How are policies received at grassroots level?

The failure or success of a policy is important, especially when it includes grassroots-level communities to include rural and underprivileged populations. In fact, their reaction and response to policies is crucial and typically depends on the following factors- KRIDIT

• Knowledge
• Relevance
• Implementation
• Demography
• Involvement
• Trust
• Context

So, what are the elements that influence how policies are received at the grassroots level?

Relevancy and Acceptance Locally

If the policies are designed keeping in kind the local needs, then there is a likelihood of it being accepted gladly. Taking into consideration local issues which are of importance and a challenge should be addressed. For example, water, education/schooling, health. On the contrary, policies become irrelevant and unrealistic when it does not cater to local needs. Policies will not be welcomed if it is impractical and irrelevant.

For example, if there are agricultural policies which introduce high-level technology it may not resonate with the needs of farmers who are very poor and do not have access to modern equipment and infrastructure, on their own. In the Indian context, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), worked well and was found relevant since it kept in mind the people from economically backward communities and provided employment in rural areas in economically vulnerable regions.

Community Engagement

Involving grassroots-level communities in all phases of implementing a policy becomes important to ensure the success of a policy. It also helps build trust due to transparency since it reflects local aspirations and realities.

Communities can be involved in the following stages:

• Designing a policy: Brings local acceptance and relevance
• Implementation: Accountability and ownership
• Monitoring: Ensures that challenges can be addressed and also sees that the policies are useful

In India, the Panchayati Raj System is a success since it involves local governance and decision-making and as a result, empowers local village councils.

On the other hand, it can backfire when the communities are not involved and have no say, in any stages of a policy-making process. A top-down approach also hampers the success of a policy and may lead to resistance from communities.

Awareness and Accessibility

One of the important elements is creating awareness of the policies regarding what it means, why is it important, who will benefit from it etc. Using local languages and working with NGOs and local governing bodies is very important and increases the acceptance level of policies by communities.

Hence, projects like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) were successful, since there were targeted communication campaigns and it saw many people from the communities availing the opportunity of opening bank accounts.

In some cases, policies fail since communities are not aware of the same and do not understand how it will benefit them. Another factor is the complexity of a policy, red-tapism (hampers accessibility) as a result communities find it difficult and disengage themselves due to aggravation.

Fruitful Implementation and Delivery

An effective implementation of policies provides benefits and is meaningful at the grassroots level. What is expected is a smooth delivery of items or resources promised.

If corruption seeps in then delays, dissatisfaction and non-participation of the communities hampers the success of a policy. People lose trust and confidence in the government and policies due to the non-delivery of promises made.

In India, the Mid-day Meal Scheme saw some success and acceptance up to a level because the results were visible and direct. It improved and increased nutrition and school attendance, which was appreciated and seen by the communities.

Acceptance at Local Levels

Policies see success and acceptance at local levels when they have included the socio-cultural norms, values and traditions. In short, being aware of cultural sensitivity while designing policies so that it does not clash with local culture and practices.

For example, while dealing with healthcare issues, policymakers need to keep in mind that these campaigns that are aligned with traditional practices, like using local midwives in maternal health programmes, can enhance the acceptance of public health interventions.

Effective Feedback Grievance Redress

An effective and efficient monitoring and accountability mechanism ensures a clear avenue for feedback, which in turn encourages the community to be more involved in the policymaking processes. This is where accountability plays a crucial role and the community feels that can address policy failures through feedback mechanisms proactively. On the other hand, lack of transparency and poor accountability mechanisms lead to discontent in the communities.

Policies that are relevant, transparent, implemented, strategised and include a feedback mechanism always find success at the grassroots levels. On the other hand, if not communicated well, or has glitches in implementation, it can face resistance and rejected. The success of any grassroots-level policy ultimately depends on how well it understands and engages with the local population.