gender equality and social - ministry of urban development

Gender Equality and SocialInclusion (GESI)

Operational Guidelines, 2013

Government of NepalMinistry of Urban Development

Singh Durbar, Kathmandu

Publisher:Government of NepalMinistry of Urban DevelopmentPhone: 4211693, 4211883, 4211673Fax: 977-1-4211873

Copy right : MoUD/GoN

Copies : 200

Date of approval: 23rd December, 2013.

Printed by : Suryodaya Chhapakhana, Dhobidhara, Kathmandu, Phone: 01-4434971

I am very happy that the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD)is publishing “Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) OperationalGuidelines, 2013”. Established as a backbone for infrastructuredevelopment in the country, MoUD is implementing Water, Sanitationand Hygiene (WASH) and Building Construction, Housing and UrbanDevelopment (BCHUD) sector programs in Nepal. I wish everysuccess for the effective implementation of this GESI OperationalGuidelines by the Ministry in the course of mainstreaming andinstitutionalizing GESI in its overall portfolios and operations.I would like to express my sincere thanks to the personnel of theSocial Coordination/GESI Section of the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment, GESI Consultant Team and others who were directlyor indirectly involved in preparing, reviewing, updating and publishingthe Guidelines. I believe that the direction provided by this guidelinewill be a milestone in implementing GESI process in the ministry andits institutions, and similarly, other sectors in the country will alsobenefit by adopting the same approach.

Date: 27th December, 2013.

Foreword

It is my utmost pleasure that the Ministry of Urban Development isgoing to publish “GESI Operational Guidelines 2013” formainstreaming and institutionalizing GESI in its portfolios and operationsin an integrated manner. The Ministry of Urban Development isimplementing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and BuildingConstruction, Housing and Urban Development (BCHUD) sectorprograms in the country. It is the need of the day to integrate GESIapproache in these sectoral programs of the Ministry.Gender inequality and social exclusion are issues of global concern.Since last decade, Nepal has been stepping forward by fulfilling allcommitments made in the international arena towards non-discrimination, gender equality and social justice. The main objectiveof this guideline is to provide guidance on implementation of genderequality and social inclusion in all aspects of MoUD policies,institutions and in its program/ project implementation processes inan integrated manner in compliance with the ratification provided atInternational conventions and commitments made, and also inaccordance with the spirits of Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2006. Itis my belief that the operation of this GESI Guidelines will beinstrumental in creating GESI friendly environment in the portfoliosand operations of the Ministry.I expect effective implementation of this “GESI Operational Guidelines2013” in all portfolios and operations of the Ministry and would liketo thank the concerned personnel of the Ministry, Experts of GESIConsultant Team and others who were directly involved in preparing,reviewing, updating and publishing this Guideline.


Best Wishes

This GESI Operational Guideline has been prepared in the contextof mainstreaming and institutionalizing GESI in various portfolios andoperations of the Ministry of Urban Development in an integratedapproach. This Operational Guidelines was initially prepared by thetask force of the then Ministry of Physical Planning and Works(MoPPW), with technical support of Human Resource DevelopmentCentre (HURDEC) and financial support of Asian Development Bank(ADB). The GESI Operational Guideline, 2013 was ultimatelyfinalized by the concerted efforts of the Social Coordination/GESISection of the Ministry and the GESI Consultant Team of GESIProject under MoUD through intensive discussions and extensiveconsultation processes.

I am very much indebted to Mr. Kishor Thapa, the Secretary of theMinistry of Urban Development (MoUD) for his invaluablesuggestions and encouragement in the course of preparing andfinalizing this Operational Guideline and would like to extend mysincere thanks to him. I would also like to thank the personnel of theministry, its departments and institutions and central level projectsunder MoUD who provided their critical comments and feedbacksin the course of preparing and finalizing this GESI OperationalGuidelines. I would also like to thank Mr. Rama Nand Das, Engineerand Mrs Shakuntala Rai, Section Officer of Social Coordination/GESI Section and the Experts of GESI Consultant Team, as it wouldnot have been possible to prepare and finalize this OperationalGuideline without their concerted efforts.


Few words

________________Post Raj Dhungana

Project ManagerGender Equality and Social Inclusion Project

Table of ContentsPagePagePagePagePage

Chapter-IPreliminary

1-61.1 Preamble………………………………………………. 11.2 Name of the Guideline and Commencement…………… 21.3 Definitions…………………………………………….. 21.4 Objective of the Guideline……………………………… 51.5 Essential Pre-requisites and Core Requirements for

Mainstreaming GESI………......................................... 5Chapter-II

Institutional Arrangement for GESI Implementation7-12

2.1 Ministry Level……………………………………………... 72.2 Department Level…………………………………………..92.3 Regional Level……………………………………………...102.4 Divisional/Sub-divisional Level……………………………...11

Chapter-IIIGESI Mainstreaming in Project Cycle Steps

13-303.1 Project Identification………………………………………..133.2 Need Assessment……………………........……………..... 203.3 Project Preparation…………………………………........... 203.4 Project Appraisal………………………………………...... 263.5 Project Implementation……………………………………. 273.6 Benefit Monitoring & Evaluation Arrangement……………. 30

Chapter-IVGuidelines for Mainstreaming GESI in Water, Sanitation

and Hygiene (WASH)31-43

4.1 Policy Issues………………………………………............ 314.2 Institutional Arrangements……………………………….... 334.3 Mainstreaming GESI in the Project Phase of WASH……... 384.4 Monitoring and Evaluation……………………………........ 42

Chapter-VGuidelines for GESI Mainstreaming in Building Construction,

Housing and Urban Development (BCHUD) Sector44-56

5.1 Policy Issues………………………………………............ 445.2 Institutional Arrangements……………………………….... 465.3 Mainstreaming GESI in the Project Phase of BCHUD........ 46

5.3.1 Building Construction………………………........ 465.3.2 Housing…………………………………………...... 505.3.3 Urban Development…………………………....... 52

5.4 Monitoring and Evaluation………………………………… 55

List of TablesTable-1: Project Identification: Analysis of Barriers………….. 14Table-2: Project Preparation: Responses Addressing Barriers... 21Table-3: Project Implementation: Steps to Mainstream GESI… 28Table-4: Policy Issues for GESI Mainstreaming in WASH……. 31Table-5: GESI in Different Phases of WASH Project………… 34Table-6: Policy Issues for GESI Mainstreaming in BCHUD…. 44Table-7: Project Stages: Building Construction………………… 47Table-8: Project Stages: Housing……………………………… 50Table-9: Project Stages: Urban Development……………....... 52

List of AnnexesAnnex-1: Policy Analysis Format Matrix……………………… iAnnex-2: Format for Disaggregated Diversity Profile………….. iiAnnex-3: Format for Reviewing MoUD’s Annual Budget……... iii

1

Operational Guidelines for Mainstreaming GESI in MoUD

1.1. Preamble

Gender inequality and social exclusion are issues of global concern.Over the last decade, the Asia and the Pacific region has made aremarkable progress on these issues. Nepal is not an exception tothis regard. Since last decade, it has been moving ahead by fulfillingall commitments made in the international arena towards non-discrimination, gender equality and social justice.

Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) of Government of Nepalhas been executing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) andBuilding Construction, Housing and Urban Development (BCHUD)sector programs throughout the country. It has recognized that theprograms in these sectors have not adequately incorporated gendermainstreaming and other social development concerns in theirpolicies, programs, services and institutional arrangements so far.This gap has also been increasingly realized by all the stakeholdersand there is an ever increasing demand and need for mainstreamingGESI in ‘hard sector’ projects especially because of the large amountof development investment in the sector. The ministry has felt aneed for capacity building in social development works and alsorealized that infrastructure sectors need practical guidance foraddressing gender equality and social inclusion issues. In this context,MoUD has developed and implemented “Gender Equality and SocialInclusion Operational Guidelines” for mainstreaming andinstitutionalizing GESI in its overall portfolio and operations.

Chapter-I

Preliminary

2


1.2. Name of the guideline and Commencement

• The name of this Guideline is “Gender Equality and SocialInclusion Operational Guideline, 2013” intended formainstreaming Gender Equality and Social Inclusion under theMinistry of Urban Development.

• The guideline shall be effective from the date of approval orendorsement.

1.3. Definitions

Following terms used in the guideline have been defined as follows:

1) “Guideline” refers to Gender Equality and Social InclusionOperational Guidelines, 2013.

2) “Ministry” refers to Ministry of Urban Development,Government of Nepal.

3) “Gender” refers to the socially constructed roles and identitiesof men and women as well as the relationship between them.

4) “Poor” refers to households or persons who consume anaverage of less than 2,220 calories of food per person per day.(according to Nepal Living Standard Survey, 2010/11).

5) “Excluded Groups” refer to women, dalit, indigenious ethnicgroups, madhesi, mushlim, persons with disabilities, elderlypepole and people living in remote areas. who have beensystematically excluded over a long time due to economic, caste,ethnic, gender, disability, and geographic reasons and includesexual and gender minorities.

6) “Vulnerable Groups” refer to groups that experience a higherrisk of poverty and social exclusion than the general population.Ethnic minorities, migrants, person with disabilities, thehomeless, those struggling with substance abuse, isolatedelderly people and children all often face difficulties that canlead to further social exclusion, such as low levels of educationand unemployment or underemployment.

3


7) “Gender Equity” refers to the process of being fair to womenand men. Gender equity means steps taken to achieve fairnessand justice in the distribution of benefits and responsibilitiesbetween women and men.

8) “Gender Equality” refers that all human beings are free todevelop their personal abilities and make choices without thelimitations set by strict gender roles. The different behaviours,aspirations, and needs of women and men are considered,valued and favoured equally.

9) “Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI)” refers toa concept that addresses unequal power relations betweenwomen and men and between different social groups. It focuseson the need for action to re-balance these power relations andensures equal rights, opportunities and respect for all individualsregardless of their social identity.

10) “GESI Mainstreaming” refers to the process wherebybarriers and issues of women and poor and excluded peopleare identified and addressed in all functional areas ofinfrastructure development system: policies, institutionalsystems, work environment and culture, programme andbudget formulation, service delivery, monitoring andevaluation, and research.

11) “Gender Impact Analysis/Assessment” examines policiesand practices to ensure they have beneficial effects on womenand men. It identifies the existence and extent of differencesbetween women and men and the implications of thesedifferences for specific policy areas.

12) “Social Exclusion” describes the experience of groups thatare systematically and historically disadvantaged because ofdiscrimination based on gender, caste, ethnicity or religion.

13) “Social Inclusion” refers to a process that ensures that thoseat risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunitiesand resources they need to participate fully in economic, socialand cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-

4


being that is considered normal in the society in which theylive. It ensures that they participate more in decision makingon matters that affect them and on access to resources,opportunities and services to enjoy their fundamental rights.

14) “Empowerment” refers to the enhancement of assetsand capabilities of diverse individuals and groups to functionand to engage, influence and hold accountable the institutionsthat affect them. It is about the people - both women andmen - taking control over their lives, setting their own priorities,gaining skills, building self-confidence, solving problems, anddeveloping self-reliance.

15) “Gender Responsive Budget” refers to governmentplanning, programming and budgeting that contributes to theadvancement of gender equality and the fulfillment ofwomen’s rights. It entails identifying and reflecting interventionsto address gender gaps in sector and local government policies,plans and budgets.

16) “Public Auditing” is a tool taken up for the purpose ofenhancing governance, particularly for strengtheningaccountability and transparency of service providers towardsbeneficiaries/stakeholders by publishing the programincluding financial information. It values the voice ofstakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups whose voicesare rarely heard. Public Audit is not only an event but also aprocess to ensure beneficiaries/stakeholders right to know ofthe activities of their concern.

17) “Social Auditing” is a process that enables an organisation toassess and demonstrate its social, economic, andenvironmental benefits and limitations. It is a way of measuringthe extent to which an organisation lives up to the sharedvalues and objectives it has committed itself to.

18) “Disaggregated Data” refers to distinguishing men andwomen, ethnic minorities, people with a disability, peoplewith HIV and other excluded people in the data to revealquantitative differences between them.

5


19) “Poverty Mapping” refers to the methodology for providinga detailed description of the spatial distribution of poverty andinequality within a country. It combines individual and household(micro) survey data and population (macro) census data withthe objective of estimating welfare indicators for specificgeographic area as small as village or hamlet.

20) “Social Mapping” is a method to identify households basedon predefined indicators relating to socio-economic conditions(e.g. status, skills, property, education, income, etc.). It resultsin information about households’ relative well being, rather thanan absolute assessment.

1.4. Objective of the Guideline

The main objective of the guideline is to provide guidance onimplementation of gender equality and social inclusion in all aspectsof MoUD policies, institutions and in its program/ projectimplementation processes in an integrated manner. The specificobjectives are to:

a) ensure that a gender and social inclusion responsiveapproach is adopted in MoUD and monitored accordingly inorder to improve the access of WPEs to resources,opportunities and benefits from the infrastructures baseddevelopment programs/ projects.

b) ensure GESI issues are addressed in all infrastructurebased program/project interventions and GESI issues arewell institutionalised throughout the program/project cycle.

1.5 Essential Pre-requisites and Core Requirements forMainstreaming GESI

Pre-requisites for mainstreaming GESI are:

(i) concepts of gender, gender equality, empowerment and socialexclusion/inclusion will have to be clearly defined in simplelanguage so as to make these understandable to the staff at alllevels;

6


(ii) a cadre of staff will have to be trained to develop their analyticalskills on gender and inclusion issues in the course of providingtechnical support to others;

(iii) adequate time must be allocated at all management levels toidentify issues, design processes and implement activities;

(iv) resources need to be identified and made available timely;

(v) a gender empowerment/inclusion perspective needs to beintegrated into all policies, and enforced in all activities andregular functions in the operations of the MoUD and itsdepartments, with appropriate management structures in place,followed by monitoring and evaluation methods that areresponsive to empowering WPEs.

Core requirements for mainstreaming GESI are:

(i) all data should be disaggregated by sex, age, caste, ethnicity,religion, education, class, economic status, place of residence,and any other relevant variables (e.g. disability, minoritycommunity outside of caste and ethnic groups, urban poor,people displaced due to development activities, where required).

(ii) characteristics of division of labour, access to productiveresources and decision-making power (who does what, whereand why; who has access to what productive resources, whohas the ultimate authority to make decisions) will have to beassessed before planning the programs and projects that mayhave differential impact on women and men of different socialstrata and economic groups.

(iii) assessment of policies, programming and budgeting, institutionalarrangements, human-resources issues and M&E systemshould be done from a GESI perspective of MoUD and itsdepartments for programs/projects, partner organizations andcommunity groups.

7


There should be appropriate institutional arrangements at all levelsstarting from the Ministry and Department at the Central level toRegional, Divisional/Sub-Divisional Offices. For the effectiveimplementation of the Guidelines, it is also imperative to improveand build up the existing institutional arrangements and their capacitiesfrom the ministry to the division/sub-division levels respectively.Furthermore, It also requires common understanding about GESIand its operationalization process between the MoUD and otherstakeholders. The specific responsibilty with ToR should be providedto all levels. To get the desired level of priority at the institutionallevel, allocation of resources for GESI implementation should beadequate enough and common efforts need to be harnessed for thecollaborative actions in the course of mainstreaming GESI. In addition,the institutional arrangements should have sufficient resources withwell capacitated stakeholders. Regular enforcement and monitoringshould be done.

2.1 Ministry Level

At the Ministry level, a Social Coordination/ GESI Section has beenformed on a permanent basis under the Planning, Monitoring andForeign Aid Division. This section is headed by Senior Sociologistand assisted by an Engineer, a Section Officer and an AssistantOfficer. This section is responsible for all Gender and Social Inclusionbased activities of the Ministry.

The terms of reference of the Social Coordination/GESI Section willinclude following activities:

• Coordinate with the Departments, other line Ministries andStakeholders (MWCSW, NPC, Donors, Contractors) and

Chapter-II

Institutional Arrangement forGESI Implementation

8


monitor the progress of implementation of GESI OperationalGuidelines.

• Review the progress, monitor and report the operational statusof GESI guidelines on regular trimester and annual basis.

• Revise checklists, forms and formats for all levels based onGESI Operational Guidelines.

• Facilitate the Ministry for GESI issues related changes inpolicies, acts, regulations and, directives, etc.

• Formulate short term and long term implementation plan foroperationalization of GESI related activities.

• Facilitate in establishment of GESI related section in theDepartment of Water Supply and Sewerage and Departmentof Urban Development and Building Construction.

• Facilitate to make the NPC monitoring forms and formats GESIresponsive.

• Make arrangement for the collection of disaggregated dataand information.

• Coordinate with MoF in regard to GRB.

All the central level projects and the organizations which are directlyimplemented and supervised by the Ministry i.e. Kathmandu ValleyDevelopment Authority, Kathmandu Valley Water SupplyManagement Board (KVWSMB), Kathmandu Upatyaka KhanepaniLimited (KUKL), Town Development Fund (TDF), Nepal WaterSupply Corporation (NWSC), Melamchi Water Supply DevelopmentBoard (MWSDB) and High Powered Committee for IntegratedDevelopment of the Bagmati Civilization and other offices will eachestablish a GESI Unit for the operationalization and mainstreamingof GESI related activities. Provision of Sociologist will be made andmobilized in respective GESI Unit. If there is no Sociologist, theconcerned Unit can outsource as required.

9


The terms of reference for these GESI Units will include, but willnot be limited to the following activities:

• facilitate in the implementation of GESI related terms andconditions as reflected in the contract agreements madebetween the Project and the contractors;

• provide orientations on GESI mainstraming issues to the UsersCommittees, laborers and the contractors at the time of makingcontract agreements;

• monitor the progress of GESI mainstreaming activities incompliance with the contract made in Special Contractdocuments, and

• prepare and submit the reports containing GESI baseddisaggregated data and description of the progress made inGESI related issues.

Apart from this, all Committees, Sub-committees, Commissions etc.to be formed under the ministry should be inclusive in nature withproper representation of women and different caste/ethnic groups.Similarly, selection process of participants for all kinds of training,exposure visit and scholarship (both in and outside the country) shouldbe GESI friendly.

2.2 Department Level

At present, Department of Water Supply and Sewerage andDepartment of Urban Development and Building Construction areunder the Ministry of Urban Development. A GESI relatedCommunity Mobilization Section headed by the Senior Sociologisthas already been established in the Department of Water Supplyand Sewerage. This Section will be responsible for the implementationand overseeing of GESI related activities of the Department. Similarly,a GESI related Section to be headed by Senior Sociologist will alsobe established in the Department of Urban Development and BuildingConstruction. The responsibility of this Section will be to implementand oversee the GESI related activities of this department.

10


The terms of reference of the GESI related Section will includefollowing activities:

• Prepare the short term, medium term and long term plans forimplementing the GESI Operational Guidelines of theDepartments.

• Facilitate in mainstreaming GESI in all project cycles of bothDepartments.

• Review progress and report operational status of GESIguidelines.

• Make arrangement for the collection of GESI friendlydisaggregated data in the prescribed formats of NPC.

• Monitor the selected projects status and construction sites(through contractor or Users Committee) for the enforcementof special condition of contract from GESI perspective, analyzethe preceived gaps, identify problems and provide suggestionsfor further improvements.

• Provide orientations on making common understanding aboutthe GESI concept and mainstreaming GESI in the Programs/Projects to the personnel of the respective Department.

• Ensure monitoring (by Sociologist and Engineer) of all projectsfrom GESI perspective implemented under each Departmentand the enforcement of SCC in project implementation.Monitoring outcomes must be included in the regular reportsof the sociologist and engineer.

• Prepare GRB guidelines in consultation with MoUD.

2.3 Regional Level

A GESI Unit will be formed in each regional offices of DWSS(DUDBC lacks such offices) which will be made responsible forensuring the implementation of GESI guidelines in project cycles ofall selected projects. A Sociologist will be deputed in such Units and

11


s/he will be responsible for the implementation of GESI guidelinesand other GESI related activities. The main responsibility ofimplementing of GESI Operational Guidelines will rest on respectiveRegional Directors.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the GESI Unit at regional levelwill include following activities:

• Ensure the implementation and monitoring of GESI OperationalGuidelines at the project level from Division/Sub-divisions(DUDBC has provision of Division Offices only whereas theDWSS has provision of both Divisional/Sub-divisional offices)of the Departments.

• Review and report the operational status of GESI OperationalGuidelines.

• Ensure incorporation of GESI perspective in the reportingformats provided.

• Prepare GRB guidelines in consultation with Ministry andrespective Departments.

2.4 Divisional/Sub-divisional Level

Besides central level, all projects are implemented through theDivisions/Sub-divisions. Therefore, there should be a clear explanationof structure and responsibility for the implementation of GESIguidelines in the programs and projects of the Division/Sub-division.A GESI Unit will be established in each Divisional/Sub-divisionaloffices. The GESI units thus established will comprise of Division/Sub-division Chief, Engineer and Social Mobilizer. The respectiveDivision/Sub-division Chief will coordinate the functions of suchUnits. The Division/Sub-division can outsource GESI Specialist onshort term contract basis if there arises over burden of the works inthe Unit or to supplement the capacity of the Unit.

The terms of reference of the GESI Unit will include followingactivities:

12


• Coordinate with the concerned district line agencies and districtbased other stakeholders (Users Committee, NGOs, donors,private contractors) and monitor the progress status of GESImainstreaming in the project cycle.

• Progress review and reporting of operational status of GESIguidelines.

• Ensure GESI mainstreaming in the project cycle (planning andimplementation) in accordance with the GESI guidelines.

• Capacity development of Division/Sub-division staff on conceptof GESI, the process of implementation of GESI guidelines inproject cycle and on GESI monitoring checklists.

• Develop capacity development plan of Division/Sub-divisionon GESI mainstreaming and allocate the resources accordingly.

• Prepare ToR for outsourcing the GESI Specialist and monitorthe performance of such specialists accrodingly.

• Ensure the incorporation of GESI related activities in the reportsto be submitted to the respective regional offices and thedepartment.

13


This section outlines the basic steps to be followed by the MoUD inthe process of project identification (3.1), need assessment (3.2),project preparation (3.3), project appraisal (3.4), projectimplementation (3.5) and benefit monitoring & evaluationarrangements (3.6). These steps must mainstream GESI during theprocess of preparing annual plan and program which in turn, mustintegrate GESI related objectives, activities, gender budgeting andresults.

3.1 Project Identification

Project identification defines the objectives and scope of a potentialproject. In this step, studies of all possible options of pre-feasibilityand screening of social and environmental aspects are to be carriedout.

In the course of identifying the feasible project, it is imperative toidentify the existing excluded groups and their appalling situationsthrough extensive community (both men and women) andstakeholders’ consultations in the project area. Understanding theirsituation involves using available qualitative and quantitative data toanswer questions, like, “Who will be affected by the project? Whowill benefit most and what form of resources generated by theproject? Who will lose what? Which women and men? What barriersare faced while accessing the resources, opportunities and benefitsgenerated by the project and in influencing project identification, designand implementation?”

Stressing on identification of barriers that constrain the access ofexcluded groups to benefits of the development projects alone is not

Chapter-III

GESI Mainstreaming in ProjectCycle Steps

14


enough. It is equally important to identify all possible steps to betaken or provisions to be made by the MoUD in order to mitigatethese constraints and barriers that are likely to be faced by thesegroups.

A. Analysis of Barriers: To understand the barriers faced by theseexcluded groups in gaining access, the barriers need to be identifiedat each phase of project development cycle. The table presentedbelow provides the level, the analytical tools and guidelines onperforming this task.

Table 1 : Project Identification: Analysis of Barriers

S.N. Level Analysis of Barriers Guidelines

What policies exist ?How have theseimpacted WPEgroups?

What policies have thepotentiality totransform existingrelations of inequalityrelated to theresources andbenefits generatedfrom the Ministry’sinterventions, i.e.bring change in thesocially prescribeddivision of labour,access to resourcesand decision-makingpower betweenwomen and men, andbetween people ofexcluded and non-excluded groups?

Review concernedGovernment, MoUDpolicies, Acts,Regulations (refer forpolicy analysis matrix,Annex-1); program/project logframe,other policys t a t e m e n t s ;guidelines; partners’logframes, projectguidelines etc.

Identify the existinggaps to deal with thebarriers.

1. Plicy

15


Review the annualbudget (refer forformat, Annex-3) ofMoUD, program/projects/ partnerorganization; identifyhow well activities areaddressing GESIissues and thepercentage of budgetallocated for GESIactivities. Howtransformative are thebudgeted activities,and what is thepercentage of suchactivities?

Review the M&Esystem and a sampleof periodic and specialreports and studiesfrom the maininterventions in thesector.


2. Progra-mmingandBudgeting

What have been themain interventions bythe MoUD? Howhave theseinterventions affectedWPE groups (e.g.how gender, casteand ethnic differenceshave promoted orconstrained access toopportunities createdby the interventions)?Did theseinterventions haveexplicit inclusion goalsand outcomeindicators? Did theyhave an M & Esystem that includedcollection of sufficientdisaggregated data totrack differentialoutcomes for differentsocial groups?

What is the budgetallocation andexpenditure patternfrom the total projectcost on activities toaddress issues ofWPE?

16


What kind ofinstitutional /o r g a n i z a t i o n a lstructures, mechanismsand processes arethere in MoUD, andhow responsive arethese to the needs andinterests of theexcluded (e.g. howrepresentative are thecommittees, projectoffices, other bodiesformed under theproject at the local tonational levels) of theproject area? Whatare the responsiblilitiesof different institutionsparticularly on GESI?

What kinds ofs t r u c t u r e s ,mechanisms exist toenable women and theexcluded to be part ofthe planning andmonitoring processesof the project ?

Human Resourcepolicies for recruitment,transfer, promotion,staff performanceevaluation: Howdiverse is the staffprofile in terms ofgender, caste,

Develop adisaggregated staffprofile of thoseconcerned with theproject identification,project office, partnerorganizations, localGovernment partner(refer to format,Annex- 2).Review job descriptionsof departments anddivisions/sub-divisionsand staff such asproject manager,sociologist, planningofficer, field facilitator,M&E (and otherrelevant staff), andToRs of the consultantsand other teams.Review existingpolicies to cater forspecific needs ofwomen highlightedunder barriers.Facilitate interactionsand dialogue withstaff, particularlyfemale staff and stafffrom socially excludedgroups to identifyissues regarding theirworking environment.


3. Institu-tionalStructures(MoUD)andProcesses

17



ethnicity, religion,region and othervariables? Thehypothesis here is thatdiversity will bring indifferent perspectivesand experiences.What provisions arethere to recognizespecific issues andconstraints of women,e.g. facilities formaternity leave, breastfeeding, child-carefacilities, separatetoilets, flexible hours,security? How doesthe performance-evaluation systemcapture the efforts ofstaff on addressinggender and inclusionissues?

What is the workingculture in the Ministryand its departments?How supportive is itfor women, andexcluded to workcomfortably? What isthe behaviour of thenon-excluded towardsthese groups?

18


What are the income,social and welfarecharacteristics of thegroups identified asexcluded for theproject that createbarriers for them fromaccess to projectbenefits?

What are the existingemployment options inthe project, and whatbarriers exist forwomen and otherexcluded groups interms of skills, mobility,social norms, etc., tobenefit from theseopportunities?

Who has access toand control over whatresources of theproject?

Are political partiesinterested in theproject? At thenational level what aretheir linkages with theMoUD and other keyrelated organizations?

What is the level ofpolitical commitment?

Analysis ofdisaggregated socialand economic data.

C o n s u l t a t i o n /Interaction with non-excluded andexcluded groups.

Establish employmentg e n e r a t i n gopportunities createdby the project; identifyreasons for whichwomen and sociallyexcluded groups failedto benefit from theproject in consultationwith the projectpersonnel and theintended beneficiarygroups.

Analysis of interestsof different economicand political actors inthe project sinceMoUD projectsusually involve largeamounts of funds andhence generate a lotof interest amongstpoliticians andbusiness people.

S.N. Level Analysis of Barriers Guidelines4. Political

Institutions,Social/CommunityGroupsand LocalOrganisation

19


PRA/PLA tools (socialmapping, labour,access and controlprofile, mobility maps,migration status etc.)during pre-feasibilitystage of project design.Use of different toolslike SARAR, PHASTetc.Social impactassessment duringpre-feasibility andfeasibility stages ofproposed projects.Review census, NLSS,DHS data; GoN,MoUD documents,Infrastructure relatedprogress reports,p r o j e c t / p r o g r a mrelated documents andinformation, genderand social analysis.Collect disaggregateddata and substantiveevidence to examinethe existing status ofWPE in the projectarea, and assess areasand level of disparities.Identify the availabilityof labour, disaggregatedby sex, age, education,caste/ethnicity, religionand poverty levels andskills that can be usedby the project.


5. CommunityandHousehold

Status of WPE (Whatsocial and culturalpractices, beliefs,values and traditionsexist at the householdand community levelsthat constraint WPEfrom accessingto resources,opportunities andservices? What arethe different rules,practices, divisions oflabour, socialexpectations, anddifferences whichaffect their access tothe project benefits?)

20


3.2 Need Assessment

Need assessment must identify the needs of WPE in the projectarea and inform the project preparation team about their currentsituation. Ensure participation of WPE in need assessment,disaggregated by gender, caste and ethnicity. Whether the needsand aspiration of WPE has been ensured or not? Use appropriatetools such as social mapping, FGD, public hearing etc so as to assessthe needs of different levels of WPE.

3.3 Project Preparation

Project preparation involves conducting detailed feasibility studiesof technical, economic, financial and institutional aspects; on siteappraisal and social and environmental assessments. These help todefine the project’s objectives, rationale, scope and costs and also toassess potential impacts of the project (both positive and negative)on the target groups.

Project preparation must develop responses based on the needsassessment; recognize the socio-cultural barriers and weaknessesin the policy framework or delivery system by strengthening policies,program activities, resource allocations, institutional arrangementsand staff incentives, as well as develop self sustaining monitoringand reporting mechanisms and systems. Project design must addressthe specific barriers of the excluded groups at the different levels asdiscussed above. Key steps include:

21


Ensure policies (e.g.directives at nationallevel, project criteria/guidelines at communitylevels, program goalsand objectives),explicitly address theconstraints of WPE,and mandate action toaddress them.

The results planned inthe project plans/logframes must aim toimprove assets,capabilities and voiceof WPE. They mustaddress the formal andinformal practices thatare inequitableand persistentlydiscriminatory, andmust aim to transformthe existing structuralframework thatdisadvantages womenand/or the excluded.

The policies can directa targeted approach orcan address GESI issuesin a non-targetedmanner by developingmitigation measures toovercome the barriers

Organize participatoryworkshops andconsultations withstakeholders–WPE ofdifferent social groups(time, venue,methodology, languageand tools should besuitable for WPE).

Provide objectives,outputs, activities andindicators statementsintegrating technicaland social issues.

Review to confirm thebeneficiaries (with sex,age, caste/ethnicity,class, locationdisaggregation). Whois likely to have accessto the benefits fromthe project? Who islikely to control them?Who is likely to benefitless from thisintervention? Are thetargeted groups definedin clear terms, or aregeneral terms such as‘disadvantaged’ or‘vulnerable’ usedwithout clear definitionof who they are?

S.N. Level Responses AddressingBarriers Guidelines

1. Policy

Table 2 : Project Preparation: Responses AddressingBarriers

22


There must be GESIrelated Sections in theministry and itsdepartments andGESI Units in theRegional offices,D i v i s i o n a l / S u b -divisional Officesincluding central levelprojects under MoUDwith specificresponsibility ongender equality andsocial inclusionlocated within theinstitutions/organizationsresponsible for theproject. Theseaforesaid Sections andUnits should beadequately resourcedand mandated toprovide technicalsupport for addressingGESI issues.

Identify GESI workresponsibilities atdifferent levels;review existingmechanisms: how arethey addressing thei d e n t i f i e dresponsibilities – whathas worked and whathas not worked andwhy; identify throughparticipatory processwhat existing structurescan take on GESIr e s p o n s i b i l i t i e seffectively, identifywhat new skills andapproaches areneeded and prepareproject designaccordingly.

Review, revise /develop ToRs/JDs ofkey technical and non-technical staffs ofdifferent concerned

S.N. Level Responses AddressingBarriers

Guidelines

2. InstitutionalStructuresandProcesses(MoUD)

faced by WPE groupsfrom accessing theservices, opportunitiesand benefitsgenerated by theproject.

What assumptionsare being made onwomen’s roles,responsibilities, time,access to and controlover resources and onthe capacity of thepeople from excludedgroups?

23



Guidelines

The terms of reference/job descriptions of allincluding policymakers and technicalstaff, must allocateresponsibility to workon GESI issues,integrating it into theirresponsibilities.

Efforts must be madeto make the staffprofile inclusive, withWPE groups inpositions ofresponsibility.

The human-resourcespolicies in terms ofrecruitment, promotion,capacity building mustbe gender andinclusion sensitive, andthe personnel policiesmust support gender-specific responsibilities.

The performanceevaluation systemmust capture effortsmade by staff toaddress gender andinclusion issues.

agencies under MoUDto assess level ofGESI responsibilities.

Integrate recognitionand incentives for staffthat are successful inimproving GESIoutcomes.

Review HR policies:for recruitment,identify issuesc o n s t r a i n i n gapplications fromWPE groups; adoptalternative strategiesof informing aboutvacancies throughnetworks, in locallanguages; define‘merit’ to includelanguage skills,understanding of localcommunity cultures,etc.

3. Institutions,such asHouseholds,PoliticalParties,Social/

Activities (e.g.sustained dialogueand advocacy) mustbe developed andimplemented byinformal institutions in

Through consultationsand review of previousefforts, identify whathas hinderedimplementation; what

24


There must bep r o g r a m m a t i cactivities and budgetallocations thatspecifically addressthe issues experiencedby WPE groups.Budget must also beallocated for activitiesthat can create asupportive environmentto address gender/caste/ethnicity and

Review programactivities and budget indetail; assess the likelyimpact of each activityon WPE.

Find out whether theseactivities areaddressing the barriersidentified. Will WPEhave access to theresources and benefitscreated through this


Guidelines

4. Program-ming andBudgeting

3. CommunityGroupsand otherLocalOrgani-sations

impacting the WPEfrom the projectoutcome and in notviolating the humanrights of WPE.

Strategies to workwith the local elitesfor changing existingnorms, values andattitudes arenecessary and haveoften been successfulin bringing change.

behavioural issues,social norms andvalues and attitudeshave been challenges.

Identify measuresnecessary to workwith WPE and withthe family decision-makers, communityleaders, local leadersand ‘elites’, e.g. povertyanalysis with leaders,decis ion-makers ;sustained dialoguewith men on women’se m p o w e r m e n t ;advocacy campaignsagainst social evilslike gender basedviolence, chhaupadi,dowry, boksi and soon.

25


other dimensions ofexclusion.

Estimate requiredresources, and includehuman and financialresources for activitieson gender andinclusion awarenessfor women and menand capacity buildingof women at theprogram andorganization level.

Include resourcesrequired tosupport childcareresponsibilities, fieldescort for securityreasons and otherspecific constraints/responsibilities facedby women and by thepeople of excludedgroups.

Allocate sufficientresources for gender-balanced staffing,training andinstitutional capacitybuilding; includesufficient budget andtime to build linkagesand for networking tostrengthen differentinterest groups.


Guidelines

activity? What will betheir benefits? Willthey get thesedirectly? Will theseactivities help toaddress the structuralissues constrainingthe progress of WPE,e.g. violence againstwomen oruntouchability? Orwill they provideimmediate benefits ofimproving livelihoods?Identify percentageof budget allocated todifferent activitiesaddressing thebarriers, and assesswhether these willenable the groups tobenefit equally.

26


3.4 Project Appraisal

The studies, options considered, recommendations and projectimplementation plan developed in the project preparation stage arecritically reviewed before the project is approved for funding. TheGoN and the donor/s appraise the project against a list of establishedcriteria (policy, technical, financial, economic, social, etc.) beforegiving approval.

Project Appraisal Criteria must ask: How well are gender equalityand social inclusion issues addressed in the proposed project? Withinthese main criteria, the aspects to assess must include:

• What is the level of involvement of WPE in the design of theproject? Were there mechanisms and processes which willenable these groups to voice their interests and viewsconcerning design of the project?

• How well has the project recognized the existing situation ofWPE?

• What steps have been identified to address the barriers andstrengthen capacity of WPE to access project resources andopportunities and benefit from the project?

• What are the policy mandates and institutional arrangementsto address gender and inclusion issues?

• What interventions have been proposed to address the socio-cultural barriers constraining WPE from accessing projectresources and opportunities, for building their capacity toinfluence and enjoy benefits from the project, for enhancingthe capacity of service providers to be GESI responsive?

• Do the M&E and reporting mechanisms require disaggregateddata and are results monitored for their impact on WPE?

27


3.5 Project Implementation

Implementation involves final engineering design, preparation of tenderdocuments, other pre-construction activities (e.g. land acquisition,approvals from other concerned agencies, coordination with otherinfrastructure development activities), tendering/ agreement with usercommittees, construction and/or installation of equipment. Non-construction activities may include sensitization, orientation, trainingand institutional development. Implementation also involves projectmanagement, quality assurance, and progress reporting andmonitoring, and the participation of target groups (both beneficiariesand project-affected groups.)

The key GESI aspects to consider during this phase include:

28


Review complimentary acts in order tolater develop affirmative action rules fortendering to provide favourablecondition for women.

Review public procurement act toenhance women empowerment andlicensing criteria to make themsupportive for women.

Final EngineeringDesign

Design to include inputs of all, includingWPE where possible and relevant (e.g.for land development, Water Supply andSanitation, housing and buildingconstruction etc); the design must begender and disabilities friendly.

Selection criteria for subprojectsencourage use of local labour. Avoidconstruction camps.

S.N. Project CycleSub-phases Guidelines to Mainstream GESI

1.

Tendering/Agreement withUsersCommittees

4.

Preparation ofTenderDocuments

Ensure tender documents to haveinstructions in CoC that recognise andenable women and people fromdifferent social groups to submit bids,within the framework of existingpolicies and regulations.

2.

3. Pre-constructionActivities

Notice for land acquisition to be in locallanguages and public to be informedthrough different media; survey andcompensation to be estimated withdisaggregation and process facilitatedfor WPE; coordination with localagencies and government bodies; localmaterials, labour, tools and technologiesto be used.

Table 3: Project Implementation: Steps to MainstreamGESI

29


S.N. Project CycleSub-phases Guidelines to Mainstream GESI

Women employment in civil worksshould be ensured with equal wage asmen.

Safe working conditions for both menand women workers.

Contractors must not employ thechildren in construction works.

Ensure that women, Dalits, Janajati andother excluded social groups canbenefit from the construction works bymaking it as one of the conditions incontractors’ contract.

Maintain daily work attendance sheetfor verification by concernedauthorities.

Construction and/or Installation ofEquipment

5. Train WPE groups on constructionworks such as mason, carpenter,plumber, gabion weaver, and bituminousworks; and operating constructionmachines.

Meaningful women participation shouldbe ensured and monitored that it is usedproperly or not.

Non-constructionActivities

6. Advocacy with men and advantagedgroups for shifts in attitudes, non-formaleducation classes, micro-credit supportto labourers, child care, breast feedingfacilities etc.

30


3.6 Benefit Monitoring & Evaluation Arrangements

Benefit Monitoring & Evaluation (BM&E) is a process to assessthe progress whether the expected development results of the projectare being achieved. For this, the BM&E system must collectdisaggregated data on outputs, outcomes and development results.Reports prepared based on the findings of BM&E exercise must besubmitted to the relevant management authorities on time. This willhelp project managers/planners to identify areas where the projectdesign can be further improved to achieve its desired objectives, andmore importantly, to use this information to better design futureprojects.

Current monitoring and evaluation formats of Ministry/Department/Regional Directorate do not adequately capture GESI aspects andhence, these formats need to be reviewed and revised. Apart fromthe NPC formats for reporting, MoUD will develop the reportingformats, monitoring process and criteria to reflect GESI disaggregationand information areas; and these will be made mandatory for theDepartments to report on. Ministry and its Departments will need tocomplete these as routine attachments to the quarterly and annualreports. Monitoring should be done more regular in order to assessimplementation of GESI related issues in projects. In addition, BM& E will be done regularly by third party. Provision of incentives/awards need to be managed for the projects that have addressedGESI in the best possible manner.

31


This section portrays the guidelines for mainstreaming gender equalityand social inclusion in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)sector.

4.1 Policy Issues

Table 4 : Policy Issues for GESI Mainstreaming in WASH

Chapter-IV

Guidelines for MainstreamingGESI in Water, Sanitation and

Hygiene (WASH) Sector

ProjectPreparation andDevelopmentPhase

Prioritize the areas where DWSS andother concerned agencies have notreached including areas with highpopulation of poor and excluded groups.

Mandatory disaggregation of data andevidence in assessments and surveys.

Mainstreaming GESI in all aspects ofproject cycle.

Ensure there are budget heads for socialactivities like advocacy againstdiscriminatory practices affecting thesector, education/ awareness/ capacitybuilding programs for women forincreased participation in projects, forfacilitating the participation of poor andother excluded groups.

S.N. Project Stage Policy Guidlines

1.

32


S.N. Project Stage Policy Guidlines

Operation andMaintenancePhase

3.

Conditions of contract should specifyGESI related conditions.

Affirmative action and promotion ofwomen’s groups and cooperatives ofexcluded groups as local materialsuppliers with revisions in the users’committee guidelines.

Collaboration with MoHP andMoWCSW for training of FCHVs onWASH issues and service delivery toHHs.

Recruitment of local project staff toreflect population diversity.

Project completion report to report onGESI issues according to a developedformat.

Inclusive representation in O&Mcommittees.

Specifically indicate level ofcoordination with Ward/Village CitizenFora constituted by local bodies for jointmonitoring of projects.

Reward arrangements for successfulGESI integration in projects; also forsuccessful/ effective projects with allwomen WUSC.

2. ImplementationPhase

33


4.2 Institutional Arrangements

A GESI related Community Mobilization Section headed bythe Senior Sociologist has been established in the Departmentof Water Supply and Sewerage. This Section is responsiblefor operationalizing the GESI Operational Guidelines andmainstreaming GESI at the Department level.

An appropriate structure (GESI Unit) will be formed in theregional offices (DWSS has provision of regional offices whileDUDBC lacks such provisions) which will be made responsiblefor ensuring the implementation of GESI guidelines in projectcycle of all selected projects. The Sociologist will assist in theimplementation of GESI guidelines and other GESI relatedactivities. The Regional Director will be ultimately responsiblefor the implementation of GESI operational guidelines.

At the Division/Sub-division level, a GESI Unit will be formedconsisting the Division/Sub-division Chief, Engineer, SocialMobilizer as part of the team. The concerned Division/Sub-division Chief will coordinate the functions of the Unit with thesupport of Engineer and Social Mobilizer.

In WUSC, representatives of women and the excluded groupswill be placed in decision making positions. There should be atleast 33% (preferably 50%) representation of women in suchcommittees. The representation of at least one woman andone person (either male or female) from the excluded groupsin the key post of Users Committee will be made mandatory.Project sub-committees will represent at least one person(either male or female) from the excluded groups and onewoman in the key post. Guidelines and ToR will be provided toUsers Committee and GESI related capacity building trainingswill be provided to the representatives of the user committees.

34


Review request from local bodies andidentify related disaggregated data.Conduct well being ranking. Usually,requests for projects come from the localelite groups – check if WPE in the areawill benefit from the project or not.

Conduct social mobilization in entireHHs in the area to ensure that eachhousehold understands the implicationsof joining/or not joining the scheme andparticipates in prioritising projects.

Develop a project request form whichwill require that at least 33% (preferably50%) of the signatories should bewomen. Ensure maximum participationof WPE in the project identification andother activities such as CommunityAction Plan (CAP).

Form sub-committees from among theWASH groups to work on gender andinclusion issues and lobby with the maincommittees.

PerspectivePlans andMaster Planning

Prioritise the areas in Nepal with lesscoverage of WASH and increase budgetallocation accordingly and also prioritiseareas with high population of ultra-poorand poor. Use the DAG mappingprocedures followed by MoFALD/DDCsto identify the least developed VDCs.

Project completion report to be submittedin prescribed format to address GESIissues.

S.N. Stage Guidlines

1.1.

Project NeedIdentification

1.2.

1. Project Preparation and Development Phase

4.3 Mainstreaming GESI in the Project Phase of WASH

Table 5 : GESI in Different Phases of WASH Project

35


Environmental, biological, socio-economic and cultural impacts baseddata must be disaggreagated on the basisof sex, caste/ethnicity and location.

Group discussion among water users isa must. Ensure that the views and issues

InteractionProgram withBeneficiaryCommittee(BC)

Ensure participation of women, children,poor and the excluded groups ininteraction programs.

Timing, methodology, language in publicmeetings and FGD to suit women,children, poor and the excluded.

Household survey to ensure thathouseholds of the poor, and the excludedand women-headed households areidentified. Sociologist must be includedin the survey team. The GESI expertshould have properly consulted with theWPE beneficiaries.

Minimum 33% (preferably 50%) womento be included in the WUSC with at leasttwo in key-posts, of whom one eachshould be woman and from the excludedsocial groups.

Minimum 33% women participationmust be made mandatory for WUGgeneral assembly.


1.3.

Developmentof PFS/FSReport andAppraisal

1.4. All feasibility studies must assess theissues of WPE by using disaggregateddata; assess what their barriers andstrengths are and how these can affect/support their access to services/benefitsfrom the project; Social mapping shouldbe included.

EnvironmentalImpactAssessment

1.5.

36



Social ImpactAssessment

1.6. Local structural issues of exclusion ofWPE must be assessed; specific barriersof these groups in accessing resourcesand benefits of the project and thepotential positive or negative impacts onthem must be carefully assessed.

DetailEngineeringSurvey

1.7. Discuss findings with community duringstudy and before finalization. Thereshould be transparency in the detaileddesign and estimate of the project. Thefindings should be shared with thestakeholders.

Community confirmation through UsersCommittee of location and design mustbe included in the report before approval.

Use social mapping as a tool.

of WPE are recognized and indigenouscoping mechanisms to deal withenvironmental impacts strengthened.

Detail baseline survey is essential, suchsurvey groups must include women, Dalitand other socially excluded groups.

Taps must be accessible to person withdisabilities. Design and orientation oftoilets should be women, chilidren andpersons with disablility friendly. Designshould be discussed with UsersCommittee and shared with communitythrough the committee before approval.

Cost estimate to include contribution andsupport provisions.

Include/ ensure Water Safety Plan in allWASH projects design and estimatesand it should be GESI friendly.

EngineeringDesign andEstimate

1.8.

37



ProjectAppraisal andApproval

1.10. After appraisal of Users Committee,DWSS/ Ministry should approve drinkingwater projects. Ensure GESI indicatorsand GESI action plan are prepared andincluded in the appraisal.

Reconfirm the representation of WPEsin the composition of WUSC.

SocialPreparation

1.11. Awareness campaign on drinking waterand sanitation to be mandatory.Participation of WPE must becompulsory in all training; Training onGESI should be given to womenmotivator, women volunteer andWUSC. Priority should be given to WPE.

Leadership qualities and basic know howon subject matters of women officialsmust be strengthened.

GESI related awareness should be in allphases and be customised to addressphase related issues.

Criteria for VMW and Sanitation Masonselection should be GESI friendly.

WUSCAggreement;O&M FundCollection

1.12. Aggreement must have conditions forWUSC to address issues of WPE.

User groups to further consider issuesof the extreeme poor with low or verylow income.

1.9. WUSCAppraisal andRegistration

38



BudgetAllocation

2.1. The project proposal should includebugetary provisions to implement GESIrelated activities. Sufficient budget to beallocated for activities in line withaddressing needs and aspirations ofWPE, building capacity of these groupsto undertake skilled works within thesector.

Budget allocation to be disbursed on timeto avoid delays in project completion asthis may have negative impacts on theintended beneficiaries.

ProcurementWork

2.2 Increase involvement of users andWUSC to ensure that there istransparency in procurement.

Strengthen capacity of community toidentify tools and other construction items(this will also support their work in theO&M phase).

Women cooperatives and other WPEgroups to be promoted as local suppliersof materials in the users’ committeeguidelines.

2.3 Construction Local people’s employment opportunitiesto be promoted during construction phaseincluding WPE in the project area. Ifcontractors are used, conditions in theircontract must ensure equal pay for bothmale and females for the equal volumesof the work performed, support forgender specific issues like child care, andopportunities to WPE for building theirskills.

2. Implementation Phase

39


Make it regular with a team ofimplementing partner and WUSCrepresentatives, including WPE.

Ensure participation of women, children,poor and the excluded in in Monitoringteam.

Public audit must be done regularly withtransparency and proper process. Thirdparty monitoring and evaluation team toensure that GESI issues are addressed,as per the public audit guidelines.

Develop and implement system of jointmonitoring by users (including WPE) andimplementers.


2.4 Supervision/Monitoring

WUSC must be involved as witnesswhen agreement is made between thegovernment agencies and contractors.

Percentage of community/beneficiaryhousehold contribution towards projectimplementation should be fixed well inadvance of construction. Contributionof identified marginalised households bythe community will pay a lowerpercentage of contribution (to be decidedby the project implmentation committeeand the WUSC). Beneficiarycontribution will be less than 20 percentbut not less than 10 percent. Cashcontribution will not be compulsory forthe extreme poor households. Thesehouseholds will contribute throughproviding labour (to be decided by theproject implementation committee andthe WUSC).

40



2.5 ProjectCompletion

Include GESI related issues in existingtraining packages; develop and deliverseparate training on GESI whererequired; build capacity of WPE insector related skills. Exchange visits forWPE to get exposure of best projectpractices.

O & M group with inclusiverepresentation must be provided withappropriate training.

Project Completion Report (PCR) mustinclude reporting on progress for WPEand the inequality issues addressed. PCRto be disseminated.

Practices and lessons learned must bewell documented and disseminated.

3. Operation and Maintenance Phase

3.1 Recruitment ofStaff

Fortyfive percent of staff are to be fromWPE groups (with required skills)ensuring that at least 33% are women.

Recruitment of VMW with emphasis toWPE.

3.2 CapacityBuilding ofStaff

Design & execute special training forskills building including GESI issues.

3.3 FinancialArrangement

Provide toilet, meter, initial connectioncharge and water tariff to extreme/ultrapoor in subsidised rate.

Matching fund must be provided as prizemoney to those who have beensuccessful in effective maintenance ofdrinking water projects and in addressinginclusion issues.

41



3.4 BenefitMonitoringand Evaluation

Form joint monitoring team withrepresentation of WPE and makeregular follow up of the program.

Organise Public/ Social Auditing andThird Party Evaluation withresponsibility to address GESI issues.

GESI sensitive evaluation to be donetimely.

Monitor Water Safety Plan in all WASHprojects to insure whether it is GESIfriendly or not.

3.5 ImpactEvaluation

To be done with GESI focus and withWUSC’s participation.

O&M fund to be raised by communityin advance.

42


4.4 Monitoring and Evaluation

The Social Coordination/GESI Section in the Ministry will beresponsible for overall monitoring of GESI issues and activities carriedout by its department. The Department will be responsible formonitoring programs and projects accordingly and will report to theMinistry as per the guidelines. At District level, GESI issues shouldbe highlighted in discussions in District Water, Sanitation and HygieneCoordination Committee (D-WASH-CC) and Regional Water,Sanitation and Hygiene Coordination Committee (R-WASH-CC) atRegional level. GESI related activities should be incorporated inprogress reports which will require developing a set of GESIindicators. Project performance, in terms of its achievements inoutputs, outcome and impact will be measured against a well-definedset of indicators established in the project design & monitoringframework.

The MoUD will establish a rigorous reporting system to prepare anddistribute reports on time to the relevant authorities on progress ofthe project. General reporting of the progress made on GESI relatedactivities should be done quarterly as part of the regular reportingprocess, and disaggregated reporting should be done in an annualbasis. Social Coordination/GESI Section of MoUD will ensure regulardata flow from the district to the central level and its reporting inregular progress reports of MoUD and coordination with the M&Eunit of the MoUD.

Currently, several projects under DWSS collect data disaggregatedby gender and caste/ethnicity but the focus on outputs, and thecapacity to track GESI outcomes, is still lacking. This needs to beintegrated in routine activities of DWSS. Some potentialimprovements include:

a) Objectives and indicators need to be disaggregated bygender and caste/ethnicity: It is important to measure whobenefits from Water Supply and Sanitation programs andprojects, and hence disaggregated data about who has watersupply systems, who has built latrines, whose is being used,

43


needs to be collected and updated. The project preparation,information collection must have disaggregated baselinesagainst which progress can be monitored. Formats for collectingdisaggregated baseline data will be developed and usedproperly.

b) Monitoring and reporting formats need to bedisaggregated: Monitoring formats need to be revised tocollect disaggregated data and evidences. Integrate GESIrelated information and data, and facilitate its reporting as perthe requirement of the NPC monitoring system. GESI Sectionwill provide necessary GESI indicators and GESIdisaggregated data and establish a system of applying thesemethods from the central to the regional to the divisional/sub-divisional offices.

c) Public audits and public hearing to be institutionalized:This is essential for auditing to be transparent and to contributetowards establishment of good-governance practices indownward accountability approach. This should be done withactive participation of WPE groups. A guideline related to pubicaudit and public hearing needs to be prepared.

d) Good practices and lessons learnt: GESI practices in theMoUD infrastructure development projects should be properlydocumented and shared with sector level stakeholders throughthe Sector Stakeholder Group. Capacity to prepare case studiesto be documented and analyzed for positive pro-inclusionchange needs to be strengthened.

44


Chapter-V

Guidelines for GESIMainstreaming in Building

Construction, Housing and UrbanDevelopment (BCHUD) Sector

This section presents the guidelines for gender equality and socialinclusion mainstreaming in the Building Construction, Housing andUrban Development (BCHUD) Sector.The following steps (asoutlined in the PWD) provide more operational guidance formainstreaming GESI.

5.1. Policy Issues

Some policy guidelines for the sectors are:

• Mandatory requirement to identify poor clusters through povertymapping and adjust program intervention accordingly in landand housing infrastructures development.

• Identification of projects based on GESI requirements.

• Building designs should be revised to the local context andmust be gender, disabilities and environment friendly.

Table 6: Policy Issues for GESI Mainstreaming in BCHUD

Formulation • Integration with local level plans/programs.

S.N. Project CycleStage Policy Guidelines

1.1.

1. Building Construction

1.2. Mobilization/Construction

• Consultations with WPE to be ensuredpreparation of plans and designs forconstructing buildings.

45


Planning Mandatory representation of women andthe excluded in the different levels ofcommittees.

Selection of target groups with requiredbudget allocation

Budget for activities like training andloans for strengthening WPE’s capacitiesas skilled workers and suppliers ofconstruction related materials.

S.N. Project CycleStage Policy Guidelines

2.1.

2.2. Implementation Mandatory inclusion of WPE in O & Mcommittees; M & E indicators and re-porting to be disaggregated with evidenceof benefits to WPE.

2. Housing

3. Urban Development3.1. Planning In urban development projects, it must

be ensured that affected female headedhouseholds, the poor and the excludedpeople are timely and adequately com-pensated. These population groups mustnot be negatively impacted by projectinterventions.

3.2. Implementation Budget for social activities (child care,responding to needs of WPE) to beincorporated in the project cost.

46


5.2 Institutional Arrangements

A GESI Section headed by the Senior Sociologist will be establishedin the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.This Section is responsible for operatinalizing the GESI Guidelinesand mainstreamonmg GESI at the Department level. At the divisionlevel, a GESI Unit will be formed consisting the Division Chief,Engineer and Social Mobilizer as part of the team. The DivisionChief will coordiate the functions of the Unit with the support ofEngineer and Social Mobilizer. The Division Chief can ask any staffof the division to work as a Social Mobilizer until and unless theSocial Mobilizer is recruited. The Division Chief can outsourceSociologist on contract basis if there arise over burden of the works inthe Unit.

In case of Users Committee, representatives of women and theexcluded groups will be placed in decision making positions.Representation of at least one woman and one person (either maleor female) from the excluded groups in the key post of UsersCommittee will be made mandatory. Project Sub-committees willappoint at least one person (either male or female) from the excludedgroups and one woman in the key post. Guidelines and ToR will beprovided to Users Committee; GESI trainings will be made compulsoryfor all; skills and competencies of the units will be enhanced, sectionsand persons responsible will be strengthened for mainstreaming GESIin their routine work.

5.3 Mainstreaming GESI in the Project Phase of BCHUD

5.3.1 Building Construction

At present, DUDBC normally carries out the design and supervisionof government buildings. In large projects, a pre-feasibility study hasto be carried out: use of topographical maps, aerial photos, land usemaps, geological maps and relevant documents from similar projectsto determine site selection; information on the condition of theconstruction site; determine the area, height and shape of the building;size of openings (door and windows) of the building; foundations tobe adopted; type of structure to be built and materials to be used.

47


Table 7 : Project Stages: Builiding Construction


ProjectConception

1.1. National/local level needs should becaptured: identify building design prioritiesof WPE. Programs must be part of locallevel development plan.

1.4 ProjectPreliminaryPlan

Discussion of the building and budgetrequirement; consultation for field survey,site selection; and space use to includeviews and issues affecting women, poor,person with disabilities and the excludedand should follow regulations. Floor AreaRatio (total covered area of all floors/ plotarea) to be defined for open space andheight control.

1.2. FeasibilityStudies

Consult local people including WPE.Explore using local quarry sites andpromoting WPE as material suppliers.

Assess management cost of infrastructureafter construction in feasibility studies.

Consider the following factors: ramp forpersons with disabilities, smokelesscooking stove, low cost technology inbuilding construction.

1.3. InvestmentAppraisal

Include what investment is required foraddressing construction requirements ofWPE.

Include in cost estimates for disablitiesfriendly infrastructure, child care centreand separate toilets for women and forproper lighting to increase safety.

1. Formulation Stage

48


Ensure views and issues of WPE;recognize the existing indigenous skills,knowledge, local technology & materails andstrengthen indigenous coping mechanisms.

Health, cultural and bio-physical impactsmust be sex, caste/ethnicity, locationdisaggregated.


Design,Drawings andCost Estimate

1.5. Assess the client’s requirements toaddress the issues of WPE.

Consider the requirements of WPE duringthe selection of construction site.

Design to include women, child anddisabiliites friendly construction (for instanceelectrical switch, toilet, podium etc.).

Child care centre to be provided wherevernecessary (office complex, vegetablemarket centres and places where morewomen are involved).

1.6. ResourcesMobilization

Resources to be mobilized fordisaggregated data collection, socialactivities, gender specific/disabled friendlyinfrastructure facilities; Budget to beallocated as per design.

2.1. Planning,Managementand ControllingExecution

Project works which do not require highskill (like E/W, Gabion etc) should becarried out through CBOs with WPEwithout compromising quality and quantityof the work. Women participation inskilled labour to be promoted by allocatingspecific budget for building capacity ofwomen skilled labour. They should beequally encouraged to participate as pertheir physical ability in construction works.

2. Construction Stage

2.2. EnvironmentalAssessmentand SocialAssessment

49



2.3. WPE should be encouraged to participatein procurement process.

2.5. Establishmentof BuildingMaintenanceProgram

Local structural issues of exclusion forWPE must be assessed; specific barriersof these groups in accessing resources andbenefits of the building construction andthe potential positive or negative impactson them must be carefully identified.

Procurement

2.4. BuildingConstructionandSupervision

Training to women construction workers,ethnic groups and minorities for skilledconstruction works.

Conduct ToT for concerned staffs.

Compulsory representation of WPEgroups in the construction and supervisionteam.

Required facilities such as gender friendytoilet, child care centre etc. duringconstruction works.

• Build capacity of local organizations, WPEgroups to be involved in maintenancework.

50


5.3.2 Housing

Table 8 : Project Stages: Housing


Identificationand Provisionof Finance

1.1. Make provisions for grant and soft loanto improve the housing condition of WPE.

Provision should be made to encouragethe Financial Institution for providing loanto WPE.

1.2. Identificationand Provisionof LandAcquisition forHousing.

Focus on creating employment opportu-nities for WPE when developing resettle-ment areas.

1. Planning of Land and Housing Development

1.3. Preparationand Approvalof Plan

Plan should include GESI aspects; plan toinclude social mobilization activities andpublic information campaigns for WPE;ensure representation of WPE groups indifferent committees.

1.4. Design, CostEstimation andBudgeting ofHousingProject

Prioritise the use of indigenous localmaterials and technology for cost effectiveconstruction as per requirement. Allocatebudget for activities to strengthen WPE’scapacities as skilled workers and suppliersof raw materials and influence on thedecisions.

Adopt a methodology which enableswomen to provide inputs in the design ofthe housing project to benefit from theirperspectives.

Provide technical khowledge and skills forWPE as beneficiary group to involve inthe process of ‘Self-help Housing’construction.

51



Establishmentof ProjectOffice andImplementationCommittee,SteeringCommittee,Users’Committee

2.1. WPE representation in committees andinvolvement in decision-making.Ensure enabling environment for effectiveparticipation of WPE in the meetings.

2.2. Finalization ofDesign andCost Estimates

Consultation with WPE groups to ensurethat their priorities and needs are met andto create a sense of ownership.

2.3. Finalization ofImplementationProcedures

Implementation partners to include womenled organizations, civil societyorganisations, private sector; responsibili-ties of implementing agencies must includeGESI related activities.

2.4. Completionand Handover

Handover agreement to include clausesfor infrastructure management andmaintenance and promotion of femaleparticipation in decision making positions.

2. Implementation

3. Operation and Maintenance3.1. Maintenance,

Monitoring &Evaluation

Concerned users should be trained andbriefed about the services for appropriateuse. Train WPE as maintenance workers.

M&E indicators must include services andbenefits to WPE; disaggregated indicatorsare needed for monitoring progress againstsocial inputs, skills of WPE, strengtheningtheir capacities to access benefits fromthe sector must be done. M&E must becarried out by the Ministry.

52


1.4. Assessment must be disaggregated (interms of sex, caste, ethnicity and location)and identify health consequences ofpollution and other environmental impacts

EnvironmentalAssessment

5.3.3 Urban DevelopmentTable 9 : Project Stages: Urban Development


1.1. Disaggregated data and evidence abouturban development requirements ofcommunities, including WPEs have to becollected.Programs addressing WPE to beidentified.Adopt tools, methods and criteria to ensureactive participation of the WPE.

1.3. Pre-feasibilityand Feasibility

Identify existing skills, availability,economic status and interest of WPEwhich can be used for project; assesscapacity building needs and assessfeasibility of using women’s groups, localorganizations in project implementation.

When analyzing the project, easy accessto benefit by WPE should also be studied.Based on this, only those projects shouldbe classified feasible which can provide/offersufficient amount of benefit to the WPE.

Social /PovertyMappingProjectIdentification(RegionalDevelopmentPlan, PhysicalDevelopmentPlan, UrbanGrowth CorridorStudy, PeriodicPlanning,IntegratedCompactSettlementStudy.)

1.2.

1. Planning

53


Engineering design to include disabled andgender specific facilities: adequate/com-fortable waiting space, separate toilets,ramps, brail tiles, child care centres (en-suring the operation of centre after con-struction and if necessary create posts inpublic offices to look after child carecentre) and disabilities friendly roadaccess.


1.5. SocialAssessment

Assessment must include differentiatedpriorities for design of human settlements,the location of housing and the provisionof urban services. Gender/caste/ethnicity/location-differentiated access toemployment and income-earningopportunities, access to public park, publictoilets, public taps, public hall and templesshould be assessed.

Levels of crime and violence in urbanareas and implications on WPE must beassessed.

Ensure about the provisions of properlighting, police station, telephone boothsetc.

Consultations/discussions at local levelwith WPE are essential.

Degree of impact of resettlement of poorshould also be assessed, along with theimpact of alternative arrangement,employment and job security.

1.6. DetailedEngineeringDesign

on poor women and men of differentsocial groups.

Roles of WPE in environmentalmanagement must be identified.

54


Construction support committee at locallevel with representation of women andexcluded groups, and to involve WPE atdifferent working level based on theirefficiency and capability.

Make necessary arrangement for theinvolvement of WPE placing it on priority


1.7. Pre-constructionActivities

Labour survey, including WPE; supportingwomen’s groups/cooperatives to becomesuppliers for construction activities.

1.8. Discuss with all concerned stakeholdersto develop the ToR. Includeresponsibilities to identify and addressissues of WPE in the ToR.

Design Costand Estimatingand Budgetingfor ToR

1.9. Preparation ofDevelopmentPlan

Inclusion of GESI Action Plan in theoverall plan.

In addition to infrastructure relatedaspects, cover economic, social anddisaster risk management issues.

Priority to WPE during the process ofland aquisition, compensation distributionand rehabilitation to the disaster affectedpeople.

2. Implementation2.1. Final

EngineeringDesign andDrawing

• Must be elderly, women, child and personwith disabilities friendly.

2.2. Preparationand Approvalof Detail CostEstimates andSpecifications

• Cost estimates to include budget for socialactivities, building skills of WPE, supportfor gender specific needs.

2.3. ConstructionandSupervision

55



2.4. WorkCompletionand Handover

• Provide complete information aboutfunctional utility and then only handoverfor appropriate use and project/plansustainability.

2.5. • Train WPE for repair and maintenanceworks, create local employment.

Repair andMaintenance

2.6. Monitoringand Evaluation

• Membership to be inclusive in users/management committee formed tomonitor the project. Monitoring to includewhether CoC and GESI action plan hasbeen followed or not.

5.4 Monitoring and Evaluation

The Social Coordination/GESI Section in the Ministry will beresponsible for overall monitoring of GESI issues and activities carriedout by its Department. The Department will be responsible formonitoring programs and projects accordingly and will report to theMinistry as per the guidelines. All GESI related activities should beincorporated in quarterly progress reports which will requiredeveloping a set of GESI indicators. Project performance, in termsof its achievements in impact, outcome and output will be measuredagainst a well-defined set of indicators established in the projectdesign & monitoring framework.

The MoUD will establish a rigorous reporting system to prepare anddistribute reports on time to the relevant authorities on progress ofthe project. General reporting of the progress made on GESI related

in constructions work to be implementedby the Construction Committee.

Capacity building of WPE members to raiserelevant issues and influence decisions.

Training to women construction workersand ensure their involvement inconstruction work.

Conduct ToT for concerned staffs.

56


activities should be done quarterly as part of the regular reportingprocess, and disaggregated reporting should be done in an annualbasis. Social Coordination/GESI Section of MoUD will ensure regulardata flow from the divisional to the central level and its reporting inregular progress reports in close coordination with the M & E unit ofthe MoUD.

Several projects under DUDBC need to collect data disaggregatedby gender and caste/ethnicity. This needs to be integrated in routineactivities of DUDBC. Some potential improvements include:

a) Objectives and indicators need to be disaggregated bygender and caste/ethnicity: It is important to measure thebenefits from urban development, building construction and housingprograms and projects. Hence, disaggregated data needs to becollected and updated. The project preparation and informationcollection must have disaggregated baselines against whichprogress can be monitored. Formats for collecting disaggregatedbaseline data will be revised/developed and used properly.

b) Monitoring and reporting formats need to bedisaggregated: Monitoring formats need to be revised tocollect disaggregated data and evidences. GESI relatedinformation and data must be integrated, and its reporting mustbe facilitated as per the requirement of the NPC monitoringsystem. GESI Section will provide necessary GESI indicatorsand disaggregated data formats and establish a system ofapplying these methods from the centre to the divisional offices.

c) Public audits and public hearing to be institutionalized:The activities of public audit and public hearing will be carriedout as applicable in the program/projects. This is essential fromthe point view of transparency and accountability. Theseactivities should be done with active participation of WPEgroups. A guideline related to pubic audit and public hearingwill be prepared.

d) Good practices and lessons learnt: GESI related goodpractices of infrastructure development projects of MoUDshould be properly documented and shared with sector levelstakeholders through the sector stakeholder groups. Appropriatecase studies must be collected and prepared for this purpose.

57


Annexes

58

Operational Guidelines for Mainstreaming GESI in MoUDA

nnex

- 1:

Pol

icy

Ana

lysi

s Fo

rmat

Mat

rix

Polic

y,Pr

ovis

ion,

Art

icle

Act

s N

o.

GE

SI A

naly

sis

of P

olic

y St

atem

ents

, Pro

visi

ons,

Cri

teri

a, G

uide

lines

etc

.

Add

ress

es h

uman

cond

ition

with

inex

istin

g di

visio

n of

resp

onsib

ilitie

s,do

esn’

t mak

e st

ruct

ural

cha

nges

Esta

blis

hes r

ight

s &pr

omot

es tr

ansf

orm

atio

nN

eutra

l

i

59


nnex

- 2:

Fo

rmat

for

Dis

aggr

egat

e D

iver

sity

Pro

file

Oth

erN

ewar

Oth

ers

Tota

l

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

FM

Post

S.N

.D

alits

Hill

Mad

hesi

Jana

jatis

Hill

Mad

hesi

Hill

Mad

hesi

Bra

hmin

/Chh

etri

Oth

erBa

ckw

ard

class

Grou

p

Mus

lims

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Tota

l

ii

60


nnex

-3:

For

mat

for

Rev

iew

ing

MoU

D's

Ann

ual B

udge

t

Des

crip

tion

Dir

ectly

Sup

port

ive

Act

ivity

(1)

Indi

rect

ly S

uppo

rtiv

eA

ctiv

ity(2

)N

eutr

al A

ctiv

ity(3

)To

tal

ÜÜ

ÜÜ

Wom

enD

alit

Jana

jati

(exc

ept N

ewar

)N

ewar

Bra

hmin

Chh

etri

Mus

lims

Oth

er b

ackw

ard

clas

sLo

catio

n (r

ural

, rem

ote,

Kar

nali,

Tar

ai e

tcPo

orD

isabl

edTo

tal

Am

ount

Am

ount

Am

ount

Am

ount

iii

61


Abbreviation and Acronyms

ADB/N Asian Development Bank/NepalBC Beneficiary CommitteeBCHUD Building Construction, Housing and Urban

DevelopmentBM & E Benefit Monitoring & EvaluationCAP Community Action PlanCBOs Community Based OrganizationsCoC Condition of ContractDAG Disadvantaged GroupsDDC District Development CommitteeDDG Deputy Director GeneralDHS District Health SurveyDUDBC Department of Urban Development and Building

ConstructionDWSS Department of Water Supply and SewerageE/W Earth WorkFCHV Female Community Health VolunteerFGD Focus Group DiscussionFS Feasibility StudyGESI Gender Equality and Social InclusionGoN Government of NepalGovt. GovernmentGRB Gender Responsive BudgetHH HouseholdHR Human ResourceHURDEC Human Resource Development CentreJDs Job DescriptionsKUKL Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani LimitedKVDA Kathmandu Valley Development AuthorityKVWSMB Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management

Board

62


M & E Monitoring & EvaluationMLD Ministry of Local DevelopmentMoFALD Ministry of Federal Affairs & Local DevelopmentMoHP Ministry of Health and PopulationMoPPW Ministry of Physical Planning and WorksMoUD Ministry of Urban DevelopmentMWCSW Ministry of Women, Children and Social WelfareMWSDB Melamchi Water Supply Development BoardNLSS Nepal Living Standard SurveyNPC National Planning CommissionNWSC Nepal Water Supply CorporationO&M Operation and MaintenancePAF Project Affected FamilyPCR Project Completion ReportPFS Pre Feasibility StudyPHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation TransformationPLA Participative Learning and AssesmentPRA Participatory Rural AppraisalPRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy PaperPWD Public Works DirectiveSARAR Self-esteem, Associative Strengths,

Resourcefulness, Action Planning andResponsibility

SCC Special Condition of ContractSDE Senior Divisional EngineerTDF Town Development FundToR Terms of ReferenceUN United NationsVDC Village Development CommitteeVMW Village Maintenance WorkerWASH Water Sanitation and HygieneWPE Women, Poor and ExcludedWUG Water Users GroupWUSC Water Users and Sanitation Committee