Mapping the landscape and assessing in school and out of school girls for effective

WIFAS coverage and Government Nutrition Services in West Bengal
 

Issued by: Child in Need Institute (CINI)
 

Last date of Submission: 24th November, 2025

Introduction

The Child in Need Institute (CINI) invites quotations from qualified agencies or individual professionals for conducting a Status of Adolescent Girls Missing Schools and Government Nutrition Services in West Bengal.

About the Organization:
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Kolkata, CINI is a registered non-profit organization under the Societies Registration Act. It operates across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Tripura, reaching over 10 million people through integrated programs in health, nutrition, education, child protection, adolescent wellbeing, and environment. CINI’s efforts have been recognized nationally and internationally for creating sustainable impact for vulnerable populations across India.

Scope of Work

1. Background: West Bengal has made major investments in adolescent health and nutrition through schemes such as WIFS, ICDS, Mid-Day Meal, Kanyashree, and RKSK. Despite this, implementation challenges persist. Adolescent girls, especially those out of school or married early, often miss out on these services due to systemic gaps, restrictive gender norms, and economic hardships.

These girls, frequently burdened by domestic work and early motherhood, remain highly vulnerable to malnutrition and anaemia. Strengthening access for this group is critical for achieving inclusive, gender-responsive nutrition outcomes.

2. Rationale

While quantitative data reflects the scale of exclusion, it does not capture underlying causes. Hence, a qualitative exploratory approach is proposed to:

1. Understand household, community, and institutional barriers to accessing school- and ICDS-based nutrition services.
2. Explore systemic and service delivery gaps in WIFS and related programs.
3. Capture adolescent girls’ lived experiences and perceptions of government schemes.
4. Generate actionable insights for programmatic and policy strengthening.

3. Objectives

1. Identify reasons for school irregularity, dropout, and limited access to nutrition programs.
2. Assess delivery gaps in WIFS, mid-day meals, and ICDS-based nutrition services.
3. Evaluate awareness and participation levels among adolescent girls and families.
4. Document adolescent and caregiver voices to inform inclusive interventions.
5. Recommend actionable solutions to strengthen service delivery, convergence, and community engagement.

4. Methodology

Design of assessment

The assessment focusing on context, access, and lived experiences.

Data Collection Methods

• In-depth Interviews (IDIs): Adolescent girls, caregivers, and service providers.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): Adolescent peer groups and community members.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs): Teachers, AWWs, ASHAs, ANMs, and officials.
• Participatory Mapping: Community-led mapping of exclusion zones.

Sampling Strategy

• Purposive Sampling for adolescent girls (dropouts, irregular attendees, early-married, mothers).
• Snowball Sampling to reach unreached or marginalized groups. 

5. Areas to be covered for assessment:

To be finalized with State/District Administration:
a) Purulia (Tribal block): The sample will include 2 girls’ schools and 2 AWCs per site.
b) Murshidabad (Rural block, high minority): The sample will include 2 girls’ schools and 2 AWCs per site.
c) Alipurduar (Tea-garden block): The sample will include 2 girls’ schools and 2 AWCs per site. 

Submission Guidelines

Proposal Package:

1. Technical Proposal (PDF) with methodology and timeline
2. Financial Proposal (separate PDF & Excel)
3. Project Workplan & Milestones
4. Sample Work / References (minimum 2)
5. CVs of Principal and Co-Investigator(s)

Submission Email: jobs@cinindia.org

Subject Line: Quotation – Mapping the landscape and assessing in school and out of school girls for effective WIFAS coverage and Government Nutrition Services in West Bengal

While applying , please mention the source i.e. SDJ India - www.sdjindia.in

Deadline: 24th November, 2025 before 6 pm

    For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.