Institute of Integrated Rural Development (IIRD)
Prize Finalist 2008
Organisation name
Institute of Integrated Rural Development (IIRD)
www.iird.interconnection.org/
Testimonial: from the organization highlighting the benefits of being on the shortlist.
Financial resources
Annual income US$1,637,516 (2006-7)
Geographical focus
Bangladesh, Asia
Issue focus
Poverty alleviation, employment, environment, gender, health and wellness, food
Key achievements
- Reduction of extreme poverty from 37.4% to 8.4% in Dhunot upazila of Bogra, Bangladesh;
- Removal of 30,598 families from extreme poverty
- Installed 1,927 drinking water tubewells plus 18 arsenic- free well benefiting over 20,000 families
Mission
The Institute of Integrated Rural Development (IIRD) seeks to eradicate poverty through social and economic empowerment of what it calls the 'hard-core' poor. IIRD champions a holistic and integrated approach to tackle the multifaceted causes of rural poverty, and sees rural development as a participatory process which enables the poor to identify, analyze, and devise creative solutions to their own problems. Each project is tailored to fit families' individual situations. This bespoke quality, and the dedicated monitoring of families, even after projects have ended, ensures families have all the necessary support to remain out of poverty in the long term.
Background
The IIRD, a Bangladeshi non-governmental organization, was founded in 1987 to implement a model of rural development that could be replicated anywhere. It began operating in the Dhunot upazila of Bogra District, Bangladesh, and has since extended to 8 additional upazilas.
Management
The IIRD employs a democratic system of management, encouraging employee collaboration, organisational cohesiveness and integration of staff into local society.
It functions through a series of committees:
- The Liaison committee works as a team for the day- to- day management of the organisation. This ensures proper implementation of policies and decisions provided by the general body and governing board;
- The Shadow liaison committee use their direct experience in village areas to provide insight for upper management to ensure effective policy making;
- A Coordination committee composed of directors and senior managers of programs and field leadership, meets regularly to plan, problem solve, and monitor.
The system of committees and regular meetings creates a participatory environment, encouraging feedback and idea generation from all staff.
Partnerships
The IIRD's main partner in all its projects is local community. Examples include formulation of education programmes in collaboration with mothers, and giving community responsibility to care for and monitor trees in an aforestation programme. Central and state governments, universities and international development agencies also partner with IIRD.
Impact Achieved
IIRD's main accomplishment has been to play a significant role (alongside the local community and other NGOs) in reducing extreme poverty in Dhunot from 37.4% to 8.4%. IIRD's leadership and full focus on poverty eradication has played an essential part in this success.
Other accomplishments include the provision of:
- 2 flood protection embankments of 7.5 and 5.0 kilometres
- Land raising above flood levels for 2,166 families and 308 institutions
- Resettlement projects covering 783 landless families on 140.11 acres of land. These families receive sufficient income from fishery as a basis for their long-term development
- Excavated 144 private fish ponds and 100 mini ponds
- Provided 12,458 cows, 4,472 goats, 25,000 poultry birds
- A non-formal education program which 63,706 children of the poor have benefited from, of whom 95.2% completed the two-year Child Development Centre (CDC) course
- Since 1990, healthcare treatment was provided to an average of 5,000 individuals annually
Contact
For further information please contact:
William Cristensen, Volunteer Advisor
Email: Bill_iird@yahoo.com; or
Ranjan Halder, Executive Director
Email: ranjan@iird-bd.org