PRI-CBO Convergence Approach

The PRI-CBO Convergence approach is based on the premise that if institutions of the poor such as Community Based Organisations (CBO) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) collaborate with each other to work for the development of the village, they can significantly enhance the livelihood and social security of the vulnerable and poor.It is based on Kerala’s experience of NHG-ADS-CDS working closely with the Gram Panchayats (GPs). The pilots implemented in various states have helped develop a ‘Proof of Concept’ for universal implementation of this programme under NRLM.

PRI-CBO Convergence Project

The PRI-CBO Convergence project capacitates PRI representatives and SHG members in addition to creating platforms for their convergence. The PRI and CBO are expected to work together to strengthen the poor’s access to entitlements and enhance the public’s participation in local governance. To achieve these goals, a cadre of motivated community individuals called Local Resource Group (LRG) are nurtured in partner-States. The LRG are expected to work towards enabling the convergence of PRI and CBO for the development of the village. As part of the project strategy, the CBOs and PRI are introduced to participatory assessment, planning and monitoring tools to help local communities build awareness and plan for their access to schemes and benefits.

The project was initially piloted in 5 states of Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha and MoU in these states expired in 2017. Some of the achievements in these states include:

Status of Activities and Outcomes in Pilot Project where MoU Expired in 2017
Name of State	Number of Active LRGs	Number of Internal Mentors	Number of VOCC formed	Number of GPCC formed	% of SHGs completed PAE	% of SHGs completed EAP	% of SHGs completed GP2RP
Assam	209	30	36	35	100	100	100
Jharkhand	221	59	-	27	100	100	100
Karnataka	173	-	-	31	100	100	100
Maharashtra	170	107	58	58	95.41	100	100
Odisha	109	25	-	7	88.63	100	91.67
Rajasthan	354	100	0	55	100	100	100

Project locations

Since 2013, the PRI-CBO Convergence project has been piloted in partner States such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Assam. In 2016, MoU was signed between Tripura and Kudumbashree for the implementation of PRI-CBO Convergence project in pilot locations in Tripura.MoU with the state of Chhattisgarh is in the process of finalization. Based on the experience of the pilot project, Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha have planned to scale up the project in the respective states.

Number of Partner States	5
Number of Districts	24
Number of Blocks	53
Number of Gram Panchayats/ Village Committees	410
Number of Mentors	31

 

Tools for Participatory Planning and Poverty Reduction

KS-NRO has developed the following tools that are used by SHG households in pilot locations for understanding and documenting gaps in entitlement access, planning for its access and undertaking joint action with Gram Panchayats for eradicating poverty at the village level.

Participatory Assessment of Entitlements (PAE):PAE is a SHG-level ribbon-exercise to help generate awareness about schemes/benefits and identify left-out families.

Entitlement Access Plan (EAP):EAP is a target plan prepared by each village organisation (VO) to address gaps in the access to entitlements identified during PAE.

Gram Panchayat Poverty Reduction Plan (GP2RP): GP2RP is a comprehensive demand plan prepared by SHGs and their federations in partnership with the Gram Panchayats for local development.

Project Sustainability Indicators

The PRI-CBO Convergence project is designed such that each partner-State eventually takes over the implementation of the project from Kudumbashree-NRO.

Kudumbashree-NRO aims to facilitate a self-sustainable and smooth transition of the PRI-CBO Convergence project by focusing on aspects such as: