The demand for greater transparency and accountability from NGOs has grown since 2018 in the development sector. The incidence of abuse, harassment, and exploitation has made safeguarding principles more stringent and non-negotiable for NGOs from both the government and funding donors. For an institution to function efficiently, it is crucial to ensure the functionality of existing systems complies with legal norms. Having policies on paper is no longer sufficient; a collective effort is needed to build policy norms and standards into organizational practice.

Since 2014, Caritas India has focused on institutional strengthening and building the capacity of 14 Regional Fora, including Diocesan Social Service Societies, on several themes based on sectoral needs. With the formulation of Caritas India Strategic Planning 2018, the Regional Forum Accompaniment Program was initiated to strengthen the institutions of all Regional Fora in two key aspects: regional strategic planning and mainstreaming Caritas India Key Strategic Pillars (KSPs).

Caritas India has been instrumental in forming Regional Fora at the regional level to set priorities, establish institutions as resource centers, and foster development, education, and skills training. This initiative emphasizes an inclusive and critical understanding of the development concept. With a joint initiative from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas India, safeguarding—a non-negotiable apparatus—was institutionalized through the SaFE (Safety for Everyone) program, which not only focuses on safeguarding policy formulation but also provides a roadmap to practice it within the system.

Caritas India and CRS organized a two-day learning workshop on mainstreaming strategic plans and safeguarding from June 22 to 23, 2024, in KROSS, Bengaluru. The current phase of the Regional Forum Accompaniment Program focused on institutional strengthening, streamlining the Regional Strategic Plan, mainstreaming Caritas India KSPs, and safeguarding. Accountability check exercises were conducted for all 13 Regional Fora, highlighting key achievements and action plans to achieve the targets for FY 2023.

The main objective of the workshop was to accompany and ensure accountability checks for the Regional Fora, streamline regional strategic planning, and set targets for the next phase. In his opening remarks, Fr. (Dr.) Jolly Puthenpura, Caritas India Director-in-Charge, emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships among the three church tiers—Caritas India, Regional Fora, and Diocesan—and their role in promoting social spirituality. He highlighted the engagement and journey taken by Caritas India and CRS in promoting the Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) and safeguarding as non-negotiable, resulting in creating a safe environment and society. He underscored the responsibility to become effective agents of change, enhancing the quality of life, and emphasized the accountability of Regional Fora in aligning with the purpose of the meeting—to reflect and review progress, revisit the RSP, and formulate or revisit Diocesan Social Service Society strategic plans and safeguarding standards at both the forum and DSSS levels.

Mr. Senthil Kumar, CRS CEO, highlighted four important aspects of streamlined institutional strengthening: accompaniment, key milestones achieved, capacity building, and technical support, and the strategic framework in place to address gaps and challenges. He stressed the importance of accountability in achieving the organization’s social mission and strategic approach to meet goals, ensuring all legal compliance through required policies, and adopting a strategic approach to strengthen resource mobilization.

Mr. Ananth from CRS elaborated on the crucial aspects of visibility and accountability within the organization. By maintaining a high level of visibility, the organization can foster trust among its members and stakeholders, enhancing collaboration and cooperation.

Caritas India undertook a survey questionnaire for 13 Regional Fora to gather reflections from Forum Directors on the progress and integration of key strategic pillars, regional perspective plans, and safeguarding components implemented. Key findings presented by Mrs. Catherine Kune highlighted major initiatives institutionalized mainstreaming Caritas India KSPs—community-based volunteering, improved partnerships with local communities and Panchayats, and more initiatives on “Dialogue with Nature.” At the institutional level, these included the revision of the Regional Strategic Plan, dissemination to DSSS, and strengthening and handholding support for DSSS on Caritas India KSPs and Catholic Social Teaching.

Key challenges faced at the accompaniment, partnership, and institutional levels includes gap in proper handover mechanisms within the system by employees and leadership, sustaining engagement with government bodies/NGOs, and lack of ownership and commitment among DSSS—not obliged to implement KSP/RSP. The survey revealed that the Regional Forum has taken safeguarding as a serious commitment to strengthening their institution. Measures include safeguarding policies for all 13 Regional Fora, clearly stating the scope and prohibited behaviours, safe recruitment, mandatory orientation for staff, creating reporting channel mechanisms, and mapping local services.

Mrs. Retty George and Mrs. Supriya Mukherjee from CRS facilitated sessions to review progress in achieving safeguarding standards at the Regional Fora level and rollout at DSSS level. Templates were introduced to develop targets for the next phase FY 2025, and through focus group discussions, the Regional Fora committed to achieve specific safeguarding standards. Participants were clarified on how to form Safeguarding Committees/Internal Complaint Committees and who should be the members of these committees.

A detailed reflection round created a recommended pathway to fill gaps and challenges, such as formulating volunteer manuals/guidelines/policies, addressing safe migration support from the source to the destination (Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Northeast to Southern region), introducing a mechanism-checklists from Caritas India and CRS focusing on policy requirements before funding any grant to sub-recipients, introducing Caritas International Management Standards (CIMS) at forum level, developing proper handover mechanisms for new leadership at the forum and DSSS levels, and addressing drug abuse issues in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the Northeast region.

Caritas India’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and safeguarding underscores its dedication to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all stakeholders involved.