaged during the project period (with necessary means allocated as shown in Annex C and budget item 8).

iiINTERest has in 2015 gained some experience from cooperation with the public school Skelgårdsskolen, Tårnby Municipality, and will base its further work in a partnership primarily with this school. Adding to this and based on earlier contacts, iiINTERest will work closer with The Independent Academy for Free School Teaching in Ollerup in order to establish a partnership with this teachers college.

The planned activities are:

- Specific teaching activities in selected subjects based on exchange of student work between Danish and Indian pupils. The activities will to the extent possible be based on direct pupil-to-pupil contact via Skype, mail etc., among others facilitated by the digitalisation of Indian villages which the current Central government is seeking to implement

- Exchange of teachers between Skelgårdsskolen and schools in the projects areas, aiming at inspiring development of the education content and methods on both sides. Production of education materials for a wider distribution in Denmark may be envisaged

- Internships for students from the Independent Academy for Free School Teaching among schools in the project areas, aiming to develop the international competencies among the next generation of Danish teachers

It should be noted that AHEAD and iiINTERest already have produced information material (videos, slideshows etc.) of a general and informative nature for use in Denmark, but additional teaching material of a more specific nature will be needed targeted for the subjects in question.


The iiINTERest-AHEAD Initiative Partnership Strengthening programme launched in August 2014 is also expected to contribute during the project period by providing deeper understanding among the partner staff members concerning cultural exchange issues in the (Danish) education sector. A visit from AHEAD and its local project partners is planned to take place in 2017 with a focus on food security and in 2019 with a focus on education.

In relation to the visit in 2019 a workshop with other member CISU organizations and other Danish organizations with a specific interest in educational development will be held to discuss the results of the project and to promote the cooperative approach towards the local and regional education authorities to ensure a long term sustainable development of the institutions within the education sector. One or more representative(s) of AHEAD will be present at the workshop.

In preparation for the workshop iiINTERest and AHEAD will summarize and exemplify the experiences in a video documentary for distribution to the participants and to the development aid sector in general. iiINTERest will apply for separate funding for the production of this documentation and for the attendance of the representative(s) from AHEAD.

Notice: The application text must adhere to the above structure, which also underpins the instructions available on the following pages. The total application text (sections A-E) cannot exceed 25 pages (Arial type 11, line spacing 1.0, margins: top: 3 cm, bottom 3 cm, right 2 cm and left 2 cm).


3. Budget summary A detailed budget with budget notes must be submitted in Annex C ‘Budget scheme’ and enclosed the application. NOTICE: Remember to open all tabs in order to fill in each of the relevant five spreadsheets. See also ‘Guide to budget preparation’ at www.cisu.dk. Below please fill in a summary of the main budget items as follows: Fill sheet 1-4 in Annex C 'Budget scheme' - the budget summary will then automatically appear on sheet 5. This should be copied from Annex C and pasted below.

Budget summary Currency

Indicate the total cost (i.e. including contributions from the Civil Society Fund as well as other sources)

2.991.752

DKK

Of this, the Civil Society Fund is to contribute 2.991.752 DKK

Of this, indicate the amount to be contributed by other sources of finance, including self-funding by the Danish organisation or its local partner, if any

0 DKK

Indicate total cost in local currency 30.575.703 INR

Indicate exchange rate applied (1 DKK =) 10.22 INR

Main budget items: Financing plan

Full amount Of this, from Civil Society Fund

Of this, from other financial sources

1. Activities 1.056.654 1.056.654 0

2. Investments 137.965 137.965 0

3. Expatriate staff 0 0 0

4. Local staff 948.181 948.181 0

5. Local administration 278.954 278.954 0

6. Project monitoring 113.497 113.497 0

7. External evaluation 13.796 13.796 0

8. Information in Denmark (max 2 % of 1-7) 50.981 50.981 0

9. Budget margin (min 6 % and max 10 % of 1-8) 156.002 156.002 0

10. Project expenses in total (1-9) 2.756.030 2.756.030 0

11. Auditing in Denmark 40.000 40.000 0

12. Subtotal (10 + 11) 2.796.030 2.796.030 0

13. Administration in Denmark (max 7 % of 12) 195.722 195.722 0

14. Total 2.991.752 2.991.752 0

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