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NGOs and Cooperatives in CSR Initiatives

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
11 views13 pages

NGOs and Cooperatives in CSR Initiatives

Uploaded by

Ashish Dubey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Stakeholders’ Engagement

UNIT 2 NGOs AND COOPERATIVES


Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 NGOs in India
2.3 The Collective Impact
2.4 NGO Intervention in Corporate Social Responsibility
2.5 Cooperatives
2.6 Cooperatives and Social Development
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Keywords
2.9 Bibliography and Selected Readings
2.10 Check Your Progress-Possible Answers

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self regulation
integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a self regulatory
mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with
the spirit of the law, ethical standards and international norms. In some models,
a firm’s implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and engages in actions
that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that
which is required by law. CSR aims to embrace responsibility for corporate actions
and to encourage a positive impact on the environment and stakeholders including
consumers, employees, investors, communities and others. The term ‘corporate
social responsibility’ became popular in the 1960’s and has remained a term
used indiscriminately by many to cover legal and moral responsibility more
narrowly construed.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) are private voluntary organizations,


not for profits that function as ‘moral entrepreneurs’ selling ethical ideas and
standards. They have played major role in solving social and environmental issues
from driving inter governmental negotiations, to regulations of hazards of waste
and elimination of slavery. A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons
united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs
and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
In this unit you will learn about the role of NGOs and cooperatives in furthering
CSR initiatives.
After reading this unit you will be able to
Discuss the role of NGOs in CSR initiatives
Explain how a company can identify the right NGO for its CSR initiatives
Discuss the role of co-operatives in CSR initiatives

2.2 NGOs IN INDIA


A non governmental organization (NGO) is any non profit, voluntary citizen’s
24 group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task oriented
and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services NGOs and Cooperatives
and humanitarian functions, bring citizens’ concerns to governments, advocate
and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of
information. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights,
environment or health. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning
mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements.

In India, it was the 1970s which saw rapid growth in the formation of formally
registered NGOs and the process continues to this day. Most NGOs have created
their respective thematic, social group and geographical priorities such as poverty
alleviation, community health, education, housing, human rights, child rights,
women’s rights, natural resource management, water and sanitation; and to these
ends they put to practice a wide range of strategies and approaches. Primarily,
their focus has been on the search for alternatives to development thinking and
practice; achieved through research, community capacity building and creation
of demonstrable models.

2.2.1 Role of NGOs in CSR Initiatives


Although in general the majority of businesses are still in the early stages of
developing collaborations with NGOs, a wave of companies both new and long–
standing are taking the lead in bringing business, financial and human resources
as well as a systems approach to the job of bridging India’s wide gap between
the rich and the poor.
Emerging Trends in Business – NGO Partnerships in India
a) Growing business demand for community programmes and
engagement with NGOs

CSR initiatives in India are driven in part by the CSR guidelines that either
compel state owned companies or put pressure on non-state owned companies
and also by company driven moral drivers to participate in the ‘betterment of
society’. Many companies have started up CSR departments and new community
development programmes in the last few years and all see this as a growing
trend. Whether initiating from external or internal drivers, the trend appears to
be ‘infectious’ and is causing slow but incremental growth in business-NGO
collaboration. There is a strong sense from companies that CSR and community
development involvement will soon be mandatory or considered ‘essential’ and
that the years to come will see increased investment in organization and
management in this area.

b) Innovative Approaches from Business, Government and NGOs are


Emerging

A new paradigm of ‘shared value’ or ‘inclusive business’ that sees business


opportunities in development challenges has emerged. This new phenomenon
sees large Indian companies increasingly address social issues as business
propositions, such as low cost housing, healthcare and education solutions for
the bottom–of-the-pyramid populations. Examples of companies that have
developed for underserved markets appropriate products include Tata, Nokia,
Godrej, Datawind, MCX, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Airtel. Examples
of social enterprises include Lifespring hospitals, HarWa and Selco. NGOs and
governments are adopting new approaches too, particularly in agriculture, green 25
Stakeholders’ Engagement tech, skills and technology. Pratham, Naandi Foundation, Business Community
Foundation and Bhavishya Alliance have all advanced approaches to engaging
business in development.

2.3 THE COLLECTIVE IMPACT


With corporate social responsibility (CSR) being made mandatory in the form of
Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, corporates have now begun to recognize
CSR as a core activity, and are looking to find innovative ways to effectively
utilize their CSR fund. This has brought to the fore the role that NGOs and other
implementing agencies can jointly play along with corporates in order to achieve
what is known as collective impact.

Let us take for example collaboration that led to a very effective outcome is that
of Bharti Airtel, Star Global Resources and IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL)
where they empowered the farmers by providing them information and services
such as free voice messages and a dedicated helpline to interact with experts
through a communication network.

Another good example is the association between Save the Children (a non profit
organization) and global health care giant GlaxoSmithKline that are collaborating
in an innovative initiative to transform an antiseptic (used in mouthwash) into a
life saving product for new born babies. Collaborations and associations make
an effective business case with respect to achieving maximum impact for a given
capital investment.

2.3.1 Non-Governmental Organizations and Corporate Social


Responsibility
Many non governmental organizations in India are engaged in social development
and environmental activities. These organizations are good enough to support
industrial development by ensuring community participation in the developmental
process. The concept of corporate social responsibility is underpinned by the
idea that corporations can no longer act as isolated economic entities operating
in detachment from broader society. Corporate social responsibility is to be looked
upon as mutual support programmes that ensure the development of community
near the industrial area along with the expansion and development of the industrial
organizations. The community today needs external agencies to help alleviate
many social problems like poverty, health, unemployment, community education,
homelessness and eco development programs. By looking upon the needs of the
community, the organization gets an opportunity to understand the social needs
of the people and it will enable them to intervene into such social issues and
finding solutions to the many basic needs. It develops greater trust and confidence
of the community on the business organization’s effort in their real development.
The NGOs existing within the industrial location and closer to the community
can better act as moderators and facilitators in the realization of their social need
and better environmental protection. To develop a better rapport with the
community in the implementation of the developmental activities, the NGOs
can play a better role with the industry and community. They can help the industrial
management in communicating the expansion programme to the community and
thereby developing a proactive and social environmental and industrial
development policy. Lower operating costs, enhanced brand image and reputation,
26
reduced regulatory oversight, product safety and decreased liability, improved NGOs and Cooperatives
financial performance, etc., are the benefits to the organization. The benefit is
not only for the community and organization but also for the employees.
CSR supports charities to fulfill legal obligation while generating goodwill. For
many of India’s most loved brands, ‘giving back’ is not about just fulfilling legal
obligation but generating goodwill in their respective communities. There are
times when CSR and NGOs go hand-in-hand. Companies, therefore, must spend
in areas like literacy, women’s empowerment, environment, water, sanitation,
child rights, etc. Most companies around the world allocate 100% of their
resources before they consider the need of CSR. The same holds true for India,
and even after allocating CSR funding, and engaging employees with a mission
of social good, companies struggle with their project’s sustainability.

2.4 NGO INTERVENTION IN CORPORATE


SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Many companies simply do not have the bandwidth (employees, consultants and
supervision) to undertake consistent CSR implementation. These companies not
only need to spend on CSR, but also on CSR training for their employees, or
adding manpower dedicated to CSR capability. NGO’s in India pitch a
streamlined, customized solution to these corporations. For NGOs, corporates
are not only a source of consistent funding but also access to strategic resources.
An IT giant, for example, can provide technology, processes, and support for
educational initiatives.

2.4.1 A look at India’s NGO sector


India possibly is home to the world’s largest number of active not-for-profit
NGOs. At last count, India had 31 lakh NGO - one NGO for about 400 Indians.
With the boom in CSR funding, this number can cross 40 lakh - considering that
there are thousands of public and private sector companies worth Rs.15,000 to
18,000 crores in their CSR kitty annually. This number doesn’t even include
India’s actual number of NGOs, as many aren’t formally registered under the
Societies Registration Act 1860, or any other Acts pertaining to non-profit
organizations.

2.4.2 How does a company identify the right NGO for CSR
intervention?
With this veritable ocean of NGOs, it isn’t easy to pick the right one for a company
to engage in CSR intervention. Companies not only must allocate funds, but also
work with the NGO on CSR interventions. This requires the need for effective
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place. Many large corporates, like
Godrej, Reliance, Wipro, Infosys, Tata, and the Birlas have established their
own Foundations and Trusts to achieve this. It is critical for a company to rate an
NGO on parameters while short listing one for CSR implementation. Some of
these parameters are listed below:

27
Stakeholders’ Engagement i) Years in operation
It is important for a corporate to work with an NGO that has demonstrated
years of experience and reliability. During this time, it must have mobilized
resources, infrastructure and people for a social cause.

ii) Geography
Companies should preferably look for an NGO near the project area. This
not only ensures easier logistics, but also an intimate understanding of the
local needs, geography, language, culture, etc. The NGO preferably must
situate offices or centers with connectivity and other resources in these
locations, to efficiently execute projects.

iii) Reputation
Transparency, accountability and measurable change in a social welfare
context are how an NGO’s reputation can be measured. This gives an NGO
credibility, making it trustworthy of using corporate assets and funding for
CSR goals.

iv) Certification (e.g., filing for donation tax return)


Certification allows corporates to assess if an NGO complies with legal
norms, as legal issues can compromise CSR implementation. Certification
includes Income Tax exemption, FCRA, service tax, and also proper internal
documentation in case an audit is requested.

v) Relevant experience
An NGO must have shown work in projects relevant to the corporate’s
CSR goals. Coca Cola India, for example, devotes a substantial amount of
CSR efforts to water sustainability, conservation, and sanitation. These
projects must be corroborated with completion certificates from clients.

vi) Leadership
The NGO’s leadership must be well known promoters, with no legal
proceedings or controversies to their name.

vii) Credentials
An NGO’s credentials can also be ascertained via certificates, awards, news
coverage, and membership of NGO and corporate bodies like CII, Chamber
of Commerce, etc.

2.4.3 Case studies of Save the Children’s CSR work with leading
multinational corporations:
Here are some case studies from two of the world’s most well known brands in
telecom (Nokia) and a furniture and home accessories group of companies
(IKEA), which show how a company’s strengths can be leveraged for social
change by Save the Children.

1) Nokia
Disaster Risk Reduction: Working with Nokia, Save the Children
established a new information technology based disaster risk reduction
28
project. This initiative is working on building resilience of children and NGOs and Cooperatives
communities in emergencies. Some of its initiatives include:

i) Delhi:
The Making Schools Safer programme was initiated across 31 slum pockets,
covering 50 schools and reaching over 2 lakh people. It is today preparing
children and communities to identify daily risks faced by children, and
respond to them using IT. Detailed risk assessment has been carried out,
and the NGO is establishing resource centers across schools.

ii) Disaster struck and disaster prone regions


Nokia is working to provide advanced communication connectivity via its
telecom technologies in these regions. This includes access to safety maps
and plans, alternate routes and safe zones, real time coordination with
community members, and mobile based training and education. The project
was deployed in six pilot villages in early 2016, followed by projects across
350 villages and urban settlements across Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi, Andhra
Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

iii) Empowering Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)


Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) or community health workers
were armed with mobile phones that can store medical information, which
is hosted on a cloud server using GPRS. They met pregnant women and
new mothers, to advise on maternity health and infant health, via the phones
which also feature text and audio messages on breastfeeding and importance
of institutional delivery. The activists also used the phone to schedule
appointments and access patient records. With the NGO’s input, pregnancy
and newborn care mobile health applications (called ‘Comm Care’) were
developed.
2) IKEA
i) Freeing children from cotton farming labour:
The IKEA Foundation and Save the Children came together for a €7 million
programme to protect eight lakh children living in cotton communities in
the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, after a successful debut across
1,866 villages of Gujarat and Maharashtra where over 65,000 children were
moved to classrooms from the bondages of child labour. Thousands of
farmers also pledged to make their farms child labour free.

ii) Disaster relief: 2012 Assam floods:


Save the Children with support from IKEA Foundation provided malnutrition
screening, followed by access to Save the Children’s Nutrition Rehabilitation
Centre (NRC) facilities, where they are monitored and provided nutritional
care and support. Pregnant and lactating mothers in flood-hit Assam were
taught healthy recipes and low cost, dry food for children to improve
children’s nutritional status. To fight contamination caused by the Assam
floods, children and families were engaged in awareness drives on health
and hygiene to encourage safe hygiene practices.

29
Stakeholders’ Engagement iii) Solar lamps
For every SUNNAN solar power lamp bought by IKEA customers, the IKEA
Foundation donates one to UNICEF and Save the Children to help children
play, read, write and study after dusk.

Activity 1

Visit a CSR project being implemented by an NGO in the city of your residence.
Write about the CSR activity being undertaken by the NGO and name of the
corporate for which the activity is being undertaken.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
Check Your Progress-1
Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) What is the relationship between corporate social responsibility and NGOs?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2) Briefly discuss NGOs intervention in corporate social responsibility?


.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2.5 COOPERATIVES
Groups of individuals around the world and throughout time have worked together
in pursuit of common goals. Examples of cooperation, or collective action, can
be traced back to our prehistoric predecessors who recognized the advantages of
hunting, gathering and living in groups rather than on their own. The earliest
cooperative associations were created in Europe and North America during the
17th and 18th centuries. These associations were precursors to cooperatives.
30
2.5.1 What is a cooperative? NGOs and Cooperatives

The cooperative model has been adapted to numerous and varied businesses. In
1942, Ivan Emelianoff, a respected cooperative scholar, remarked that “the
diversity of cooperatives is kaleidoscopic and their variability is literally infinite.”
As a consequence of this diversity, no universally accepted definition of a
cooperative exists. Two definitions however are commonly used. According to
the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), “A cooperative is an autonomous
association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social
and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically
controlled enterprise”. Cooperative leaders around the world recognize the ICA,
a non governmental organization with over 230 member organizations from over
100 countries, as a leading authority on cooperative definition and values. The
ICA definition recognizes the essential element of cooperatives: membership is
voluntary. Coercion is the antithesis of cooperation. Persons compelled to act
contrary to their wishes are not fully cooperating. True cooperation with others
arises from a belief in mutual help; it can’t be dictated. In authentic cooperatives,
persons join voluntarily and have the freedom to quit the cooperative at any
time.

Another widely accepted cooperative definition is the one adopted by the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1987: ‘A cooperative is a user-
owned, user-controlled business that distributes benefits on the basis of use’.
This definition captures what are generally considered the three primary
cooperative principles: user ownership, user control, and proportional distribution
of benefits. The ‘user-owner’ principle implies that the people who use the
cooperative (members) help finance the cooperative and therefore, own the
cooperative. Members are responsible for providing at least some of the
cooperative’s capital. The equity capital contribution of each member should be
in equal proposition to that member’s use (patronage) of the cooperative. This
shared financing creates joint ownership (part of the ICA cooperative definition).
The ‘user-controlled’ concept means that the members of the cooperative govern
the business directly by voting on significant and long term business decisions
and indirectly through their representatives on the board of directors.

2.5.2 Steps to form a cooperative society in India


All societies must be formed under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 or under
the relevant state cooperative laws. Steps involved in the formation of a
cooperative society in India are given below:

Step 1: At least ten individuals who are desirous of forming a society should
come together
To form a society, the law mandates that a minimum of 10 members
having similar aims and objectives to be achieved through the society
for their mutual benefit must show their desire to be part of the society.

Step 2: Selection of chief promoter by the provisional committee


Once a group of individuals decide to form a cooperative society, the
next step is to form a provisional committee of which everyone is a
part. The committee members choose a member to be the chief promoter
of the society either by mutual consent or by majority.
31
Stakeholders’ Engagement Step 3: Deciding a name for the society
The next step after selection of the chief promoter is to decide upon a
name for the cooperative society which they wish to form

Step 4: Application has to be made to the registration authority


After selection of the name of the society, they have to make an
application to the registration authority stating their intention to form a
society and the name of the society has to be given to the authority for
its approval. The registering authority has to confirm that name is in
conformity with laws and issue a confirmation certificate to the
members. Once the society name is approved by the authority, it is
valid for 3 months from the date of approval.

Step 5: Entrance fees and share capital


Once the name is approved by the concerned authority, the entrance fee
and share capital must be collected from the prospective members so
as to meet the statutory requirements under law.

Step 6: Opening a bank account


Once the prescribed fee and share capital is collected from the
prospective members, then the promoter has to open a bank account in
the name of the society and deposit the said fees and share capital in
that account and a certificate has to be obtained from the bank to that
effect.

Step 7 Application for registration


After opening the bank account and depositing the fee and share capital,
the promoter has to apply for the society formation to the registration
authority and it has to be accompanied with a set of documents, which
are given below:
1) Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
2) List of promoter members
3) Bank certificate
4) Detailed explanation of working of the society
5) Four copies of proposed laws of the society
6) Proof of payment of registration charges
7) Other documents such as affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents
specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
All these documents have to be submitted at the time of applying for
registration of the society to the registering authority and the authority,
after it is satisfied with the documents submitted to it. has to apply its
mind to whether or not to register the said society.

Step 8: Acknowledgement of the receipt of the application by the Registrar


The particulars of the application submitted are then entered in the
Register of Application by the registrar of that municipal ward and a
serial number is given to the application. A receipt is then issued to the
32
members for them to follow up on the status of their application. The NGOs and Cooperatives
registrar after perusal of the records submitted has to decide on the
issuance of the certificate of registration. If there are any discrepancies
noticed, then it has to be informed to the members for rectification.

Step 9: Registration
The final step involves notification of the registration of the society in
the official gazette mentioned by the state or central government. Finally,
the registration certificate of the society is issued and given to the
members of the society.

2.5.3 Why cooperate?


People who organize and belong to cooperatives do so for a variety of economic,
social, and even political reasons. Cooperating with others has often proven to
be a satisfactory way of achieving one’s own objectives while at the same time
assisting others in achieving theirs. Farmers create farm supply and marketing
cooperatives to help them maximize their net profits. This requires both effective
marketing of their products for better prices as well as keeping input costs as low
as possible. The farmers recognize that they are usually more efficient and
knowledgeable as producers than as marketers or purchasers. By selling and
buying in larger volumes they can also usually achieve better prices.

2.6 COOPERATIVES AND SOCIAL


DEVELOPMENT
In the early stage, the cooperatives were started mainly to take care of the financial
needs of farmers at certain critical times like seeding, harvesting, etc. Till the
cooperatives were started, the farmers were mainly depending on the money
lenders of the region. There was virtually exploitation of the farmers by the few
money lenders. Today, to a great extent, the financial need of the farmers is taken
care of by the primary cooperative societies, doing lending activities. It is
estimated that about 65 per cent of the rural credit is being taken care of by
cooperatives. These rural cooperatives have also involved themselves in
procurement and distribution of the inputs required for agriculture purpose.
Through these activities they make available the quality inputs at optimum prices
to the farmers. Otherwise the farmers would have depended on middlemen for
this requirement. The dairy cooperatives have provided gainful employment and
dignity to many households in the rural areas. The success of the dairy
cooperatives could be seen in the states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, etc. Amul experiment has been acclaimed as a great success
and the same pattern is being adopted in many other states. The involvement of
women in the rural areas in milk production is a unique contribution of this
movement. Otherwise the rural women in India always played a secondary role
and they lacked self-confidence. Through the dairy movement, they have not
only got gainful employment but also revived their rightful existence and attained
dignity. The sugar cooperatives in Maharashtra is another example of successful
socio-economic transformation of the rural sector. Some of the examples are
Warnanagar Cooperative Sugar Industry, Pravaranagar Cooperative Sugar
Industry, etc. They have been able to not only provide economic gains but have
also contributed in many other ways. They have developed rural complexes which
33
Stakeholders’ Engagement include all types of facilities like education, hospitals, entertainment centers,
consumers’ cooperative stores, etc. They are certainly models for emulation by
others. In fact, they are classic examples of how cooperative movement could be
contributing to the socio-economic development of India by upgrading the rural
sector.

Cooperatives provide a platform especially for women to come together and


thereby acquire better bargaining power. Women are active in most types of
cooperatives, such as banks, dairy, consumers, agricultural marketing, fisheries,
thrift and credit and industrial cooperatives. Women cooperatives play a valuable
role in sustained social development.

2.6.1 Examples of Successful Cooperatives:


i) GCMMF- It was formed in 1948, it is a cooperative brand managed by a
cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.
(GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in
Gujarat.
ii) Bhramaramba Society: is situated at Kurnool of Andhra Pradesh. This
Bank has given loans worth almost Rs.50 lakh to over730 poor families.
The recovery rate is a whopping 98 per cent. Registered under the State’s
‘Mutually Aided Cooperative Society Act’, 1995, on 15th August, 1998,
the bank had 2,400 women members. Only women sit on its 22-member
board and all women staff handles banking operations. The seeds of
Bhramaramba Bank were sown in 1995,when poor women in 22 villages
of the Midthura Mandal (administrative block) were encouraged to form
thrift and microlending self help groups. This social mobilization initiative
encouraged them to form thrift and microlending self help groups. This
social mobilization initiative is a part of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) funded South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme
(SAPAP) and is implemented jointly by the United Nation’s Development
Programme and the State Government. It has taken roots in 20 mandals
across the district of Kurnool, Anantapur and Mahabub Nagar. The ability
of women to take critical decisions has come to the fore in the whole process.
The members of Bhramaramba Bank have utilized loans for animal
husbandry (48 per cent), agriculture and allied activities (28 per cent) and
for petty business (16 per cent).
State policy under planning gives a great deal of importance to cooperatives
as a desirable form of organization to enable small farmers, households
and cottage industries to acquire greater bargaining strength in the economy
vis-a-vis the big players, through access to credit, input and produce markets.
More generally, the concept of organizing economic activity in a spirit of
mutual help and managing them democratically for the benefit of members
rather than for profit had a wider moral and ideological appeal to the leaders
of that time. This is reflected in the prominence given to cooperation in the
early five year plans and the vigorous efforts to encourage, promote and
support cooperatives. As a result, there has been a phenomenal expansion
in the number of societies and the range of activities. With a few significant
exceptions, this growth is largely driven and sustained by government
decisions on the allocation of budgetary funds, and on its policy of targeted
expansion of public funding of cooperatives at low rates of interest.
34
Check Your Progress - 2 NGOs and Cooperatives

Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.


b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) What is a cooperative?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2) Give an example of a successful cooperative.


.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2.7 LET US SUM UP


With Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) being made mandatory in the form
of Section 135 of the Companies ACT 2013, corporates have now begun to
recognize CSR as a core activity and are looking to find innovative ways to
effectively utilize their CSR fund. This has brought to the fore the role that NGOs
and other implementing agencies can jointly play along with corporates in order
to achieve what is known as collective impact. In this unit you have read about
role of NGOs and cooperatives in CSR implementation. How to identify the
right NGO for CSR intervention has also been discussed. You have read about
the NGO intervention in CSR and also about role of cooperatives in social
development.

2.8 KEYWORDS
NGOs: A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit, citizen-based
group that functions independently of government.

Cooperatives: Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled


and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and
cultural needs and aspirations.

Cooperative society: A cooperative society is a voluntary association that started


with the aim of the service of its members.

Social Development: Social Development refers to how people develop


social and emotional skills across the lifespan, with particular attention to
childhood and adolescence. 35
Stakeholders’ Engagement
2.9 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SELECTED READINGS
Sharma, S.G. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility in India: An Overview.
The International Lawyer. 43 (4) pp. 1515-1533

Praveenraj, D. W. and Viajayalakshmi, R. (2014). Role of NGOs in CSR.


International Research Journal of Business and Management, VII (12)
[Link]

2.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS-POSSIBLE


ANSWERS
Check Your Progress - 1
Answer 1. Many non governmental organizations in India are engaged in social
development and environmental activities. These organizations are good
enough to support the industrial development by ensuring community
participation in the developmental process. The concept of corporate social
responsibility is underpinned by the idea that corporations can no longer
act as isolated economic entities operating in detachment from broader
society. Corporate Social Responsibility is to be looked upon as mutual
support programs that ensure development of community near by the
industrial area with the expansion and development of the industrial
organizations.

Answer 2. Many companies simply do not have the bandwidth (employees,


consultants and supervision) to undertake consistent CSR implementation.
These companies not only need to spend on CSR, but also on CSR training
for their employees, or adding manpower dedicated to CSR capability.
NGO’s in India pitch a streamlined, customized solution to these
corporations. For NGOs, corporates are not only a source of consistent
funding but also access to strategic resources. An IT giant, for example,
can provide technology, processes, and support for educational initiatives.
Check Your Progress - 2
Answer 1. According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA): a
cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to
meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations
through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
Answer 2. Example of a successful cooperative
GCMMF- It was formed in 1948, it is a cooperative brand managed by a
cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.
(GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in
Gujarat.

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