Conducting Field Survey for BIT on Gender Norms in Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan; UNFPA, Jan-March 2025

Author - | Published - 2025

CMS was engaged by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) on behalf of UNFPA to implement a gender norms survey across two Indian states—Madhya Pradesh (Chhatarpur, Rajgarh) and Rajasthan (Udaipur, Sawai Madhopur). CMS conducted field surveys in 30 Gram Panchayats (15 per state), covering 1,380 respondents, including women (20–49 years), men (16–49 years), adolescent girls (10–19 years), and elected representatives.

CMS was responsible for end-to-end field execution, including the refinement of tools contextualised for the Indian socio-cultural landscape. Tools provided by BIT were translated into Hindi, pretested with local respondents, and adapted for clarity and cultural relevance. CMS also programmed the surveys into CAPI (tablet-based data collection) and trained gender-matched enumerators and supervisors drawn from CMS’s state networks.

Four survey teams conducted one-on-one interviews and completed the fieldwork. Daily data validation, quality assurance, and regular reporting ensured data reliability. CMS obtained Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through its own accredited IRB and submitted the inception report, training documentation, and field updates to BIT. This comprehensive operational support enabled robust data collection and high-quality insights into gender norms in rural India.