Institute of Innovation and Quality Assurance (IIQA)

Institute of Innovation and Quality Assurance (IIQA) is one of the renowned organizations in Nepal for supporting organizations to ensure quality in their products, services, process, and systems. Since 2010, IIQA has been active in certification, auditing, implementation, training, consulting, innovation, third-party inspection, and more. They collectively aim to promote and practice internationally recognized practices for quality and innovation, enabling organizations to implement quality standards in Nepal.

IIQA  has been providing accredited Third-party Assessment, Registration & Certification services of Quality Management System (ISO 9001: 2015), Environmental Management System (ISO14001:2015), Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSAS 18001:2007/ ISO 45001:2018),  Medical Devices- Quality Management Systems (ISO 14385:2016), 27001:2013 – Information Security Management systems and ISO 22001:2018- Food Safety Management Systems, etc. For the Third-party certification of various ISO standards, IIQA is working as a Nepal Representative of MOODY Inspection and Assurance Ltd. Moody Inspection and Assurance Ltd is a leading provider of assessment, inspection, certification, and training. MOODY is accredited by multiple International accreditation bodies around the world & managed by highly dedicated & experienced professionals delivering high-quality services to help clients meet the growing challenges of quality, safety, environmental protection, and social responsibility. 

IIQA believes that the establishment of a Quality Management System in an organization helps the organization to develop overall performance indicators and use them as benchmarks for monitoring and improving performance by unearthing hidden problems. Further development of a continual improvement culture will generate additional benefits coming out of implementing a Quality Management System. The process approach of the Quality Management System will help to organize and plan the work of the organization as a series of interrelated interacting activities and achieve systematically. Developing Documented Procedures is an important tool for reducing process variability that forces people to think critically about their actions. 

The Institute of Innovation and Quality Assurance on the behalf of Moody Inspection and Assurance has been conducting different ISO Certification processes in Nepal. IIQA recently conducted a certification audit of Just Nepal Foundation and provided them with ISO 9001 certification leading them to be the first NGO in Nepal to get certified under this standard in Nepal. 

IIQA has been facilitating various training sessions to bring more insights on ISO Standards in Nepal together with different expertise recognized nationally and globally. IIQA provides a three-day intensive training program on Environmental Assessment concerning EPA 2076 and EPR 2077. Environmental Assessment is an important tool to inform decision-makers, regulators, and stakeholders, about the possible environmental, social, and economic costs of the proposed project, to be effective, it requires the active involvement of all concerned stakeholders. IIQA believes that there is a genuine need to develop the capacity of all concerned stakeholders including regulators to screen and scope the EA process, conduct transparent public consultations, and evaluate the EA reports. The session remained very informative with great insights and higher competency for the sustainability of any sort of project in a holistic manner along with the active participation of the attendee.

The Training on Risk Management Awareness and Implementation in Financial Co-operatives primarily based on ISO 31000 was highly dedicated for all mid-to-advanced managers who implement or maintain management systems that may benefit from understanding how risk can be used as a management tool and how it affects their organization. As a proven methodology, risk management is a systematic framework and process for maximizing those areas where outcomes can be controlled while minimizing those that cannot be predicted and over which control cannot be exercised. The training provided participants with the awareness of the need to start managing the organization’s risks effectively.

International Trade Centre (ITC) has organized a Quality champions program in Nepal to develop a network of quality champions to create a pool of trainers and advisors on quality management, food safety, and market access through compliance with legal and technical requirements of the market.  In this regard, Ms. Enusha Khadka CEO of IIQA had been also selected as Quality champion for various programs and is being trained using the latest tools and techniques for ensuring quality and food safety in a business and implementing quality improvement projects in enterprises, and serving the SMEs of Nepal in long run.

IIQA participated in the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow that started on 31 October 2021. Nearly 200 countries came together in hope of finding a joint answer to the global challenges posed by climate change. As standards are crucial in underpinning the global economy, creating trust in all aspects of international trade is critical. The ISO has several standards that are essential in supporting the climate agenda, helping in the adaptation of climate change, quantifying GHG emissions, and promoting the dissemination of good practices in environmental management. IIQA's CEO, Ms.Khadka attended the event and shared how ISO had committed to combat climate change through standards to achieve the climate agenda by 2050 and about the London Declaration.
IIQA also provides quality, independent and impartial inspection services to ensure that the compliance of your product is as per specification, standards, customer’s expectations, International codes, environmental and social norms. Under these services, IIQA is serving as an inspection partner for various Import companies of the USA and Europe, Korea who are importing handicrafts, pashmina products from Nepal. Besides this, the company also access the quality of imported goods to Nepal.

International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is globally renowned for producing a proven global benchmark of standardization. IIQA has strong competency in improving the quality of academic institutes such as schools, colleges, training centers, etc. It provides training on various themes of quality management appropriate to the academic institutes and also supports such organizations on getting ISO certification. IIQA helps them to get ISO 21001 certification which specifies requirements for a management system for educational organizations (EOMS). Implementing an EOMS and becoming ISO 21001:2018 certified will enable your organization to:
  • Increase value for learners and other beneficiaries
  • Increase its ability to respond to the demands of interested parties
  • Increase the satisfaction of learners and other beneficiaries
  • Enhance its reputation
  • Improve learner motivation and engagement
  • Improve the acquisition and development of competences
  • Widen access to education for learners with different learning styles, with different needs, and from different backgrounds
  • Enhance learner personal development, initiatives, and creativity

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli

I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports. 

NGOs in NEPAL

NGOs in Nepal are committed to investigating alternative energy sources, supporting local economic projects, and promoting gender equality, and more for holistic development. With the globalization of modern times, international interests and concerns draw Nepal into contact with more distant corners of the world. There is now a multitude of non-governmental organizations working in Nepal, mostly headquartered in the Kathmandu Valley. According to the 2019 report, there is a total number of 50,358 NGOs in Nepal with 25,992 registered in Province 3. It is estimated that there are more than 15, 000 NGOs working in various sectors in Nepal. Some are international NGOs and some are purely Nepali, some are long-running whereas some are start-ups. The evolutionary process of NGOs in Nepal from a historical perspective has rather been slow compared to the rest of the world. There are very limited references related to the concept of institutionalization of social service in Nepal. The first pioneering social institution in the history of the social service sector of Nepal was ‘Gandhi Memorial Charkha Pracharak Guthi.’ Many people see NGOs as the representatives who are working for transformation in the country. Despite thousands of NGOs and significant amounts of foreign aid, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in South Asia. The case of Nepal indicates that aid and donor support alone are insufficient for sustained development. There are over 70,000 NGOs in Nepal, but only 20% are functionally active. That is due to the lack of long-term planning and research.

In general, low-income countries like Nepal have weak governance; poor resources, and high unemployment. These countries have inadequate national budgets to support universal health and education coverage and rely on the support of private organizations. Over time these NGOs have become fertile land for the growth of the nation. Due to remoteness and poverty in the different regions of Nepal, the government itself cannot go to all remote and deprived areas proportionally, therefore, the NGOs/INGO easily entered and penetrated in such locations, and they wanted and unwanted activities have spread all over the country. As society forged ahead and advanced the scope, the role of NGOs has broadened its realm become all social problem-poverty sickness, suffering, and social disorganizations have existed throughout human history. Exposure to a series of unwanted activities of INGOs forced the government and people to consider seriously regulating them. Thereafter, there have been lots of criticism, comments, discussion, and arguments on the governing system and behavior of NGOs/INGOs. They created their expensive structures in districts, instead, encouraging local communities to perform. The issue of good governance and the transparency of the donor community were raised. It is found that INGOs and donor communities issue directives of their respective country and organizations instead of the needs of the government and people of Nepal.

Operation of NGOs in Nepal

NGOs play an important role in the national development of the country. Public welfare activities are based on the tradition of gaining religious merit and fame, promoting the welfare of others, and assisting the people. NGOs in Nepal rely heavily on foreign aid, and donors coordinate development aid policy through the Nepal Development Forum, whose members include donor countries, international financial institutions (such as the World Bank), and inter-governmental organizations (such as the United Nations). The United Kingdom is Nepal's largest bilateral aid donor and the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are the largest multilateral donors. Some of the INGOs based in Nepal also rely heavily on their global brother/sister organization for funding. Different NGOs make themselves accessible by making their Websites to start a Non-Profit Organization in Nepal. One can quickly and very easily attract volunteers and donors and also provide information to your potential beneficiaries’ through the website. They also continue building networks with persons in regional and international communities. The connections with people, local government, funding organizations, religious organizations, and other places that can relate closely to your NGO’s work, and will be the funding source in the near successive future. 

Formulation of NGO in Nepal

The registration is a small yet very important part to start a Non-Profit Organization in Nepal. Every NGO in Nepal is registered at the District Administration Office (“DAO”) of the relevant district where the NGO is to be established. Further, tax registration must be done at the Inland Revenue Department following the completion of registration at the DAO. After the registration at the DAO, an affiliation certificate can be obtained from the Social Welfare Council. The Social Welfare Council Act, 1992 was enacted, replacing the then SSNCC Act, 1977. According to this act, the Social Welfare Council (SWC) was constituted as a governmental agency to look after the NGO affairs both externally assisted and traditional self-supported. The governing laws for NGOs are as follows: 

  • Social Welfare Act 1992; 
  • Associations Registration Act 1977; and 
  • Relevant guidelines adopted by the Social Welfare Council.

Role in civil society

NGOs in Nepal often aim to promote understanding between citizens and the state. NGOs contribute to civil society by providing a means to actively express and address the diverse and complex needs of society. It motivates citizens in all aspects of society to act instead of relying on state power and charity. NGO activities include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy, and human rights work. They can work to promote social or political change on a broad scale or very locally. NGOs play a vital role in the development of society, improving communities, and promoting civic participation through proper utilization of available resources aiming at holistic development.

Challenges faced by NGOs in Nepal

In today's competitive and dynamic world it generates challenges for all the participating organizations working for the uplifting and bringing change. Nevertheless, non-governmental organizations face specific obstacles regarding their particular nature. Some of the most frequent challenges are as follows:

  1. Difficulties to get funds: The majority of NGOs are on the verge of extinction due to experiencing difficulties in getting enough, and continuous funding to do their work. Getting donors is a hard task, and sometimes dealing with some specific donor’s funding conditions can be an enormous challenge for NGOs. Additionally, most non-governmental organizations have a high level of dependency on donors’ funds, which makes them even more susceptible to donor performance.
  2. Lack of proper networking: Most of the NGOs have high difficulties with the network which leads to a lack of communication if the non-governmental organizations do not disclose what they are doing for a certain community. The efforts can be duplicated, conflicts about the ways a certain problem should be faced in a region could arise, and they could be missing the opportunity to learn best practices from other NGOs. The lack of a proper networking environment in an organization leads to misleading decisions and the collapse of the institution.
  3. Lack of governance: Having a Board is one of the best ways to achieve good levels of governance, nevertheless, there is a significant number of NGOs that do not have a good understanding of governance, and do not think governance is relevant for their organizations. Several non-governmental organizations do not have a Board, one of the main reasons for that is the difficulty to attract board members without paying them or offering them any benefits.  In addition, some NGOs’ funds are poorly managed because they do not have proper accounting and analysis to use the funds according to the instructions of the NGO owners.
  4. Poor technical awareness: In today's technological world, various NGOs are still unaware of its functions and tools, which has a huge impact on the sustainability of their organizations. NGOs in Nepal are still struggling to keep up with the pace of the modern world, and some donors do not have their websites and sources for the information, where Nepali NGOs face difficulties in getting access to hundreds of thousands of opportunities and are compelled to miss one.
Non-governmental organizations face multiple challenges, but one of the most important steps to overcome these obstacles is to identify what are challenges that an organization is facing, and the areas where there is room to improve, after identifying these key areas organizations can design a plan to improve, and hopefully overcome the obstacles they are facing. 

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli


I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports. 

ICA Nepal is an experienced team dedicated to working in the field of human capacity building, and community development through advanced methods. It pursues to recognize people’s initiation, creativity, and enthusiasm in bringing sustainable development by considering existing cultural dynamics and pluralities. It is committed to creating an environment, in which the opportunity to participate and the construction of sustainable change and development is foremost.

International Human Rights Day; Equality, Reducing Inequalities, and Advancing Human Rights

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that everyone in the world is entitled to from birth to death.   These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, gender, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental rights of life to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty. It is the standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings. No one can voluntarily give these rights up nor can others take them away from others.  

Human Rights Day is globally celebrated on 10th December every year to commemorate the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -the document that outlines the fundamental rights of all human beings that must be protected universally. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights plays a prominent role in coordinating global efforts to celebrate the day, which routinely features cultural events and performances, public meetings and seminars, and other human rights-promoting educational activities. At a plenary session on December 4, 1950, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that invited all UN member states and any other interested organizations to commemorate the Dec. 10, 1948, proclamation of the UDHR with an annual celebration, called Human Rights Day, to be held on the anniversary of that landmark date. 

Each year a theme is selected to draw attention to a particular facet of the effort to uphold human rights. Themes included eliminating discrimination, fighting poverty, and protecting victims of human rights violations. The theme of this year`s Human Rights Day is "Equality." Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." The principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. It’s celebrated to create public awareness about social, cultural, and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of society in every possible context.  Additionally, since 1968, which the UN-designated as the International Year for Human Rights, the organization has periodically awarded a United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights on Human Rights Day.

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. Human rights are inseparable and interdependent.  One right cannot be fully exercised without the other. For instance, the realization of the right to health may depend on the realization of the right to education or of the right to information. Similarly, infringement of economic, social, and cultural rights can negatively affect many other rights. 

Every person is entitled to active, free, and meaningful participation in, contribution to, and enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural development, through which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized. States and other duty-bearers must comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in human rights instruments. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a competent court or other adjudicators, following the rules and procedures provided by law.

There are no organizations or conventions in Asia to promote or protect human rights. Countries vary widely in their approach to human rights and their record of human rights protection. Human rights violations occur when any government or non-government officials breach any of the terms of the UDHR or other international human rights or humanitarian law. Concerning human rights violations of United Nations laws. Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions, and governments and by many independent non-governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, World Organization Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, and Anti-Slavery International. These organizations collect evidence and documentation of human rights abuses and apply pressure to promote human rights. Wars of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of international humanitarian law.

Human rights are very important for making sure that all humans get treated equally. They are essential for a good standard of living in the world.  You are liable to have human rights if you're a human being. Human rights are norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. They are an important means of protection for us all, especially those who may face abuse, neglect, and isolation. Most importantly, these rights give us power and enable us to speak up and to challenge poor treatment from a public authority. Hence, as human beings, it is our responsibility to protect and conserve these human rights. Despite the right, there are still millions of people out there who don’t have these necessities, but saying it’s a matter of human rights allows activists and others to work towards getting those for everyone.

Prepared by: Swikriti Parajuli

I’m a student and I believe in learning and sharing. Besides community development, I’m passionate about arts, music, and sports.  On the glorious occasion of International Human Rights Day, we wish everyone a very Happy Human Rights Day. Always be yourself, stand up for your rights and protect these rights as well. Let`s be responsible for the eradication of inequality from society this year. 

ICA Nepal is an experienced team dedicated to working in the field of human capacity building, and community development through advanced methods. It pursues to recognize people’s initiation, creativity, and enthusiasm in bringing sustainable development by considering existing cultural dynamics and pluralities. It is committed to creating an environment, in which the opportunity to participate and the construction of sustainable change and development is foremost.

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