CAP

ANNOUNCEMENT



BCPT-CAP Awards for Excellence Amongst VOs in Mumbai
Theme: Knowledge Sharing and Project Documentation

An event - the first of its kind - to recognise and
honour the voluntary sector in Mumbai city.


The Bombay Community Public Trust (BCPT) and Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) are happy to announce two Awards for Excellence Amongst Voluntary Organisations working in Mumbai. The theme of Knowledge Sharing and Project Documentation has been identified since India has been and continues to be a knowledge rich society. Not only the academic and scientific sectors, but also the social service sector – the civil society – has accumulated a vast and dependable knowledge base to make initiatives sustainable and replicable, within the country and in the developing world.

The theme has also been chosen to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the passing away of H T Parekh, one of the founders and leading lights of BCPT as well as CAP, who strongly believed in working together for the common good. This was also reflected in his work at the corporate, industry, and social sector levels.

VOs/NGOs/NPOs are involved in projects which seek to bring about positive improvements in society. The success of its implementation strategy may vary from minimal to a significant extent. In addition to this outcome, each project is also a learning experience for the implementing agency. Cumulatively, these learning experiences are a rich knowledge base. This knowledge base, when shared with a larger audience, can be leveraged for more effectiveness in civil society initiatives.

We invite every VO/NGO/NPO to reflect on its projects, select one that has provided the richest learning experience and document it. The contest is about knowledge sharing and not about success achieved. Record the knowledge acquired by preparing a document indicating (a) the project objectives (b) innovative features in the objectives and/or methodology, if any (c) measurable impact and tangible changes which have occurred/not occurred, (d) the cost effectiveness and sustainability of the project or otherwise (e) factors affecting the success or failure (f) and the learning outcomes it provided to the implementing agency. The criteria for short-listing will be: comprehensiveness, objectivity, clarity, and articulation of the information and a professional approach. Reflection on the project experiences and ability to extract learning outcomes from them will be significant parameters.

Rules of the Award

1. Only VOs/NGOs/NPOs working within the greater metropolitan region of Mumbai can participate by sending in an entry. Each entry must be accompanied with full contact details of the organisation.
2. The VO/NGO/NPO will select a particular Mumbai-based project it has initiated within the last five years and document the processes and outcomes.
3. The document text should be brief – not more than 2500 words. Participants may submit photographs, media clippings and other evidence where absolutely necessary.
4. Only one entry per organisation can be sent
5. The documentation (both hard and soft copies) should be sent to BCPT’s office by December 31, 2004 at the latest.
6. BCPT reserves the right to publish the short-listed documented cases.
7. The decision of the jury + participant response will be final.

Evaluation Process

1. A group of three experts (drawn from the academic, corporate and philanthropic or social service sectors) will shortlist up to 10 project documentations.
2. At a meeting of participants to be organised in the third week of February 2005, the 10 short-listed cases will be given an opportunity to present a summary of their project documentation in 10-12 minutes, to an audience of experts and peers.
3. The experts and the audience present will together judge the documentation as follows:

• The panel of three experts will give marks (out of 100) to each of the written as well as presented versions of the documentation exercise
• Each organisation present in the audience will also evaluate the projects (out of 50 marks). Only one evaluation per organisation will be permitted.
• Organisations will not be allowed to evaluate their own presentation.
• The marks of the participants will be averaged and will be combined with the marks of the expert jury to decide the best two presentations.

The awards will be announced on the same day, after the presentations.

First Prize: Rs.100,000 + a certificate
Second Prize: Rs.51,000 + a certificate

The Award giving function will be held at a later date. A publication consisting of selected cases will be released on this day.

For information contact:

BCPT Earnest House,
7^th floor Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021
Tel. 22836672 / 22845928
Email: bcpt@vsnl.com

BCPT & CAP appreciate the support of HDFC Ltd. in this endeavour