‘Theory of Change’ and ‘Foresight’, the sufferings of the social and development sector, which I wrote about in my last two columns, are not the only such diseases. Let me pick the third one: stability. Here, the word has a specific meaning; Nothing to do with environmental sustainability. The assumption is that development and improvement should be sustainable in the community or region where it occurs, without the need for continued intervention or support from any agency outside that community. Basically, the change should be permanent. To understand the problems of this assumption, let’s consider two illustrations.
First, imagine a bridge built across a stream in a forest. It will deteriorate by nature and use and require maintenance. In a particular year of extreme torrential rains, it may require a lot of maintenance. And for that, an agency must have the network so that it can distribute everything- materials, labor and machinery. Once a bridge is built, it does not remain in that state forever without maintenance.
Let’s take another example. After years of work in clusters of villages, a non-governmental organization (NGO) manages to organize teenage girls into groups that provide support and trust for its members to tackle rampant patriarchy and exploitation. act as a cover. These groups are led by courageous girls who fight against early marriage, situations that force girls to drop out of school, gender violence, and more. The financiers of the project are pleased with this development; It seems like a model of lasting change, as the girls themselves take charge. Withdraws the funds of the NGO and their work stops.
What will happen 5 years after the NGO intervention stops? Those courageous individual girls are likely to change and be empowered forever; And they’ll probably do well in whatever they do, wherever they go. But those groups of villages are embedded within the larger surrounding society. The forces of patriarchy are alive and active in the society and in the same villages. How long will the group of girls fight these relentless attacks on their own? Life would take many of those individual girls elsewhere. Slowly, almost inevitably, the entire reformation in that community will come to an end.
Girls’ groups need constant support like that bridge. NGOs should continue in those villages. Its job can now be different, supporting rather than leading, while also being ready to step up efforts when needed. But they must be present and ready to intervene, because no one can predict what might happen through social forces. What we can infer is that most of these dynamics will be of regression to the status quo.
Is this a very pessimistic view of the world and how do we progress?
This a realistic view becomes clear when we consider the causes of this phenomenon. And this is true of the entire field of developmental and social interventions. From gender and race issues to education, health and agricultural practices and beyond. The explanation is not complicated.
All such improvements happen in the pocket – big or small. The whole society or system does not change in one big leap or sweep. Therefore, the pockets of change are pulled back by the rest of the society and the system to its long-determined ways and norms. This is partly due to the natural flow and inertia of things. Partly through systematic efforts by those who do not like such progress, who are ‘lost’ in some way, even if the loss is more psychological and social than economic. and equally by other deliberate attempts, including political, commercial, cultural and technological, that may be guided by conflicting ideas of progress, or may inadvertently cause collateral damage.
Neither of these are novel insights. But somehow in the social and development sphere, this basic reality is overlooked or under-weighted by certain categories of key actors—mostly funders and ‘far-sighted’, and who often wield substantial influence. Perhaps they want to believe in the notion of stability because they want to move forward. in another field, or for other work. This may be a reasonable desire on their part, but rationalizing it through the notion of stability is unfair and detrimental to real progress.
Manthan, that always inspiring 1976 film that has inspired generations in the development sector, has one flaw – it ends on a confusing note. This suggests that the cooperative dairy in Semla sustains itself under the leadership of Bhola, even as ‘NGO walas’ get on the train. This is not the complete picture. We know the formidable institutional framework that Verghese Kurien built – from villages like Semla to the rest of the country. Which enabled the Bhola of the country to lead on the ground, together creating the miracle of Amul.
There can be no progress without permanent institutions on the ground—community based, NGOs, public institutions or other types. And these institutions need connection, nurturing, and reinforcement from outside the environment in which they struggle. Otherwise they may get overwhelmed. Unfortunately, there is no social reform that is sustainable in itself. Progress is a constant struggle—to maintain even the few inches of profit earned.
Anurag Behar is the CEO of Azim Premji Foundation.
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