GUIDELINE FOR

CLUSTER LEVEL FORUM (CLF)

Odisha Livelihoods Mission

Panchayati raj Department, Govt. Of Odisha
1.1 Definition. A Cluster Level Forum (CLF) is a platform for sharing of experiences of SHGs and to
extend mutual support to improve the overall performance of SHGs. The CLF will create voice
and space for the poor in the village and help initiate development intervention for poverty
reduction.

1.2 Role : The role of CLF are as follows :

 Act as a platform for sharing of experiences by SHGs
 Saturate the mobilization of left out Poor, tribal and Extremely Poor & Vulnerable Groups
(EPVGs) into SHGs
 Facilitate capacity building of the SHG leaders & members
 Arrange for support services to SHGs and their members to ensure that all SHG practice
“Panchasutras”
 Monthly review of SHGs and community professionals like Book keepers, CRPs,Bank mitras
etc.
 Facilitate in preparation and appraisal of pro-poor inclusion plans and micro-investment
plans of member SHGs
 To act as a bridge between SHG and GPLF.
 Facilitate in ensuring the entitlements, basic amenities reach the needy in the village

1.3 Structure. The structure of CLF would be in :

 SIZE: CLF will be formed at village level with 5-15 SHGs as members. The villages having more
than fifteen SHGs will have more than one CLF.
 Case 1: More than 3 SHGs but less than 5 number of SHGs in the revenue village (minimum
3 SHGs in the revenue village):
If there are less than 5 numbers of SHGs in the revenue village i.e. 3 to 4 SHG, then CLF will be
formed taking 3 member representations from each SHG.
 Case 2: Less than 3 SHGs in the revenue village:
No CLF will be formed for that revenue village. SHGs of that village will be linked to the
neighboring CLF. The neighboring CRP-CM will do the facilitation in that revenue village.
 Case 3: More than fifteen SHGs in the revenue village:
If more than 15 SHGs exist in the revenue village, then two CLFs may be formed. If CLF EC
does not agree to split the CLF into 2, then the CLF may be kept intact considering village
affinity, geographical and cultural scenario, and be allowed to nurture more than 15 SHGs.

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  Membership: Any SHG having a proof of existence by providing with any one of the
documents like Saving Bank a/c / SHG Resolution Book / SHG transaction register or any other
form and interested to continue as such .
Representation at CLF: The member SHGs will nominate their members to represent themselves at the
CLF.
a. Two representatives from each SHG, one leader and one general member who are Poor or
Vulnerable (EPVG in OLM) will be nominated by each SHG to the CLF.
b. In Scheduled area, both the representatives from the SHG must be tribal. Hence the Office
Bearer of the CLF in scheduled area will be exclusively tribal. In case of non tribal member
SHG, representative may be nominated following the non scheduled area principles.
c. In non-scheduled area, out of the two representatives, one must be a leader and the other
must be poor or vulnerable.

N.B.: If Situational Analysis (SA)/ Participatory of Identification of Poor (PIP) process has been completed,
member representation will be ensured following the above criteria. If SA/PIP process not done, Poor &
Vulnerable will be selected based on compulsory inclusion1 & auto exclusion criteria2. Where, SA/PIP
process completed after formation of CLF, restructuring of CLF will be done following the CLF leadership
rotation tenure.

Activities:
 Formation and strengthening SHGs
 Facilitating capacity building of SHG members Structure of Cluster Level Forum
 Review & monitoring SHG performance
 Review of CRPs Meeting: at least monthly once
 Planning, appraising and recommending PPIF & Office Bearer:
MIP for SHGs President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-president,
 Follow up & ensure utilization of PPIF & CISF & Joint Secretary
by SHGs Subcommittee:
 Addressing issues based on resolution  Social inclusion
 Bridge gap between SHG & GPLF  SHG performance monitoring
 Facilitation of SA process Leadership rotation: As per tenure (Preferably
in every two year)

CLF
(5-15 SHGs)

Representatives from each SHG will meet together and initiate a CLF

SHG SHG SHG SHG SHG

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Compulsory Inclusion criteria: PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group), Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, NREGA Job Card Holder- minimum 75
number of days of work, Mo Kudia beneficiary, Rehabilitated or displaced colonies, Manual Scavenger, Female headed household with no adult male member
between 16-59, Seasonal migrant, FRA beneficiaries, Household with only one room with Kacha Wall and Kacha roof, Persons with differently abled/Physically
challenged, Household with no homestead land, Legally released bonded labourer, Destitute/Homeless/living on alms, Sharecropper
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Auto Exclusion Criteria: Households owing motorized two/ three/ Four Wheelers/ Fishing boats, household owing mechanized Three/Four wheeler,
agricultural equipment such as tractor harvesters etc., Household with any member of Government employee (gazette, non-gazette, Central Government,
Government-aided, State Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous bodies and local bodies) , Household with any member in family earning more
than Rs.10, 000/- per month. , Household paying income tax or professional tax., Household owing 2.5 acres or more irrigated land.

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1.4 Governance: All representatives nominated by member SHGs will together constitute an Executive
Committee (EC) of CLF. This executive committee will elect/select five office bearers among EC
member’s i.e. President, Vice President, Secretary, joint secretary, and Treasurer. Out of these five
office bearers two must be poor or vulnerable category. Again at least one from among president,
secretary or treasurer should be poor or vulnerable member.

In case of scheduled area, all the five office bearers must be tribals only. Out of which, two must
belong to poor or vulnerable category. Non schedule area principle will be applied if the CLF
representative members are from the non-tribal community.

President shall be responsible to (i) convene every CLF meeting and facilitate agenda setting (ii) chair
the meetings and facilitate discussions by engaging all members (iii) oversee implementation of CLF
activities by sub-committees (iv) coordinate with Secretary and Treasurer to achieve group
objectives (v) represent the group in higher level organization (vi) support in conflict resolution
efforts.

Vice- president shall assist the president in all activities of president and act as president when she
will be absent.

Secretary shall be responsible to i) ensure attendance and participation of members (ii) responsible
for recording minutes of discussions (iii) ensure that the CLF norms and decisions are implemented
(v) report on the progress of sub-committees (vi) facilitate linkage with local agencies.
Joint secretary shall assist the secretary‘s all activities and act as secretary when secretary will be
absent.
Treasurer shall be responsible to (i) safeguarding and accounting for all funds received by the CLF (on
behalf of GPLF) (ii) Maintaining all books of accounts.

1.5 Sub committees: Considering the CLF purpose and role of CLF, initially two sub committees will be
formed and as when necessary, the CLF may create more sub committees for effective operation of
the CLF. The following two sub-committees are:
A. Social Inclusion sub Committee: The members of CLF will initially form a subcommittee for pro-
poor inclusion and facilitate this as per the guideline. The subcommittee will comprise maximum
of three members, out of which one member must be from poor or vulnerable category based
on compulsory inclusion criteria. In scheduled area, all the three members must be tribal. One of
the members of this subcommittee shall be selected unanimously as leader by rest of the
members. It is preferred that one of the office bearers should lead the subcommittee for smooth
functioning of the CLF.

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 The basic role of the subcommittee are to (i) organize poor and EPVG households into SHGs (ii)
identify SHGs eligible to get PPIF (iii) appraise the eligible SHGs to access the pro-poor inclusion
fund and CIF (iv) facilitate bank linkages. (v) Facilitate in ensuring entitlement and other social
security benefits to members in the village (vi) Facilitate in ensuring access to basic amenities like
health, sanitation, education for its members (vi) Facilitate in ensuring food security for its
members in the village (Vii) Facilitation of SA process.
B. SHG monitoring sub Committee: The CLF will also initiate with SHG monitoring committee to
monitor the performance of the member SHGs. The subcommittee will comprise maximum of
three members, out of which one member must be from poor or vulnerable category based on
compulsory inclusion criteria. In scheduled area, all the three members must be tribal. It’s
purposefully suggested that the treasurer or office bearer should lead the committee to take
forward the CLF functioning.

The basic role of the committee is to (i) monitor the SHGs in line with ensuring Panchasutra for
effective operation of the SHGs (ii) regularly review the SHG activities (iii) engaging in frequent
field visit to ensure the regular book keeping (iv) follow up PPIF utilization.

1.6 Representation at GPLF: The CLF will be represented at GPLF by three of its office bearers from the
executive committee, out of which at least one representative shall be from poor/ EPVG /tribal
category.

a. In Scheduled area, the three representatives from CLF must be tribal. Out of these 3 tribal, one
must be poor or vulnerable.
b. In Non-Scheduled area, out of the three representatives, one must be poor or vulnerable.

1.7 Leadership rotation: The office bearer will be rotated in every two years. Wherever GPLF is
registered the term of office bearers of CLF will be staggered with the election process of GPLF.

1.8 Financial transaction: The CLF will not be initially encouraged to take up any financial or
microfinance related activities. However, any activity taken up by CLF will be only on behalf of the
GPLF. Necessary procedures and documentations including checks and balances will be worked out
accordingly. To meet regular operational expenditure CLF may mobilize required fund from their
members and share the expenses. In later stage (after strengthening)/as per project requirement CLF
may take up financial transactions.

1.9 Records to be maintained: The CLF may use the prescribed SHG books of accounts for maintaining
the records of CLF activities. The CLF should maintain attendance register, meeting proceeding book,
financial transaction book (if any), sub-committee registers and new records may be introduced as
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 and when required to maintain the accountability and transparency at CLF level. The books of
accounts shall be maintained by trained book keeper suggested by GPLF. Meanwhile any member of
CLF may maintain all records. It’s suggested that the book writer should not handle any kind of
financial transaction without proper approval of EC.

1.10 Meetings: The CLF meeting will be chaired by President. The CLF meeting shall be convened at least
once a month, at a place decided by the CLF members. The quorum for the meeting shall be a
minimum of 60% of EC members. The Process of the meeting would be:-
Procedure of CLF meeting
The following steps can be followed to conduct a CLF meeting:
Step 1: Members Sit in Circle: Sitting in a circular form enhances free communication among the
members as they can see each other face. It creates an impression that all are equal for a
certain purpose. All office bearers should sit in a consecutive manner followed by SHG wise
representatives.
Step 2: Prayer: Sing a solo prayer or CLF prayer.
Step 3: Chairperson: The president of the CLF will chair the meeting and facilitate the forum. There
should be a protocol for welcoming members as well as guests who visit the CLF meetings by
the chairman.
Step 4: Record the Attendance: To begin with, the actual meeting should start with marking of
attendance. All the members should be present for the meeting; they should arrive five minutes
before the scheduled time. Record of attendance and all proceeding should be maintained by
Secretary with support of CRP.
Step 5: Setting of Agenda: The first duty of the Chairperson is to fix agenda (list of discussion points for
the meeting). The agenda should be prepared based on the inputs given by the office bearers,
members as well as sub committees leaders. It is important that agenda should be not be
lengthy or too short, but should be just enough to discuss within the timeframe of 2-3 hours.
Step 6: Review of the Previous Meeting: In the agenda, the first discussion point should be the review
and follow-up action taken in the previous meeting. This is a very important process, which
establishes the link between the previous meeting and the present one.
Step 7: Review of Subcommittees: one of the agenda should be to review and discuss about follow up
action taken during the month against planed activities.
Step 8: Performance review of SHGs: It’s an important activity of CLF to review the SHGs in line with
Panchasutras3. Basically, the SHG monitoring committee shall facilitate the process. All the SHG

3 Panchasutras: 1. Regular Meeting 2. Regular Saving 3. Regular internal lending 4. Regular repayment 5. Regular record keeping
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 representatives should present/report their SHG performance and speak out audible about
their meeting, attendance, saving mobilization, lending, loan repayment, bank deposit,
bank/CIF loan availed, grant/seed money availed and all the above things should be recorded in
CLF resolution book. The MIS sheet/ monthly SHG activity sheet will be an instrument to review
the performance of SHG. The review will give them confidence and create peer pressure to
perform better.
Step 9: Performance review of community professional: The CLF shall review the performance of
Community Resource Person (CRP) / Bank Mitras who are trained and supporting effectively to
CLF/ SHG activities.
Step 10: Complete Financial Transactions: On behalf of GPLF, transactions related to any fees,
savings/deposits, lending etc. should be discussed and transacted during meeting only. The
Chairperson and treasurer should ensure that all the financial transactions are held in the
meeting itself.
Step 11: Planning for next month: Based on the issues and discussions CLF should plan for the next
month activities. The Chairperson should ensure that the all agenda wise issues are discussed
and action is taken accordingly.
Step 12: Book keeping: Book of records should be updated in the meeting itself. This practice enables
transparency in record keeping, and develops confidence in the group as well as trust on the
leaders. Initially the CLF may use the prescribed SHG book of accounts for updating the records
of activities.
Step 13: The Chairperson should ensure that all the members participate in the decision-making. This
can be in the form of giving opinion on the issues, sharing ideas, taking and delegating
responsibility etc.
Step 14: Proceedings of Meeting: Proceedings of the meeting shall be recorded in meeting itself and
read out to all members. The secretary and book keeper should ensure that all proceedings
have been informed well to members.
Step 15: All the members should sign in the Minutes Book in meeting itself.
Step 16: Vote of thanks. (Members to greet each other before leaving the meeting place)
1.11 Process for CLF initiation: In order to create a platform for sharing experiences among SHGs and
further extending mutual support, the need of the forum at village/cluster level emerges. Meanwhile
OLM proposes to initiate CLF in its operation which will act as a bridge between the SHG and GPLF.
These CLFs are activity neutral, even while they facilitate support services for dominant activities in
select areas like formation and strengthening of SHGs, facilitating in capacity building of SHG
members, review and monitoring SHG performance, identifying and planning for PPIF, issue based
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resolution, bridge between SHG & GPLF. The following suggested steps may involve in the process of
initiation of Cluster Level Forum (CLF) are briefly discussed below:
 Inviting for first dialogue with all SHGs members of a village: This is an ideal footstep to
understand Cluster level Forum by all SHG members, where the OLM staff especially Community
Professional and trained Community Resource Persons with support from SHPI/NGO/Anganwadi
workers will facilitate and share the scope and benefits of collective action to SHG members in a
meeting. The facilitator must share the roles and responsibilities of CLF, structure and functions
of CLF. The meeting should commence for two to three hours and concluded with an
agreement on date/day, time and place for second dialogue.
 Second Dialogue with Member SHGs : The dialogue will commence with discussion on purpose
of the CLF and culminate with the decisions on the following aspects:
a. Common institutional set up
i. Name of the CLF
ii. Meeting – date/day, time, place & meeting content.
iii. Membership – entry norms like quality, track record, fees, etc.
iv. Leadership roles and responsibilities
 Executive committee –SHG representatives
 Office bearers – President, Secretary, Treasurer
 Sub-committees – PPIF and SHG monitoring
v. Selection process of office bearer.
vi. Recorded all the proceedings in a register.
 Third dialogue with member SHG and continue further: the dialogue will continue with previous
meetings and discussions.
i. Start with formal CLF meeting
ii. Reading of last meeting proceedings
iii. Discussion on roles and responsibility of office bearers
iv. Discussion on various activities; Situational Analysis for identification of target group,
SHG formation, strengthening, representation at GPLF, plan for PPIF, SHG
performance monitoring, social development agenda etc.
v. Also discuss about OLM’s Support in Capacity building
 Training of executive committee and officer bearers
 Exposure to best practice sites
 Technical training on SHG performance monitoring.

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N.B. : If SA/PIP process has been completed identification of Poor & Vulnerable will be selected based on compulsory inclusion & auto exclusion criteria. Where,
SA/PIP process completed identification of poor & EPVG will be done based on SA data. This guideline will be made operational immediately and based on the field
learning and experiences, necessary modification may be modified subject to non-negotiable principles.