Managerial Efficacy of Jagratha Samithi cum Family Empowerment Forum: A Case Study of Panancherry Panchayat

Many social projects are commenced with conviction and enthusiasm and go forward in full steam driven by passion and commitment. An examination of managerial viability is often overlooked though usually attention is paid to financial viability. This makes the project unsustainable. Jagratha Samithi cum Family Empowerment Forum (JScFEF) was the project commenced in Panancherry panchayat, Thrissur district, Kerala, India, by SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), one NGO who grabbed the unutilized opportunity to start Jagratha Samithis in Panancherry panchayat in Kerala as directed by a government order which in turn was issued with the purpose of combating violence against women. SEWA’s involvement was possible due to the funding by CapDecK (Programme on Capacity Development for Decentralization in Kerala). Across the globe such projects exist and there is dearth of literature assessing such projects from a management perspective. This project attempts to do just that. The McKinsey 7S model which hinges around the 7 Ss, shared values, strategy, systems, structure, staff, skill and style, is used to assess the project for managerial efficacy assessing each of the five stages starting from genesis to the present-day situation. This exploratory research resorted to the methodology of focus group discussion held with women organized under Kudumbashree (which is a community-based organization created through a government-NGO partnership), interviews with key informants and utilizing data from the records of panchayat. Twenty-four key informants were interviewed including the founder of JScFEF, the panchayat members and office bearers of the forum in the various stages and some actual beneficiaries of the project. In the first phase, that is, genesis, the structure, system and strategy emerged from a deep understanding of the cause of violence and a profound appreciation of the appropriate strategy to tackle it. Staff were handpicked persons and hence vision for the project could be thoroughly grounded in the formation stage. The elements of 7Ss aligned congruously in the first phase, that is, genesis. The background of the founder director and the conception evince thorough undergirding of the vision in the activities. In the second phase, that is, starting from the approval of the panchayat till the inauguration, there was immaculate cohesive connection among all the elements of 7Ss. The strategy of creating a sense of ownership for the project and performing training and participative research emanates from the vision that combating violence in a gendered hierarchical society requires the ideological and practical acceptance of powers to be. The selection of the staff and the skill generation harmoniously blend with the vision and strategy. During the third phase, that is, the inauguration, the involvement of authorities at state level was a strategy to gain acceptance for the ideology behind the vision of challenging gender-based violence. The involvement of the masses ensured the ownership by the citizens and large-scale sharing of the vision. In this phase also there was harmonious blend of all elements. Coming to the fourth phase, that is, from inauguration to handing over to panchayat, the strategy of occupying the space of panchayat and obtaining a room is an example of a good strategy. The system of panchayat selecting the staff also was OK. But when it comes to selecting the law officer, a more competent authority or a higher-level panel could have had a say considering the seriousness and the issues of legal validity of the settlements reached. Concurrence of district panchayat is a good idea, but professional screening could have been implemented. This is required to fulfill the vision of impartial settlements. The system of field investigation is good. But the system of appointing a field staff who is paid a meager honorarium would not guarantee professionalism. There could have been a shift in the system. A part-timer and sort of honorary person cannot guarantee sustainability in the functions. The designations could have been fixed in an illustrative manner denoting the functions instead of full-timer, field staff and so on. In the fifth phase too, the project is seriously flawed sans professionalism. Instead of panchayat, the field staff was wooing the full-timer. Instead of paying decent salary, the panchayat resorted to the practice of giving panchayat work to the field staff and paying her for that. Up to the launching stage, the vision of the founder can drive it forward with gusto, but beyond that, to sustain the project, it needs to be subjected to thorough analysis for managerial viability.