Programmatic Principles and Code of Conduct for MVF Staff

M. Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF) is a registered trust facilitating welfare services to the marginalised communities with a focus on children and protection of their rights. The organisation is fully committed to the principle of honesty, integrity and fair play in the delivery of services to the public.

This Code of Conduct sets out the basic standard of conduct expected of all staff in its employment.

Programmatic Principles

  1. Individual rights as enshrined in the Constitution of India and the legal framework must be respected. No other tradition or convention can be practiced or endorsed.
  2. The programme must not set up institutions which are parallel to these provided by the State. It must work towards strengthening of existing institutions and structures viz. the schools, social welfare hostels, gram panchayats and so on.
  3. The principle of non-violence must be adhered to an all occasions. There can be no justification for the use of violence at any time. The only counter to violence has to be in debates and discussion focused on protection of child rights.
  4. The principle of inclusion of all social groups, classes, communities, and individuals in the programme must be adhered to in building a social norm that ‘no child must work and that every child must attend full time formal school’. Exclusion would only result in shifting the issue from the agenda of child rights to issues of identities or class interests.
  5. Involvement of the staff in conducting surveys, analysis of data, self-evaluation studies and reports become essential components in drawing up a plan of action and also in responding to the demands.
  6. Given this framework, the staff has autonomy in decision making and working out the details of the programme. The staff at the local level share full responsibility for planning, implementation and monitoring of the programme. The decisions thus taken are respected and even encouraged.
  7. The innovative initiatives that emerge from such a process are shared with all the other members in MVF. It is in learning from these experiences; understanding the significance of such an exercise, and conceptualizing the key elements in the strategy adopted that a policy is evolved to be replicated on a large scale.
  8. The development of the programmes of MVF, and the lessons learnt become a part of the collective experience of the MVF as a whole. In this sense the MVF’s programme develops in a spiral fashion from one stage to the next. The entire process does not repeat from the start when it begins in a new area but takes off where the MVF is at the moment.

Code of Conduct in Governance

  1. All staff shall keep MVF informed while offering professional services to other NGO’s or institutions. They shall seek the approval of the National Convener/Chief Coordinator for offering such services and the terms and conditions of the same. Any remuneration obtained for such services shall be routed through the MVF to the concerned staff.
  2. MVF’s staff shall adhere to the principle of honesty and integrity. Under no occasion or circumstance even at the cost of the MVF program being closed down shall MVF staff commit an act of giving bribes.
  3. MVF’s staff shall use any asset of MVF properly for the purpose of conducting programs & its objectives and goals. Misappropriation of MVF’s assets for personal use is strictly prohibited.
  4. It is the personal responsibility of every staff member to understand and comply with the Code of Conduct.
  5. Any staff member who violates any provision of the Code will be subject to disciplinary action.