Relief During COVID 19 Pandemic Evaluation Report NuSocia | www.nusocia.com
Acknowledgement We are pleased to present the evaluation report of COVID-19 initiatives. This report is the result of a comprehensive analysis of the project’s effectiveness and impact, as well as the identification of key lessons learned. We extend our gratitude to the Tata Steel Foundation, who commissioned this evaluation, for their continued commitment to evidence-based decision-making and for providing the necessary resources to conduct this evaluation. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all those who contributed to this project and made this evaluation possible. Our gratitude goes to the Tata Steel Foundation team, who provided us with valuable data, information, and insights throughout the evaluation process. We would also like to thank the stakeholders who participated in the interviews and shared their views and experiences. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of our evaluation team, who spent countless hours designing the evaluation methodology, collecting, and analysing data, and preparing this report. We hope that this report will be a useful resource for all stakeholders involved and will contribute to improving the effectiveness and impact of future development initiatives. Page - 2 w w w.nusocia.com
w w w.nusocia.com Abbreviations CCI Child Care Institutions CRP Community Resource Person CSR Corporate Social Responsibility DC District Collector DRCG District Resource Coordination Group KPI Key Performance Indicators MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act NGO Non-governmental Organization NH National Highway OPD Outpatient Department SDO Sub-Divisional Officer SP Superintendent of Police SSP Senior Superintendent of Police TSF TATA Steel Foundation WHO World Health Organization SHG Self-help Group KII Key Informant Interview ASHA Accredited Social Health Activist IEC Information, Education & Communication SOS socially responsible society HIV-AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome IGIB Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research REECIS Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Coherence, Impact, and Sustainability NGO Non-Government Organization CRISPR Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats LMO Liquid medical oxygen Page - 3
w w w.nusocia.com Table of Content Acknowledgement 02 Abbreviations 03 01. Introduction 06 02. Strategic Initiatives 08 03. Methodology 23 04. Findings 26 05. Analysis 32 06. Recommendations 39 07. Conclusion 41 08. Appendix 42 Organizational Profile Background Strategy to Combat Covid-19 Individual Support Institutional Support Relevance Effectiveness Efficiency Impact Coherence TATA Disaster Response Values Sustainability 07 08 26 27 29 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Images Source : Pexels Page - 4
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w w w.nusocia.com Introduction COVID-19, as a global event with planet-wide impact, has potentially changed our perspective on how we see the world, the ways in which we think, and how we conduct our lives. Globally, the pandemic situation seemed like a black swan event, a shocking event that impacted and forced society to experience the human tragedy of lost lives, broken families, and suffering marginalized communities, as well as economic and social changes at all levels across the world. Organizational Profile Tata Steel Foundation isEarly implementing arm of Tata caused an extremely concerning the in 2020, COVID-19’s effects Steel’s commitment to community. Instituted on August scenario in India and other regions of the world that necessitated 16, 2016, Tata Steel Foundation response. In 8 companythe country was experiencing an a fast is a Section India, as with over 1000 people, across 11 units and two states of unprecedented national-wide health pandemic crisis, it also had Jharkhand and Odisha. InaFY23, the Foundation reached 3 severe impact on the social and economic development of the million lives through its consolidated programme portfolio lockdown that fueled the crisis. The country, resulting in a nationwide effectively positioned under Impact and Enterprise especially when the World Health seriousness galvanized people, pathways on Public Health, Education, Livelihoods, Gender Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency and Community Enterprise, Infrastructure and Tribal of international concern on January 30, 2020. This was a trigger to Identity, at a commitment of 500 crores. sense an upcoming health crisis, its severity, and its possible impact on the lives of those involved. The government of India, along with The Foundation has therefore broad-based its community including corporate bodies, were the states and various institutions, engagement to effect on alert mode and put efforts into realigning arms and resources to societal changes through its Signature and Proximate combat the emerging pandemic situation in the country. Community Development (PCD) programmes that help consolidate diverse resource pools and multiply the impact before a formal appeal by the government, corporate leaders Even potential on citizen’s lives. It also enables the Foundationas Tata Steel a structure to such to advocate proactively came forward and offered resources government and other organisations COVID-19. It positive that all these companies were to combat working for is noted change. This, in the recentmotivated to participate in COVID-19 responses not only by funding times, has helped the Foundation to strategically look at non-profits and PM CARES Funds but also by taking part themselves emerging narratives, many of which including climate resilient livelihoods, rewilding of health services or by driving relief by supporting and strengthening ecosystem, upscaling or re-purposing programmes reflect efforts in the communities in their immediate vicinity. This report our community’s aspirations of an an impact evaluation of the interventions implemented by provides enlightened society. the Tata Steel Foundation in support of COVID-19 relief activities in the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand during the year 2022. Images Source : Pexels Page - 6
w w w.nusocia.com Images Source : Pexels Organizational Profile Tata Steel Foundation is the implementing arm of Tata Steel’s commitment to community. Instituted on August 16, 2016, Tata Steel Foundation is a Section 8 company with over 1000 people, across 11 units and two states of Jharkhand and Odisha. In FY23, the Foundation reached 3 million lives through its consolidated programme portfolio effectively positioned under Impact and Enterprise pathways on Public Health, Education, Livelihoods, Gender and Community Enterprise, Infrastructure and Tribal Identity, at a commitment of 500 crores. The Foundation has therefore broad-based its community engagement to effect societal changes through its Signature and Proximate Community Development (PCD) programmes that help consolidate diverse resource pools and multiply the impact potential on citizen’s lives. It also enables the Foundation to advocate a structure to government and other organisations working for positive change. This, in the recent times, has helped the Foundation to strategically look at emerging narratives, many of which including climate resilient livelihoods, rewilding of ecosystem, upscaling or re-purposing programmes reflect our community’s aspirations of an enlightened society. Page - 7
w w w.nusocia.com Background As part of their philanthropic efforts, TSF has assisted communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through a CSR programme called #CombatCovid19CSR. This programme involved giving out medical equipment and supplies, supporting healthcare professionals financially, and making gifts to charities involved in the relief operations. The company’s actions show its dedication to resolving a serious public health concern and its readiness to support societal well-being. Images Source : Pexels Therefore, this assessment of the CSR action is significant to evaluate their CSR strategies and procedures, and NuSocia will examine them both to understand the impact of the interventions on the communities they served, evaluate the interventions’ strengths and limitations, and determine whether the company’s broader CSR objectives are in line with these initiatives. The assessment will support the business’s future CSR actions and assist it in making informed decisions. Strategic Initiatives The #ThoughtforFood initiative provided nutritional support to people in need during the pandemic, with a unique target group for each of its three phases. Page - 8 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TATA Steel Foundation (TSF) formulated a 10-point action plan as a relief response. These strategic initiatives were focused on addressing the primary needs of the community. The planning for these strategic initiatives began in March 2022. The 10-point initiatives gradually took shape as the on-ground needs were identified. In the beginning, TSF used their funds, but eventually, other corporate and individual donors also contributed. The details of the initiatives are as follows - 1. #ThoughtforFood The #ThoughtforFood initiative was rooted in providing nutritional support to people in need during the pandemic. The initiative had three phases, with a unique target group
for each phase. In the first phase, which was implemented during the first lockdown, people from the 139 bastis of Jamshedpur were provided with a one-time meal of khichadi. The initiative was designed after having conversations with the local leaders about the needs of the community. The infrastructure needed for the initiative was leveraged from the existing central kitchen set up created by TSF and the Annamitra Foundation for the provision of midday meals called ‘Annamitra Kitchen’. Phase 1 ran from March to June 2020, for around 90 days. In the beginning, the kitchen was preparing 500 meals a day, which gradually went up to 2000 meals a day and eventually 56,000 a day. For the identification of beneficiaries, TSF was closely collaborating with the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and had regular meetings. The SDO constantly shared information about identified needs, which helped create a good collaborative system among TSF and government officials. The human resources for phase 1 involved a central team of 4 stationed in the office to receive messages, Community Resource Persons that were placed in the kitchen for packing and distribution, and a location-based team that would collect information on the number of drums of khichadi distributed. Based on the location teams’ input, the quantity of khichadi distributed was either increased or lowered to optimise the demand and supply of the requirements. w w w.nusocia.com The on-ground team provided daily monitoring inputs. Phase 1 saw the involvement of 50 CRPs assisting in the kitchen and an additional 50 helping with distribution. At the time, the local school van drivers were unengaged; hence, they were involved in the distribution of the khichdi. Since they were aware of all the basti geography, their involvement greatly helped. Phase 2, which was during the second lockdown, was in response to the requests coming in from people in East Singhbhum. The support strategy was then changed to the provision of dry rations and hygiene kits, as cooked meal provision was heavy on human resource engagement and transportation. In Phase 2, 530 volunteers and local organisations supported the distribution of 22,000 dry rations and hygiene kits. Once the kits were distributed, signatures were obtained from the organisations about the distribution. The ration kit was made to last for 10–15 days for a family of four to five members. Phase 3 included the request-based provision of cooked meals to COVID-19-infected families in Jamshedpur city and closer parts of Seraikela. The meal included dal, rice, sabzi, and salad. Phase 3 continued from December 2020 to early February 2021, and approximately 1,000 meals per day were distributed. Conclusion: The #ThoughtforFood initiative made a significant impact in providing nutritional support to people in need during the pandemic, with each phase targeting a unique group of people and providing different types of support. The initiative was made possible through the collaborative efforts of TSF, local volunteers and organizations, and external donors. Page - 9
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