Meta Analysis

How Can Approaches that Achieve Gender Equality Help Advance all the SDGs: Impact Evaluations Evidence from CARE Programs

Approaches that achieve gender equality, that move beyond the individual level to address greater interpersonal, socio-cultural, and community factors that influence gender attitudes and behaviors, have been shown by rigorous impact evaluations to be impactful in promoting gender-equitable attitudes (e.g., SASA! Program in Uganda), reducing gender-based violence (e.g., Stepping Stones and Creating Futures program in South Africa), and decreasing social acceptance of intimate partner violence (e.g., RESPECT program in Tanzania).
Key Findings Summary:
What are the Impacts of Approaches that Achieve Gender Equality?
• Empowerment of women and girls: 8 out of 8 programs have positive impacts on increasing women’s and girls’ self-efficacy, mobility, sexual and reproductive agency, egalitarian gender attitudes, and economic situations; 5 out of 8 programs have positive impacts on reducing early marriage rates and intimate partner violence (IPV), and increasing women’s intrahousehold decision-making power; 6 out of 8 programs have positive impacts on changing community traditional gender norms and increasing women’s community leadership.
• Increased impact on other SDGs, such as poverty reduction (SDG 1), food security (SDG 2), health (SDG 2), education (SDG 4), access to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), decent work (SDG 8), and reduced inequalities (SDG 10).
How Did These Changes Happen?
• Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).
• Active engagement of men and boys, community members and leaders.
• Couples’ curriculum and gender dialogues.
• Community-level social norms intervention: Social analysis and action (SAA)
• Life skills and financial management training. Read More...

Meta-Evaluation report on Social norms, performance and prediction of MMD/VSLA achievements in Niger

Niger has developed a legal and institutional framework to fight against discrimination based on gender, age, ethnic group and other factors by 2027. This strategy was developed in a context where all gender indicators are well below the sub-regional average. This strategy is complemented by the efforts of development partners, including CARE International in Niger. In its vision 2030, CARE International places gender equality at the center of its organizing principle. Promoting gender equality and social justice are political goals, which require speaking the truth to public and private actors and standing in solidarity with those who seek to challenge the status quo and the unjust distribution of rights, power and resources. Thus, since 1991, CARE has initiated in a co-learning approach through the MMD (Mata Masu Dubara) model for women empowerment and poverty reduction. Due to its widespread success, the approach became a gateway for most of CARE's and other development partners' activities and has expanded to other sectors of socio-economic development, politics and women's empowerment in Niger. Many studies and evaluations of the approach have been conducted and the results generated are diverse and rich in lessons learned. This report aims to document the rigorous effects/impacts of the MMD approach on the resilience of individuals, groups and institutions at all scales, while also identifying relevant areas where further field-level research is needed. The methodological approach is based first on a meta-evaluation of relevant documents and a complementary data collection using the outcome harvesting approach. Four major current themes were addressed. They are: women's voice and leadership, men's commitment to reducing gender inequality, climate justice, social and economic justice for women. Read More...

Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) Meta-Review of Evaluations

This report presents the findings of a review of the evaluations of seven programs funded by DFAT through the ANCP and implemented by CARE (Australia and respective country partners).
The purpose is to identify and summarise lessons learned, areas for development and examples of good practice that will inform CARE Australia’s implementation of its new theory of change. The review is intended for both internal and external audiences, including DFAT. Read More...

CARE’s experience of Engaging Men and Boys in programming for Climate Justice: A learning review

While there is a substantive body of gender analysis documenting the gendered impacts of climate change for women and girls, understanding of the ways in which men and boys’ impact and are impacted by climate change remains limited. Environmental disasters caused by climate change also negatively affect boys and men in gendered ways that are, Executive summary in general, different from girls and women, and which can contribute to increased vulnerabilities and risks for women and girls. These differences reflect concepts of masculinity and the influence of associated social norms and processes of gender socialization on the attitudes, values and behaviours of men and boys.

Achieving progress towards Climate Justice is therefore closely and inherently linked to gender justice. Addressing the root causes of the climate emergency will require the engagement of men and boys as actors who are also vulnerable to climate change impacts as actors with agency to bring about transformative change by working alongside women activist allies.

CARE’s EMB model is based on the guiding principle that male engagement to challenge gender inequality involves working with men and boys to shift beliefs, behaviours and practices at household and community levels in support of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Engagement with men and boys contributes to processes of gender transformative change by reducing barriers women and girls face to building agency, addressing inequitable power relations and ensuring that changes in power dynamics and social structures are sustained. CARE’s work with men and boys is also broadly categorised in terms of three levels of male engagement whereby men and boys are engaged as participants, supporters and allies and champions of gender equality. Read More...

Beyond Economic Empowerment The Influence of Savings Groups on Women’s Public Participation in Fragile and (post) Conflict-Affected Settings Every Voice Counts

Women’s meaningful participation and influence in public processes in fragile and (post) conflict-affected settings (FCAS) is not only necessary to achieve inclusive development but is a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, in most contexts, men are overrepresented in decision-making and women do not have equal voice in the decisions that affect their lives. Some evidence suggests that the economic empowerment of women opens up opportunities for them to participate in public decision-making processes. One such means for economic empowerment in FCAS is savings groups. Savings groups are small, community-based groups that can provide members a safe space to save money, take small loans, and make investment decisions. Globally, women have made advances in improving their income and access to savings, as well as increased their entrepreneurial endeavours as a result of their participation in savings groups. Research also shows that women’s participation in savings groups improves their confidence, skills, and ability to influence household decision-making. This prompts the question: do these benefits of women’s participation in savings groups extend into the public sphere? In other words, does women’s participation in savings groups influence their public participation1 and decision-making? Through a mixed methods investigation across five countries (18 villages) in Africa and South Asia (Burundi, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, and Sudan), using CARE’s Gender Empowerment Framework, this research investigated the differences in outcomes between women who participate in savings groups under three CARE programmes: Every Voice Counts (EVC), Women on the Move (WoM), and Latter Day Saints Charities (LDS) Recovery Support for Vulnerable Households programmes [74 pages]. Read More...

Lessons Learnt from CARE’s Shelter Responses to Cyclone Idai in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe

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THE ROLE OF COLLECTIVES IN ACHIEVING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT: A CROSS-PROJECTANALYSIS

Collectives are a fundamental building block for much of CARE’s work. What are the greatest strengths of a collectives approach across projects? We combined data from many CARE collectives across projects and found that:
• The gender composition of the collective affects the intended outcomes.
• The most successful collectives are those with a balanced gender mix of collective members and women leaders. The second most successful collectives are those with a balanced gender mix and mixed gender leaders.
• CARE collectives are having an effect on women’s economic empowerment.
•CARE collectives are having a particularly strong effect on income, leadership, domestic decision making, production, violence and time use. Read More...

Accelerating Localisation through Partnerships-Endline Report

Accelerating Localisation through Partnerships was implemented in four focus countries: Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and South Sudan, with an aim to change the way international NGOs work in partnership with local and national NGOs in humanitarian action, so that these partnerships support the move towards localisation and ultimately reach those affected by crises more effectively and efficiently. The programme was guided by national steering committees (NSC) and existing NGO Fora in each of the focus countries and managed by a consortium of 6 INGOs: Christian Aid, CARE, Tearfund, ActionAid, CAFOD, Oxfam who have worked together for several years to look at partnerships and localisation through the Missed Opportunities series of reports and research1.

This report presents the data collected from end of project - ‘endline’ - surveys completed across all four target countries, and for those based internationally, between September – November 2019. Read More...

Accelerating Localisation through Partnerships: South Sudan

This research was commissioned by the Accelerating Localisation Through Partnerships programme – a multi-agency consortium programme funded by the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) over two years (2017-2019) – to establish what operational elements of partnerships between local, national and international NGOs are most likely to foster localisation of humanitarian action. The research was underpinned by a mixed methods approach using qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. In-depth consultations were conducted in three locations across South Sudan to reach a varied sample of local and national actors: Wau, Bor, and Juba City. In total, 96 NGOs were consulted for this research in South Sudan; 85% of which were local or national NGOs. The findings reflect experiences from a rich diversity of local and national NGOs in South Sudan and provide valuable insights that can assist humanitarian organisations in ensuring partnership practices accelerate localisation of humanitarian action. Findings are also relevant for those funding humanitarian response, in particular signatories of the Grand Bargain. Read More...

Accelerating Localisation through Partnerships-A Learning Review

The Accelerating Localisation through Partnerships programme is an ECHO- funded programme, which has been implemented for two years (Nov 2017 – Oct 2019) in four countries: Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and South Sudan. Christian Aid leads the consortium of 6 INGOs (Christian Aid, CARE, Tearfund, ActionAid, CAFOD and Oxfam); in each country, programme implementation has been guided by a National Steering Committee (NSC), made up of local and national NGOs and the consortium members.

This Learning Review constitutes the final output of the programme and is meant to assess its effectiveness and impact, and more broadly to capture learning for the consortium members and humanitarian stakeholders in the four programme countries and beyond. While a follow-on programme, Phase 2, is yet to be confirmed or funded, this review will support the design of any such programme.
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Keywords

Adolescents Agriculture AIDS Basic and Girls' Education Cash Vouchers Child Health child marriage Child Nutrition Civil Society and Governance Climate Change Conflict Mitigation COVID 19 COVID 19 RGA Disaster Risk Reduction Economic Development Education Emergency and Humanitarian Aid Entrepreneurship Environment FFBS Food Security Gender Gender Based Violence Gender Equality Health Livelihoods Maternal Migrants and Refugees Natural Resources Nexus Nutrition Resilience RGA Sexual Sexual and Reproductive Health Shelter Social Norms Usaid Value Chain VSLA WASH Water Women's Economic Empowerment Women's Empowerment Youth