Quinn Bernier, Elizabeth Bryan, Marcia Espinal, and Claudia Ringler*

(c.ringler@cgiar.org)

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