Project Description

For anyone who hasn't heard exactly what we are doing here on the other side of the planet I thought this project description might be helpful:


Project Summary

Purpose: The purpose of this research project is to examine the relationship between the selection criteria of rural development NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in India and their ability to improve material conditions in those locations. The ultimate goal of this research is to understand the conditions in communities most favorable to rural development in order to enable the researchers to develop community selection criteria for their own NGO initiative, the SHARED Element (www.sharedelement.org).

Project outline: The prevalence of rural poverty is striking, considering that of the 1.2 billion people that live on less than $1 a day, 75% live and work in rural areas[i]. India has between 1 and 2 million NGOs, two-thirds of which are focused on rural areas[ii]. And yet, rural poverty in India has only decreased by about 0.74% since 1993[iii]. Why does this rural poverty persist? There could be a number of explanations. This team of investigators is interested in exploring selection methodology used by various NGOs and the relationship between selection techniques and effectiveness. Do these selection criteria impact effectiveness? And if so, are NGOs focusing their efforts where they could make the most difference? What communities should NGOs work with?

Our investigation explores the answer to these questions. The investigators will travel to Bangalore and Chennai in India to meet with 5 local non-governmental organizations for the purpose of conducting interviews with the staff and then visiting the rural communities they partner with. In interviews, NGO staff will first be asked what criteria they use for selecting the communities they assist and how this may have affected their ability to accomplish their goals in the community. Then, the investigators will collect information, gathered through interviewing NGO staff and the community members, regarding material conditions in the community before the NGO’s involvement and afterward. Such data will be gathered across several organizations and the communities they work with in order to evaluate the effect of selection criteria on the NGO’s ability to effect change. The data will then be compared to theoretical information regarding selection criteria that generally predicts NGO effectiveness. Finally, the correspondence between the obtained data and theoretical data will be evaluated. Discrepancies and/or agreements in data will be discussed with the NGO staff to hear possible explanations for them.

Collected information will be used to help the researchers develop selection criteria for an NGO they are starting called the SHARED Element. The mission of the SHARED Element is “to connect the dots of development.” The SHARED Element is designed to enable rural communities to develop solutions to their own problems and implement these solutions through partnerships with the government, the market, and the non-profit sectors. More information can be found at www.sharedelement.org.