RFP - for Assessment of The Hunger Project India’s Strategy towards Strengthening Leadership of Elected Women Representatives (EWRs)

Request for Proposals (RFP) for Assessment of The Hunger Project India’s Strategy towards

Strengthening Leadership of Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) in Odisha

A. About The Hunger Project India

The Hunger Project (THP) India is a global non-profit, that has been working with women leaders in Gram Panchayats across India since 2001. THP India works across six states: Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Karnataka with Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) and Adolescent Girls (AGs).

THP’s program interventions are rooted in our fundamental principles of empowerment, gender equality, social justice, human dignity, decentralisation, transformative leadership, and a just society.

THP’s core programme strategy since 2001, has been to strengthen Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) Leadership in Panchayats, by leveraging the opportunity of quotas in the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment. Anchored in the theory of change that with the right knowledge, skills, and sustained support, elected women in Panchayats can advance development, gender and social justice, and good governance. The programme focuses on amplifying women’s leadership, voice, and agency within the context of deeply entrenched patriarchy and socio-cultural systems that continue to restrict women’s participation in public life and their role as capable and transformative leaders. Additionally, the programme prioritizes strategic engagement with local governance institutions at panchayat and block level, while strengthening EWRs participation in Gram Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Panchayat meetings, local planning processes, committees such as School Management Committees (SMCs), Anganwadi committees, and Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs). This engagement strengthens women’s presence, participation, and leadership in public decision-making, while enabling them to actively monitor and improve the performance and accountability of local public service institutions.

B. Context for Assessment in Odisha

The Hunger Project India has been working with Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) in Odisha in 8 districts and 8 blocks since 2022 based on its core strategy.

The programme in Odisha has been implemented along the following two broad strategies and activities:

I. Direct engagement with EWRs on strengthening the capacities and leadership of elected women to become effective public office holders

Key activities: Women’s Leadership Workshops (WLWs) are foundational workshops on gender, confidence, dignity, roles, responsibility, accountability, visioning and planning, management; Need Based Workshops (NBWs) are workshops to build technical knowledge on budgets & GPDP, thematic government schemes & entitlements, monitoring of Panchayat services, food security, clean and green Panchayats, safety and security for women & children; Federation meetings bring EWRs across clusters and blocks together, to create spaces for cross-learning, deliberations, making action plans for priorities.

II. Creating support structures for EWRs to engage with communities and administration more effectively.

Key activities: Jagruk Manch Meetings provides a commonplatform to the women citizens from different socio-economic categories to discuss community issues, engage with Panchayats and find solutions. Interface meetings with administration and MLAs to seek accountability and redressal on persistent issues in accessing government benefits/schemes like social security, livelihood, infrastructure and development of anganwadis, schools, roads, health centres; Gram Sabha mobilization topromote women participation, collective decision making, Gender Panchayat Resource Centres to enable community members in accessing government scheme related information, forms etc.

The following are current working areas in Odisha for the assessment.

S. No

District

Block

1

Boudh

Harbhanga

2

Sundergarh

Lephripara

3

Sambalpur

Jamankira

4

Rayagada

Ramnaguda

5

Koraput

6

Mayurbhanj

Raruan

7

Subarnapur

Tarbha

8

Jharsuguda

Laikera

Please note:

Only email bids will be accepted

Only those short-listed will receive an acknowledgment via mail and will be called for an online or in-person interview at THP National office in Delhi.

For clarifications and queries , please write to [contact details removed] by 25 October, 2026. Please mention the following in the subject line in the mail: “Odisha Assessment 2026”

The selection will be based on the quality of the technical proposal, the relevance of experience, the feasibility of the proposed methodology, and value for money.

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