In a training program in New Delhi, Caritas India and Catholic Relief Services assess the partner organisations’ capacity enhancement needs for designing improvement plans for building local leadership in emergency response.

Organised under the Caritas Institute of Development, Action and Learning (CIDAL), the training for the Emergency Response Capacity Assessment and improvement plan was done for the partners of the Northeast, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal regions.

The two days of training was conducted on 5^th and 6^th September 2022 in Caritas India Head Office with 25 participants including Forum Directors, partner organization directors and forum and senior coordinators from the disaster affected/vulnerable areas.

The main objective was to assess partners’ existing capabilities and needs, capacity assessment and enhancement, build local leadership, and improve the sustainable response design plans. Thorough risk assessment (Finance, Legal, Programme, environment and operational) and more effective and sustainable interventions through improved plans.

“The program’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of its partners in dealing with emergency response during disasters, to be sustainable, and to self-assess where we stand while responding to disasters,” said Fr. (Dr.) Jolly, the Asst. Executive Director of Caritas India in his inaugural address. He also requested partner organizations to get maximum advantage from the training to provide better services to the vulnerable and marginalized.

Fr. Sushil, Administrator, Caritas India, welcomed all the forum/partner organization directors and coordinators. Mr. Ghanshyam, Head of Programs, Caritas India, shared that the partners’ capacity can help improve emergency response strategies.

“The goal is to create a more effective organization, and stronger relationships, and to better serve those in need,” said Dr. John Arockiaraj, Lead, Dalit Development, Caritas India and facilitator in the training who shared the organization’s key elements including structure, strategy, skills, staff, style, systems, and shared values. In the first exercise, he divided the participants according to their region and asked them to brainstorm on the characteristics of the organization and arrange those characteristics under the elements of the organization.

Dr. John also presented the elements for cultural change which is an important aspect for every organization. Members of an organization develop a shared belief around “what right looks like”. When those beliefs and assumptions lead to less than successful results, the culture should evolve to allow the organization to stay relevant in a changing environment. He shared the elements of Strategic Vision, Leadership Management, Management proactivity, Modification and adaptation of policies and systems, Learning organization and Employee motivation.

He also discussed the founding values. He suggested capturing the complexity of information in order to structure it into data/results that will guide the Organization through the decision-making process (eg. when developing the improvement plan). It requires you to consider the big picture (internal and external) as well as the context in which the Organization functions:

In order to be compliant with the CI Management Standards, Member Organisations must be compliant (have an average score of 3 or more) with the following:

• Laws and ethical codes
• Governance and organization
• Programme and finance accountability
• Stakeholder Involvement
• Safeguarding and as well as 7 mandatory articles

These are the main sectors under which an organization needs to assess itself by giving out points from 1-5. The “Input form “covers 32 articles and 76 Good Practices (GPs) under the 6 MS, including articles and GPs related to Safeguarding. The organizations will use input form/ORT for the assessments.

The Organization Review Tool (ORT) has been shared with all participants in order to assess the organization’s capacities and identify gaps. He asked each participant/team to do this assessment honestly and objectively for the sake of the organization’s growth.

Dr. John discussed fund transfers performed by organisations during an emergency response on the second day of the training. He also mentioned that Caritas had done a fund transfer previously. The participants then completed the mock exercise by grading their organization based on the various sectors listed. They described the exercise as participatory, consultative, informative, educational, and self-introspective, limitations were identified, learning by doing, and a magnifying glass for them to improve. Participants scoring sheets were distributed by region. Following the group presentation, an action plan was created.

“It was a learning opportunity and will try to complete the assignment on time,” said Mr. Sanjib Mandal, West Bengal thanking Caritas India and the facilitators for the sessions.

Ms. Deborah Sangma, Coordinator, Assam Forum shares her experience as she will be taking back with her the learnings.  She said, “as staff, we get so much involved with the projects and activities, we forget the foundations and basic for organizational development”.

Fr. Shekhar James, Director, Bihar Forum shares his learning experience about management standards, types of data analysis and values which is helpful, for organizational development.

Ms. Babita, Caritas India addressed the participants and shared that the Caritas Internationalis had first started these sessions in Rome. Caritas India started at our level to bring to the organizational staffs to understand the emergence response.