Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI), as part of its strategic focus to combat malnutrition in India, is partnering with Society for Promoting Rural Education and Development (SPREAD) to implement the ‘Collective Action for Nutrition (CAN)’ programme across 6 districts of Odisha, India. The programme goal is to ‘reduce malnutrition among children and women by facilitating efficient implementation of food and nutrition programmes, ensuring transparency, downward accountability and community participation’.
The model relies on the use of social audits (mandated under the National Food Security Act 2013) for improving community accountability and demand for improved delivery of government nutrition services for marginalised populations. The audits are being carried out across 240 communities (Gram Panchayats) in 2017/18.
In 2017 APPI commissioned IDS to conduct a mixed methods evaluation of the programme to assess its effectiveness in improving the delivery and uptake of nutrition services and entitlements and to understand how the social audit process may have led to changes in knowledge, behaviour and practice at household and community level.
The project is being carried out in partnership with data collection partners D-COR based in Odisha, India. It includes three main components i) a quantitative survey (baseline and endline surveys); ii) a process evaluation; and iii) qualitative community-based fieldwork. Final results from the evaluation are due to be published in early 2019.
Key contacts
