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Evaluation and learning

A gender-sensitive evaluation process will allow you to assess how beneficiaries of all genders were impacted by a programme, and the extent to which gender equality was considered and achieved.

If you integrated gender sensitivity measures within your programme’s analysis, planning and implementation phases, you should already have a lot of gender specific information. If not, it is still beneficial to search for and capture as much gender related data as possible

  • By collecting gender-disaggregated data you know if and how the results of the intervention differ between men and women.
  • By using gender-sensitive indicators you will be able to collect data on gender-related changes.
  • By reviewing the gender analysis, you will understand what changes might have taken place in the context in which you have been working.

Research questions

Below you can find examples of research questions that can be used to evaluate programmes:

  • Did your project successfully reach and engage both men and women?
  • Do impacts vary between women and men in an unintended way? Why?
  • Did your project do anything to reduce gender inequality and/or overcome gendered obstacles?
  • What has changed compared to the baseline and gender analysis?

Practical considerations

  • Who is involved in the evaluation design, implementation and analysis?
    • Is the evaluator aware of gender issues related to the project?
    • Who is doing the interviews?
    • Are both women and men able to participate in data analysis?
  • Who informs your evaluation? What barriers might exist preventing women from participating?
  • How, where and when do you collect data? Does this enable both men and women to contribute to data collection?
  • How will you use the data collected?

Learning

Evaluations should be used, not just for accountability to donors, but also to improve future practices. It is crucial to consider how you can learn from your evaluations. This includes actively sharing evaluation findings with all stakeholders involved as well as developing organisational structures and processes that enhance reflection and learning.

Tools and resources