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USAID/INDIA
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE CLOSE OUT REPORT
1. Basic Information:
SO Name: Expanded Advocacy and Service Delivery Networks for 
Women and Girls1
SO Number: 9
SO Period: FY1998-2004
Geographic Area (Code): India (386)
Total cost of SO: DA: $8,322,000
CSH: $2,870,000
ESF: $1,673,000
__________
Total $12,865,000
__________
2. Principal Implementing Partners:
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Development Alternative, inc. (DAI)
Friends of Women's World Banking (FWWB)
3. Summary of overall impact:
The outcome of this SO has been: cutting-edge research in the area of violence against women; 
the establishment of a resource-center to promote girls' education; and strengthening of 
microfinance institutions (MFI).
USAID funded a grant to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) to organize 
and coordinate research on violence and masculinity and to assess community-based responses 
to domestic violence. Seven research studies were completed during the grant period - four of 
the research studies examined the links between masculinity and violence against women, while 
three examined the impact and features of community level responses to violence against 
women. ICRW conducted capacity strengthening workshops to build research skills of 400
partner research organizations and to develop data collection and analysis tools. With USAID 
support, ICRW also produced eight one minute television spots to create public awareness on 
the issue of domestic violence for airing on the Indian national television network. The spots 
were broadcasted free of cost for four weeks during February and March 2002 by four satellite 
channels. The ICRW reports resulted in expanded media coverage in print media and electronic 
media. Data from ICRW studies was used by the media, particularly the vernacular press for 
producing articles in leading Hindi dailies, editorial stories quoting ICRW’s data appeared in 
leading English dailies. ICRW worked very intensely with groups lobbying for effective legislation 
on domestic violence. Research findings were presented to a wide audience of development 
practitioners, training service providers and bureaucrats, highlighting policy implications of the 
research and networking with the media in building sensitivity to the issue of domestic violence. 
Letters highlighting the need for an effective law on domestic violence were sent to 
parliamentarians and senior bureaucrats. All the seven research studies were widely 
disseminated through workshops and media campaigns. 
FWWB conducted a two-tier training program in business planning principles, which began with 
FWWB staff being trained as trainers, and they then trained their Non-Governmental Organization 
 
1
 Please note this is a Special Objective (SpO)
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(NGO) affiliates. As a result of the training, outreach of financial services to low-income women 
increased by almost 60%. FWWB also developed a comprehensive training module (a “how to” 
guide) in strategic business planning, which was field-tested and translated into two regional 
languages, ensuring responsiveness to FWWB’s client base. Over and above the contract 
deliverables, FWWB developed and distributed an affordable financial software package to meet the 
demand of women’s micro-finance institutions, who wanted to better manage their loan portfolios. A 
major achievement of this activity with FWWB was to build an excellent pool of experts drawn from 
the trained NGOs and using them as a resource to reach out to more organizations. The ripple effect 
of this activity exceeded expectations and today these NGOs are conducting regional training 
programs bringing small grassroots organizations into their fold. This activity was rolled into the 
new FY2003-2007 USAID/India strategy. 
The girls’ education activity was implemented in collaboration with the Academy for Educational 
Development. The BETI Foundation was successfully launched as an autonomous, legally￾registered NGO to serve as a public resource on girls’ education in the state of Uttar Pradesh. 
The BETI Foundation worked with a number of public and private education service providers to 
strengthen their capacity on gender dimensions. Several training manuals and handbooks on 
micro-planning and gender were produced and widely disseminated.
USAID/India, through its program with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) supported nine local NGOs for both prevention and elimination of 
child labor through quality education. This activity promoted significant community mobilization 
activities in the project areas resulting in formation and strengthening of local people’s 
organizations such as women’s groups, village education communities, youth groups, and 
vigilance committees. The sub-grantees of CRS and UNDP made significant progress in getting 
child laborers into school. Through the CRS activity 62,000 out-of-school and potential out-of￾school children benefited in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. The USAID/UNDP 
activity, which ended in June, 2004, benefited about 13,000 children in four Indian states. The 
community groups formed though the project have helped generate awareness about issues of 
child labor, child marriage, dowry, minimum wages, laws related to Scheduled Caste (SC) and 
Scheduled Tribes (ST), importance of girl's education and adolescent girls literacy, personal 
health and hygiene, exploitation of women and their fundamental rights. The NGOs supported 
through these grants have emerged as leaders in their respective areas and have been catalysts 
for mobilizing community and state government efforts to get children out of work and into school.
4. Summary of activities/projects under the SO:
During 1995-96, USAID consulted widely with women's groups, government and non-government 
organizations, academic and legal institutions and other donor agencies to identify priority 
assistance needed to follow-up agreements from the Beijing Women's Conference. After this 
extensive process, a special strategic objective was defined aiming at expanding women's role 
and participation in decision making through activities to increase women's access to financial 
services, to improve girls' school participation, and to reduce violent subordination of women. 
This new special objective was primarily an innovative and experimental one. Conceived as an 
exploratory SPO, it allowed for demonstrating innovative approaches and leveraging other 
resources.
1) In 2001, USAID-supported a five-year activity with Friends of Women's World Banking to 
develop a critical mass of financially sustainable micro-finance institutions that can offer basic 
financial services to large numbers of poor women. The assistance aimed at increasing 
outreach and financial viability. The goal of this program was to empower low-income women 
through expanding the financial services available to them
2) To accomplish its objectives under the violence against women activity USAID supported a 
pilot multi-faceted research activity. The research in phase I for this activity focused on: a) 
identify and document patterns and determinants of violence against women, and b) record 'best 
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practices' in response to violence against women among NGO sector. The pilot phase ended in 
September, 1999 and the results were published as a progress report on violence against 
women. The phase II from October, 2000–May, 2002, focused on research, dissemination of 
information on violence against women and advocacy. 
3) A girls' education activity in the state of Uttar Pradesh was undertaken during FY 1999-FY 
2001. This activity aimed to strengthen the capacity of educational support institutions and 
private and public service education providers. It also included the development of gender￾sensitive tools for classroom transactions. 
4) USAID supported UNDP and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for prevention/elimination of 
child labor through quality education. A number of smaller grants were made to smaller NGOs to 
implement the activities. 
5. SO Results Framework:
The major strategic focus of this objective was to expand advocacy and improve service delivery 
networks aiming at ameliorating women’s and girls’ social status. The three intermediate results 
(IR) that were addressed by the SPO were: (i) Sustainable financial services for women 
expanded; (ii) Increased informed advocacy for reducing violence against women: and (iii) 
Increased capacity of education service providers to boost girls’ participation in basic education in 
selected regions of India. Progress under those IRs were tracked thru quantitative and qualitative 
indicators.
6. Prospects for sustainability and threats:
The activities under this SPO were experimental in nature and served as a guide to provide new 
directions to USAID/India in protecting vulnerable populations. The learning from this SPO was 
utilized to develop the new SO for the mission on creation of opportunities for vulnerable 
populations.
7. Lessons Learned:
Education Activity (BETI) – The evaluation demonstrated that agreement on a vision or idea is not 
enough to make it work and much more needs to follow. The idea must be embodied first in a 
strategic plan, and then in resource and operational plans through a process of priority-setting 
and planning for implementation and sustainability. The process must involve key stakeholders as 
active participants, and continuous monitoring. A phased work plan is also needed. 
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1
(A List of evaluations, assessments and studies conducted during the life of the SO) 
· Evaluation of USAID-funded Girls’ Education Activity in June, 2001
· USAID/CRS Prevention/Elimination of Child Labor through quality education final 
evaluation was conducted in September, 2002.
· Final report of ICRW 
· Final report of UNDP-CREDA grant 
· Final report of UNDP-umbrella grant 
Appendix 2
(A list of instrument close out reports prepared for contracts, grants, and cooperative 
agreements)
Instrument closeout reports are maintained by Regional Contracting Office, USAID/New Delhi. 
For any information, please contact Mr. Marcus Johnson, Regional Contracting Officer at e-mail: 
mjohnson@usaid.gov
Appendix 3
(Names and contact point of individuals who were directly involved in various phases of 
the SO (planning, achieving, and assessing and learning), and who would be good 
sources of additional information
Ashi K. Kathuria, Deputy Office Director, Office of Social Development, USAID/India
Renu Jain, Project Management Specialist, Office of Social Development, USAID/India (presently 
with USAID/Afghanistan)
Nalin Jena, Education Officer, Office of Social Development, USAID/India (presently with The 
World Bank)
If you wish to contact any of the above individuals or if you would like any additional information 
about this SO please contact Ms. Ashi K. Kathuria at Tel# 2419-8709 or e-mail: 
akathuria@usaid.gov