Since 2013, the State Institute of Panchayat & Rural Development (SIPRD) and UNICEF have been working in close partnership to ensure that no child or woman is left behind in accessing government services and entitlements. This guiding principle has remained at the core of their collaboration.

The partnership has primarily focused on strengthening the capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), with a strong emphasis on enhancing the participation of women and children in planning, implementation, and governance processes at the Gaon Panchayat (GP) level. Another key area has been integrating disaster risk resilience and risk-informed Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) into capacity-building programmes for elected representatives and GP officials.

Key highlights include since 2018 

• Institutionalizing participatory training methodologies
• Integrated issues concerning women and children into PRI training modules.
• Over 27,000 PRI members from 2,197 GPs across 33 districts have been trained using these improved approaches in 2019.
• Monitoring exercises were conducted in 2019 across 12 extension centres covering 33 districts to assess the effectiveness of participatory training techniques.

Capacity-building during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Developed online and WhatsApp-friendly training modules on COVID-19 management for PRIs at the onset of the lockdown in March 2020.

• Trained over 50 master trainers across 13 extension centres.

• Disseminated WhatsApp modules to all 2,196 GPs, reaching more than 13,000 PRI members.

• Developed and distributed posters on the role of PRIs during COVID-19 for community-level awareness.

Strengthening governance and leadership

• Supported the inclusion of women- and child-focused activities in the 2020–21 annual action plans of 10 GPs in Goalpara district.

• Provided technical support in drafting and finalizing training content on the Citizen’s Charter for GP Presidents and Secretaries across 27 districts, reaching over 1,000 participants in 2021.

• Developed a leadership training module, integrated into programmes for 40 Zila Parishad members in 2021.

Promoting women’s and children’s participation in the GPDP.

• Facilitated their involvement in GPDP processes in 107 villages across Lakhimpur, Barpeta, Darrang, Bajali, Bishwanath, and Goalpara districts in 2022.

• Documented this initiative as a good practice in participatory local governance.

• Advancing risk-informed and child-friendly governance

• Adapted guidelines for Bal Sabhas and Mahila Sabhas and produced audio-visual materials on risk-informed GPDP.

• Contributed towards achieving Local Sustainable Development Goal (LSDG) 3 through SIPRD’s Child-Friendly Village initiative.

• In 2024–2025, capacity-building efforts under Theme 3 reached 20,310 stakeholders across all 35 districts.