Youth for Social Development (YSD) was established to contribute to social change by improving the lives of the socially and economically marginalized. YSDs mandate is to promote good governance in various sectors of public service through research, policy advocacy, community action and peoples empowerment. In 2010, YSD won the Indian NGO Award (East Category) organized by the Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation.
The Centre for Local Government Budget and Policy Research has been set up by YSD to achieve its objectives: 1) Assess: Assessing local government budgets and policies, their implementation and impact; 2) Inform: Research‐based information and analysis to policy-makers, policy-implementers, media, and other stakeholders; and 3) Improve: Enhance the quality and effectiveness of local public expenditure through public discourse.
Strategies employed:
Research: The Centre initiates participatory action research projects that will explore issues surrounding local government policies and democratic governance in Orissa. Its research approach will aim not only to gain knowledge but also to equip people to act on social issues. Currently, YSD is running a project, Making Berhampur a child-friendly city, with the support of Bernard van Leer Foundation-Netherlands, with the aim to improve the living condition of young children (0-8 years old) and assesses the quality of public service delivery meant for the children living in slums and informal urban settlements in Berhampur.
Advocacy: They aim to demystify government policies, poverty alleviation/development schemes and public finances through citizen awareness, community empowerment and community monitoring, & audit programmes. Additionally, they sensitize various stakeholders and advocate for efficient implementation.
Citizen Action: They work towards – Engaging Community groups in demanding rights and entitlements, Capacity building of citizens and community groups, Knowledge generation and dissemination to create interest, Creating public awareness on rights and entitlements, Engaging civil society and media on issues related to poverty alleviation, and Communication between authorities and citizens.
Citizen Resource Centre: The Centre will be for policymakers, media and the public and endeavours to be a resource hub of knowledge and skills for media, elected local councils, legislature and government officials. This would be done by developing a knowledge management system, regular dissemination of knowledge products, provision of training courses and lectures designed for particular stakeholders and organizing conferences.
