The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, commissioned an independent third-party evaluation of all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
Led by IPE Global, the evaluation aimed to strengthen the design and delivery through strategic inputs to unlock the growth potential, integrate different programmes, and adopt a holistic approach to achieving the intended outcomes of the flagship schemes across India.
The strategic objectives of the evaluation:
- Sector Review: Assessed performance on key outcomes such as stunting, anaemia, child protection, low birth weight, women empowerment and related health and nutrition outcomes for at-risk and vulnerable women and children.
- Scheme Assessment: Analysed 15 CSS schemes on relevance, effectiveness, equity, efficiency, and sustainability and cross-sectional themes.
- Best Practices & Innovations: Identified and showcased scalable models and home-grown innovations for wider replication.
- Programme Convergence & Harmonisation: Recommended convergence of overlapping schemes for enhanced performance against various cross-sectional themes, including the use of information technology, gender mainstreaming, social inclusion and alignment with national development goals.
The evaluation of 15 key schemes under the Integrated Child Development Services and the Mission for Protection and Empowerment of Women provided a roadmap for the Ministry of Women & Child Development, enhancing scheme delivery, enabling resource optimisation, improving outcomes for 15 crore women and children across both rural and urban India, and aligning national efforts with the SDG (2, 3, 5) targets on gender equality and child well-being.
