integrating gender into climate change adaptation programs: a research and capacity needs assessment...
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Quinn Bernier, Elizabeth Bryan, Marcia Espinal, and Claudia Ringler*
Integrating Gender into Climate Change Adaptation Programs: A Research and Capacity Needs Assessment for Sub-Saharan Africa
Methods for Research and Capacity Needs Assessment
• Literature review of INGO strategy documents for gender integration into adaptation/ resilience programs (focus on 7 organizations)
• Development of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey based on best practices
• Key informant interviews (KIIs) with selected KAP respondents
Background of Respondents (KAP)
Organization type Freq. Percent
Government ministries/national research organizations 13 16.3
Local NGOs 17 21.3
International NGOs 23 28.8International research organizations/universities 11 13.8
Donor organizations 9 11.3
Private company/consultancy 7 8.8Source: Authors, KAP survey 2015
Knowledge of Research on Gender and Climate Change
Source: Authors, KAP survey 2015
2.92.7
2.32.5 2.5
2.8
3.4
3.0 3.1 3.13.2
3.53.6 3.6
2.8
3.2 3.2
3.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Research findings onclimate change as it
relates to gender
Guidelines forintegrating genderperspectives to the
different project cyclestages
Gender-disaggregateddata related toclimate change
Gender-disaggregateddata in general
Tools and resourcesfor gender-aware
climate changeadaptationapproaches
Evidence on projectedclimate change and
appropriate adaptiveresponses
(1=no access, 3=average access, 5=complete access)
Government ministries/national research organizations (13) Local NGOs (17)International NGOs (23) All organizations (80)
Knowledge of Research on Gender and Climate Change
• A wide range of information sources are used from websites to peer-reviewed papers to conferences
• Preferences for different sources of information vary by organization type in obvious ways: – Researchers prefer peer-reviewed publications– Local NGOs prefer conferences– INGOs prefer websites
Insights from KIIs on Knowledge of Research
• Lack of access to local, context-specific research and data on gender and climate change
• Need for more success stories and experiences to be shared amongst organizations
• Desired research products include toolkits, training guides, success stories and best practices
Attitudes: Gaps in Project Design, Targeting, Implementation, and M&E on Gender & Adaptation
1.0
1.2
0.5
1.1
3.1
2.9
3.6
3.2
4.1
4.1
4.1
4.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
All organizations
Government agencies/researchorganizations
Local NGOs
International NGOs
Personal opinion Actual practice Gap
1=not important, 3=average importance, and 5=very important
Attitudes: Gaps in Project Design and Targeting
Source: Authors, KAP survey 2015
• Gaps in Project Design– Largest gaps of any project stage– Organizations can do more to:
• Consult men and women during project design• Ensure technologies and practices are feasible for both
men and women• Consider the implications of the project for men and
women
• Gaps in Targeting– Organizations should consider the intersection of gender
with other social categories (e.g. class, ethnicity)
Attitudes: Gaps in Implementation and M&E
Source: Authors, KAP survey 2015
• Gaps in implementation– Most organizations have male and female staff– Large gap in training on integrating gender– More could be done to eliminate barriers to
women’s participation in program activities• Gaps in M&E
– Tracking of men’s and women’s participation is commonly done
– Larger gap in monitoring gender differences in adoption and outcomes
Insights from KIIs on Attitudes• Retro-fitting gender to existing programs is common• Gender components are treated casually or are
neglected—gender components and M&E are first on the chopping block when there are funding shortages
• Preferences of the end-users (men and women) regarding a technology are not considered
• Local NGOs and government agencies target community benefits vs individual benefits and emphasize local buy-in of projects
• While not directly targeted, many beneficiaries happen to be female given women’s role in agriculture
Practices: Insights from KIIs• Lack of funding and capacity to support gender-
sensitive research and M&E• Not enough focus on qualitative data collection
and overemphasis on numbers• Qualitative data would show whether climate
change programs increase adaptive capacity and measure changes in behavior and attitudes/perceptions
• Need for gender-disaggregated data collection from the start of projects to serve as a baseline
Constraints to Implementing Gender-Sensitive Adaptation Programs(1=not a constraint, 3=average constraint, 5=significant constraint)
Source: Authors, KAP survey 2015
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Availability and/oraccess to relevant
research on genderand climate changed
adaptation
Social or culturalbarriers to women's
participation in DM atthe HH, communirty,
or National level
Availability and/oraccess to gender-
disaggregated data
Willingness of localgov/communities to
involve womenprojects/programs
Availability of financialresources from
donors to incentivizegender sensisite
programming
Capacity of programstaff in areas of
gender
Government Local NGO Int'l NGO average
Insights from KIIs on Constraints• Funding is the main barrier identified by KII
participants• They also highlighted lack of women in decision-
making roles• Lack of community awareness of gender issues—
“gender” often equated with women only• Lack of staff capacity on gender and cc• There is a lag in translating policy mandates into
programs on the ground. Pressure from donors and others is needed to ensure follow-through
Conclusions – Information and Capacity Needs• Although organizations reported some access
to information and research on climate change from various sources, all want more
• Government agencies/national research institutes have the least access to information
• Local NGOs, in particular, felt that information was not being shared amongst organizations
• Need for culturally-sensitive training materials on gender and climate change
Conclusions – Information and Capacity Needs• Respondents highlighted the need for more
gender-disaggregated data and context-specific research
• Building this knowledge base will require more research to be built into projects—this will require capacity building and tools
• Information/research should be targeted through the preferred channels identified by organization types (e.g. through conferences for local NGOs)
• Lack of staff capacity on gender, especially in govt. agencies and national research institutes
Conclusions – Gender Integration• Large gap in integrating gender considerations
during project design—need for more information on gender-disaggregated preferences for technologies/practices
• Local NGOs had the lowest gaps– their experience could provide insights into integrating gender considerations into programs through a community/participatory approach
• Need pressure from the top (donors) to ensure follow through on gender