Qualitative Feedback from Community Participants, NGOs and External Stakeholders on Freedom Fund Interventions to Reduce the Prevalence of Bonded Labour in Northern India

This report was produced by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) and Praxis, for the Freedom Fund. It is an output of the programme ‘Planning, learning, monitoring and evaluation activities for the Northern India Hotspot’. The Northern India Hotspot was launched in March 2014, building on past work supported by one of the Freedom Fund’s founding investors, the Legatum Foundation. In early 2015, the Freedom Fund committed to an expanded three-year programme aiming to reduce the prevalence of bonded labour and trafficking in 27 districts of the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. At this point (the IDS programme commenced in January 2015) 19 partners were being supported by the Freedom Fund. The Freedom Fund 2018-19 updated strategy (October 2017) Northern India Hotspot strategy (2018-19) outlined the continuation of the Hotspot with an investment of $4.4 million for the two-year period. The project aims to support learning about the most effective community and NGO activities in combatting bonded labour in the Freedom Fund Northern India Hotspot. The project is funded by the Freedom Fund and directed by IDS. The objective of this report is to present respondent feedback regarding the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, and sustainability of the Hotspot model in reducing bonded labour in Northern India as part of an overall, independent assessment of the Hotspots.