Pasal 11
Partisipasi
Yang dimaksud dengan partisipasi adalah Konsil LSM Indonesia melibatkan semua unsur organisasi, komunitas dan pemangku kepentingan secara bermakna dalam proses pengambilan keputusan dan proses pemantauan organisasi.
Di suatu desa terpencil di Indonesia, komunitas ibu-ibu sedang diberikan pelatihan kerajinan asal daerahnya. Tetapi benarkah hal ini benar-benar yang mereka butuhkan? Apakah membuat kerajinan dapat membuat mereka mandiri, atau sebenarnya potensi komunitas tersebut adalah bercocok tanam?
Bagi Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat, pemberdayaan komunitas adalah kerja utama untuk mencapai masyarakat mandiri. LSM asik mengkampanyekan dan melakukan berbagai kegiatan untuk mendukung terwujudnya kesejahteraan dan keadilan bagi masyarakat. Dalam logika sederhana ini, tentunya kinerja LSM yang baik adalah kinerja yang memperhatikan para penerima manfaatnya, komunitas dampingannya.
Akan tetapi di lapangan, kejadian kerap kali tidak semudah hal itu. LSM yang memiliki kinerja baik karena ingin tampil baik kepada donornya sehingga akan mendapatkan dukungan lagi di tahun berikutnya. Dalam beberapa kasus,komunikasi dua arah yang seharusnya terjadi antara LSM dan komunitas dampingannya tidak dipertimbangkan ketika membuat program serupa. Bukankah hal ini justru akan membuat kinerja LSM tidak efektif?
Memastikan kinerja yang efektif berdasarkan pembelajaran-pembelajran di kegiatan sebelumnya tidak hanya diatas kertas yang dilaporkan ke donor. LSM sudah seharusnya melakukan hal tersebut untuk kepentingan penerima manfaatnya. LSM tidak boleh berfikir “mereka membutuhkan hal ini” tetapi “apa yang mereka butuhkan”
Hal ini adalah akuntabilitas kebawah, bahwa LSM harus memastikan program dan kegiatannya dipahami oleh penerima manfaatnya. Bahwa penerima manfaatnya percaya kepada LSM, karena kredibilitasnya Keterlibatan komunitas juga sesuai dengan Kode Etik Partisipasi, bahwa dalam penentuan program, semua unsur perlu terlibat termasuk para penerima manfaat itu sendiri.
IFRC membuktikan hal ini, dengan adanya komunikasi dua arah yang dilakukan, mereka mengetahui hal-hal apa yang perlu disampaikan kepada masyarakat yang hidup di daerah rawan bencana, dan melalui media apa saja. Sehingga hal ini akan lebih efektif dan dapat diterima oleh masyarakat, tidak hanya itu sebagai bentuk akuntabilitas, kegiatan partisipasi akan menunjukan kredibilitas LSM tersebut.
“Philip Kotler, one of the leading authorities on marketing famously said, “the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining needs and wants of target markets and delivering desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors.” Best practices and insights are available in plenty. Maybe what is needed is effort to apply them and ask the first fundamental question: – ‘what does the beneficiary really need?”
Article 11
Participation
NGOs involve all elements of the organisation, communities and stakeholders meaningfully in the organisation’s decision-making and monitoring processes.
In one of the remote areas in Indonesia, the woman community were given the training on how to making the origin craft from their areas. However does this what do they really need? Are making a craft will make them independent? Or actually the potential of this community is agriculture?
For NGOs, community empowerment is our primary work in achieving the independent society. NGOs enjoyed in campaigning and doing lots of activities for the society welfare and justice. Looking at this, we can conclude that the good work of NGO is the work that paying attention to their beneficiaries – participating communities.
However in the filed, things doesn’t go that simple, the NGO that have a good work because they would like to perform to the donor so they will gain another support. In some cases, two way communication between NGO and their communities aren’t being consider when they make a similar program. Doesn’t this is actually will lead to ineffectiveness of NGO’s work?
Ensuring the effectiveness of NGO’s work should also reflect on Lesson Learned, not only on the report. NGOs should always think for the benefit of their beneficiaries. NGOs shouldn’t think “they need this” but “what do they need”.
This is also the downward accountability, that NGOs need to ensure their program and activities are received well by their beneficiaries. This can also reflected that the NGO are being trusted because of their credibility. The participation of community also relates with the participation code of ethic Konsil LSM, which the NGO has to involve elements meaningfully in the organisation’s decision-making and monitoring processes.
IFRC also proven this, because they do the two-way communication, they understand what the society really need that living in vulnerable disaster areas. They understand what media that effective to notice them when the disaster coming. So this is will be more effective program and can receive well by the society, not only as that the participation of communities will show the credibility of NGO as well as one of the form of accountability.
“Philip Kotler, one of the leading authorities on marketing famously said, “the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining needs and wants of target markets and delivering desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors.” Best practices and insights are available in plenty. Maybe what is needed is effort to apply them and ask the first fundamental question: – ‘what does the beneficiary really need?”
