Why Rating?

NGOs are institutions which work and exist only for public benefit. They work in fiduciary capacity and deal with public funds. Hence, their accountability quotient towards the stakeholders is very high. The development sector is also undergoing a facelift, the process bringing with it new rules and compliances from both the Government and donor agencies. Further, the notion of risk assessment is gaining momentum in the development sector. Organizations may also lack the necessary resources and capacity to have in-built systems to assess risks. All these add up to the importance of instilling effective control mechanisms within an organization. With this backdrop, FMSF took the onus and has developed a generic rating tool customized to fit the requirements of organizations in the development sector.

This rating tool developed by FMSF helps to assess the current status of an organization in the areas of Governance, Management, Finance and Program. Voluntary organizations who wish to participate in this rating exercise are provided with a secure confidential report on the performance of their organization as per legal/accountability conformity laid down by the law of the land. To increase the ease of use and utility of this rating tool, we have added a tour guide (available in the home page, after you have logged in) and support at FMSF's end. This tool comes with many exceptional features. Voluntary organizations can assess risks, plan next course of action, seek expert advice/interpretation for a rating and compare two ratings taken at different points in time. Thus, this internal assessment tool aims to strengthen the internal systems by diagnosing risks and determine the effectiveness of actions taken after a rating.

This modular rating system has been developed as social accountability standards after years of research and feedbacks received from various organizations and experts. This self-assessment tool is a humble effort of FMSF in its stance to capture the urgent need of the development sector. As an organization which has been promoting accountability for more than two decades, this is a path-breaking diagnostic tool. We hope that organizations will find this indispensable tool highly yielding in the development process.