I have been working with different UNDP funded projects in Nepal: Local Governance Programme and Decentralised Local Governance Support Programme (DLGSP) for the seven years as Human Resource Development/Gender Officer and District Development Advisor. However, my journey in training and development facilitation career is more than 10 years old starting from Institute of Cultural Affairs. As a HRD/Gender Officer, I was responsible for the overall training activities of the programme with special focus on gender and social mobilization which are the major approach adopted by LGP and DLGSP to enhance livelihood of rural poor. I was accountable for designing training packages and materials for good governance activity, social mobilization, and preparing report on training, monitoring and evaluation. I am also responsible for information analysis and conduct training need assessments, planning, and prepare policy and manuals apart from organizing and delivering training. I manage for the overall implementation of program and it’s monitoring for community governance and district level capacity building. I brought good results at present work in developing and implementing citizen oriented community governance of community solidarity programme through standard social mobilization package, devolution policies for decentralization of authority from the central government to the local level. I have promoted of development policies that are conflict sensitive, socially inclusive and pro-poor in nature, addressing the needs and concerns of the poor, marginalized and minority groups. During these years, I have tried my best to understand the grass-root level problems and knowledge of the grass-root level people. I have use my expertise in the areas of planning, devolution, local government/ local institutions including NGO and Civil societies and CBOs capacity building, financial decentralization, local (Village/Community) governance, capacity development for democratization at local level, fund mobilization, rehabilitation & reconstruction, livelihood strategies and participatory planning. I have trained local staffs regarding participatory tools and techniques. It found quite effective and brought positive results.
I have visited many districts of Nepal, to conduct research, planning, training, field survey, monitoring and evaluation of the program and observation in different dimensions of the society, most of them being remote areas. I have been working in positions that involve working closely with people from different strata of the society- including senior and high-level government professionals and other national and international agencies, as well as the people from the very grass root level to the people involved in local governance and politics. I am confident that my interest, qualification, experiences and skills will be useful and applicable to perform the stated roles and responsibilities effectively.
In Nepalese context, discriminations and exploitation is directed to women, dalits and indigenous groups in social, economic and political fronts. The women have no right in accessing the parental properties, no access to the financial means including the banking sectors for operating and managing the independent economic priorities and business. Similarly, dalit and indigenous minorities have no political prices even after the democratic governance established from early 90s. These all grievances and discrimination perpetuated to the conflicts, which is bagged by Maoists. The war confirmed the death of more than 13, 000 of innocent people, security forces and combatants of Maoists. Over 100, 000 people of the rural villages forced to leave the village and commune. In addition the wreath of war destroyed a large number of rural infrastructures and government office buildings.
The ten-year of war restricted the operations of the private business, service centres of government and mobility of representative of government and non-government organizations and community. A large part of villages remained under the control of people’s movement group and government security forces thus creating a scary situation in villages and towns. People failed to use their land resource for the agriculture production and business and community people remained deprived of basic services- health, schooling of children, drinking water and inputs of agriculture fields. During the war a large number of children were forced to leave the villages, thus, devoid them from going to school. Women and elderly aged groups could not access the maternity services and medicines. Consequentially, a large part of the agricultural land remained fellow, seemingly, devoid the agriculture production for meeting the demand of food in rural and urban centres. Resultant to this situation, a large number of youth are forced to leave their villages for the search of the job and food. These fugitive youth either left for India or to other countries of gulf.
The development non-government organization (NGO), which has taken a lion share in resource mobilization for the community development plans and programmes implementation were also hijacked by peoples’ war group and its supporter in some places for their resource use and abuse. Due to this reason many of the donors and development partners working in Nepal ceased their funding with the fear that the resources will be utilized for raising the capacity of military strengthens of Maoists
NGO remained in suspicious from the side of Maoists and government security forces due to their strong bond with various political ideologies. Often NGOs have had no forward and backward linkages with local government institutions. NGO’s promoted community organizations remained isolated and deprived of guidance and development inputs from others development agencies. To the end, it denotes that linkage of community organizations promoted by NGOs is virtually absent. However linkage is a necessary phenomenon in sustaining the development efforts made by the development agencies
As a development activist, I have persistently taken part in promotion of development policies that are conflict sensitive, socially inclusive and pro-poor in nature, addressing the needs and concerns of the poor, marginalized and minority groups. For this, I have led micro level action research that enabled community to develop coping strategy in conflict also. I worked on the base of public private partnership and applied appropriate technology transfer, enterprise development opportunities, small productive physical infrastructure at rural community, social inclusion packages and credit and grants etc. had become more useful for food security and sustainable livelihood.
Working as a Gender Officer in LGP/UNDP. I had overall responsibilities to sensitise local bodies for gender mainstreaming and provide feedback to all three layers, i.e., micro, meso and macro level of government. Recently, I have coordinated and facilitated training on Gender Mainstreaming and Social Inclusion for gender focal persons of 75 DDCs of country, organized by PMSU in Dhulikhel. Similarly I have facilitated Gender Budget Audit workshops for Kavre and Chitwan DDC. I am sincerely advocating and facilitating the DDC boards and councils in gender sensitive planning. I have, with my own effort, prepared a manual for local cadres on How to prepare socially inclusive and gender mainstreaming plan at local level (It is being published soon).
I have first hands experience in the areas of planning, designing projects, co-ordination and facilitating of training to enhance leadership qualities of field workers, project managers, CBOs and local leaders to build their own capacity to reflect and analyse their program’s progress in a truly participatory culture. Similarly, I have facilitated planning process with considerable negotiation skills in collaboration with local bodies in line with Local Self Governance Act and its bi- laws and experience of strategic management and monitoring of development activities in armed conflicting situation and ability to support in conflict recovery related initiatives to improve in rural livelihoods. As a development professional, I have facilitated Participatory Planning Process of local bodies (DDC/VDCs) in making planning process systematic and thereafter incorporate MDGs, Human Right approach to poverty reduction and PRSP. I had ample exercises to build proper relationship among Periodic District Development Plan, 10th Five Years Plan, district level sectoral master plan and district annual plan. I have facilitated the workshops of local bodies for OD package and CDS packages. Similarly I have attempted for TNA of local staff and their after for intervention in organizational behaviour. I take part interestingly to formulate policies for enterprise development plan at livelihood level, stakeholder analysis for better coordination and linkage development etc.
I have high level of willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field of social policy and development and excellent to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and perform under pressure of tight and competing deadlines. As a good team player with excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity, I have some quality to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other staff and outside collaborators. I always trust in participatory management. That is why while accomplishing my duties I respect the opinions and feelings of others valuing diversity and understanding the need to balance work and private life of my subordinates and colleagues.
Working with UNDP, I have had innumerable instances in which I had to use my abilities in policy analysis with the opportunity of best judgment at all layer i.e., micro, meso and macro level of policy feedback through using different tools and techniques.
I believe that the MDGs are only possible though building decentralized governance by strengthening the participation of multi-stakeholders in planning and implementing key public service. For this, it is essential to develop tools that support government to move effectively assume new roles and responsibilities in light of rapidly changing context of decentralization. It leads towards empowerment of communities through improved access to information to advance socio-economic opportunities. Now I look for a new challenges, have more responsibility and experiences with a changed of environment.
My Key Competencies:
• Prepare and support to prepare roster of trainer and training organizer and providers
• Can assist project management with the design and sequencing and mobilization of resources for training
• Training Need Assessment( Conduct rapid need assessment of training)
• Prepare and field testing of training packages- can ensure cross cutting values like social equity, gender and environment and HIV and AIDS( Can prepare study based manuals of social mobilization, gender budget audit, enterprise and market access, HIV and AIDs, project proposal writing etc)
• Conduct training and workshops & organizational development study and capacity development strategies
• Can promote participatory approaches in all aspects of project cycle implementation and management
• Can collect, revise and compile available materials, methods and tools in participatory approach
• Design and conduct an evaluation of the training program along with recommendation
• Can support team in exposure and exchange visit program with respect to training and capacity building
• Can assist team with the view of identifying appropriate training program
• Preparation of reports and summary reports in English language
• Facilitation of planning of local bodies( periodic and annual based on PRSP and MDGs)
• Can monitor local bodies activities and provide overall guidance and coordination for synergy
• Can facilitate to formulate guidelines of local bodies, i.e., pro-poor policies, Human Resource, Information and technology, monitoring and evaluation, user committee guideline etc.
• Can design simple monitoring and evaluation format for training and its impact
I am confident that my interest, qualification, experiences and skills will be useful and applicable to perform the stated roles and responsibilities effectively. I have attached my current curriculum vitae herewith for your kind perusal. If my qualifications and experiences are acceptable I would be pleased to be informed.
Looking forward for your kind response.
Sincerely,
Bal Krishna Sharma