Annual Network Meet to strengthen stakeholders’ participation

The two-day Annual Meet was organized at Hotel Radisson Blu, Ranchi during December 21-22, 2022. It was inaugurated by Satyanand Bhogta, Minister of Labour Resources, Government of Jharkhand in the presence of Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd.), Director General, AIILSG, Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General, AIILSG, Shouvik Datta, Senior Programme Manager, European Union – Delegation to India and other dignitaries. After inauguration of the event, all the delegates went for a walk through the gallery where all of them interacted with women entrepreneurs in 14 stalls represented by women beneficiaries from blocks where project activities are being taken. Products were on sale for the occasion which gave ample encouragement to the women entrepreneurs. During the event, Policy Dialogue on Scope of Women Entrepreneurship and policy level intervention including financial assistance to promote women entrepreneurship in Jharkhand was also organised.
Further, expert talk on ‘Expansion and Scale up of Rural & Tribal Women Enterprises, Products and Services’ for their livelihood and experience sharing session with women entrepreneurs was also organised. The Annual Network Meet discussed ideas and concerns of stakeholders about the Girl Power project, expectations from both the parties to understand the scenario and make a future road map and strategies for local bodies and administration to give their support to the project as well as women beneficiaries for establishing enterprise.

Objective of Annual Network Meet of Girl Power Project

Girl Power Project is carrying out its project activities with the support of civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders. It is important to have regular interaction with stakeholders and discuss the plan of action. The core objective of this project is to enhance the technical capacity of women beneficiaries and make them self-reliant through entrepreneurship development. In order to achieve the objective of women empowerment, such network meet plays an important role. It helps in building a good relationship between the project team, stakeholders and policy makers. This type of engagement helps to fill the gaps between project implementing team and the stakeholders. Annual Network Meet focused on a dialogue on multiple topics of relevance with the stakeholders. The agenda for the dialogue is driven by all parties and focused on:
Mainstream the rural and tribal women entrepreneurs with universal ecosystem of entrepreneurship
Initiate policy advocacy for strengthening rural entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jharkhand
Exhibit and promote the products and services of rural and tribal women entrepreneurs in Jharkhand.

Learnings & Outcomes

Bhogta emphasized the efforts of the Government of Jharkhand in working towards skill development in the state and committed to support Girl Power Project to create more entrepreneurs, especially women and girls in the state of Jharkhand.
Shouvik Datta, Senior Programme Manager, European Union – Delegation to India expressed his happiness on the activities taken up by the Girl Power Project as they are working for creating entrepreneurship among rural women for their livelihood. He said that the project must work with the Government of Jharkhand and other vocational institutes to deliver the best out of the project.
Many women entrepreneurs have participated in the programme, but many more can come in future to sell their products on different marketing platforms with the help of Girl Power Project. This is great learning for the women entrepreneurs who have participated in this programme. They can then motivate other women to come forward so that they can get a better platform for the marketing of their products with the help of the project.
Some government departments of Jharkhand having similar objectives are ready to support women in different aspects like subsidy, training and capacity building, food processing, marketing of their products and thus promote women entrepreneurship. For example, fruitful collaborations can be had with government departments like Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), Jharkhand State Co-operative Lac Marketing & Procurement Federation Ltd (JASCOLAMPF) and JHARCRAFT, a government undertaking, for marketing of the products prepared by women beneficiaries.

Suggestions and Recommendations from the engagement groups

Girl Power Project team should work hand in hand with different stakeholders for better learning and opportunities to sell the products of women beneficiaries to fetch better value and their improved livelihood. The scope of the project can be extended to remaining districts of Jharkhand as well. Similar activities and efforts can be made to get the support from other institutions or government agencies to promote women entrepreneurship in Jharkhand as well as other parts of the country.
Recently, European Union-funded Girl Power Project organised a two-day Annual Network Meet, aiming at stakeholders participation and engagement. Stakeholder engagement is based on mutual respect and understanding.
The strongest forms of engagement are those where there are clear, identifiable benefits for both the parties. However, this does not mean that stakeholder engagement is only useful if there is an opportunity to create shared value. But it does not imply agreement on all topics nor should that ever be the objective of engagement. After all, both the parties have their own responsibilities and values to adhere. The reality is that the value of each engagement is different for the project team and for a specific stakeholder group. In situations where there is more regular interaction between team and its stakeholders the value pendulum can swing freely between the parties.
The minimum value for a project is always the strengthening of relationships. Regardless of who gains the most from a specific discussion, it is important to be transparent about the value for each of the participants, organization and others alike. Sometimes, based on strategic choices, the project team will have to accept that its engagement actions bring no or even adverse value to certain stakeholders. In that case, the benefit of the engagement with the stakeholder might be limited to gaining knowledge of the project plans and having an opportunity to take its concerns directly to the company. Yet, this is no excuse for not engaging.
Also, when designing an engagement strategy, it is important to realize that not all stakeholders and their opinions are equally important. It is better for a project team to focus on key stakeholders and do that well rather than try to engage too many stakeholders. In order for the project to be successful it will need to constantly map and review the stakeholder landscape, set clear criteria for selecting of stakeholders based on materiality and regularly review its overall engagement objectives and strategy.