Gender capacity assessment and
development in agricultural programs
Annet A. Mulema (ILRI), Shiferaw Tafesse (ILRI) and Wole Kinanti (ICARDA)
Training to Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)
Addis Ababa, 15 October 2015

Outline of the Presentation
• Objectives of gender CA&D
• Framework for gender CA&D
• Process
• Tools
• Data collection
• Data analysis

Why gender capacity assessment?
• Identifies gender capacity gaps in a project, program,
organization and along the value chains
• Fosters identification and discussion around priorities for
actions in the context of specific development goal
• Identifies opportunities for investments and leveraging
capacity development activities with partners
• Provides a starting point for the formulation of a gender
capacity development responses

Why gender capacity assessment? Cont…
• Establishes baselines and indicators for capturing learning,
measuring, monitoring, and evaluating progress in capacity
development
• Supports comparative analyses of gender capacities across
projects, programs, organizations and value chains
• Indicates the required skills and resources for gender
mainstreaming and tailor-made interventions for capacity
development

Three-dimensional framework

Levels of analysis
National policies, rules and
legislation, regulations, power
relations and social norms
Internal policies, arrangements,
procedures and frameworks
allowing an organization to operate
and deliver on its mandate
Skills, experience, knowledge,
leadership and motivation of people

level of analysis:
Organization
type of partner:
national research partner
Core gender capacity:
Knowledge management
and gender responsive
M&E
Parameter
The capacity to collect,
interpret and report
on sex-disaggregated
data in all research
Existence and quality
of a gender responsive
M&E system and
ability to use it
Etc.

3 Tools
1. FGD and questionnaire for organizations
2. Questionnaires for individual staff members
3. Key informant interviews for enabling environment

Data collection
FGD
Org
X
Org
Y
Org
Z
Questionnaire
KII

FGD and questionnaire for organizations
• Assesses organizational level
• Facilitated self assessment
• Management and key staff of the organization
• Assessment is made for each partner organization individually
• Step by step, core gender capacity, discussion and clarification
• Scoring on parameters and detailed questions for both quantitative
and qualitative data
• Prioritizing capacities for CD
• Agree on desired capacities
• Facilitator should be trained gender expert
• Takes approximately 3-4 hours

Tool 2. Questionnaires for individuals
• For individual staff members
• Scoring on parameters and optional comments
• Prioritizing capacities for CD
• Print outs or google forms survey
• After FGD with organizations
• Takes approximately 20 min

Tool 3: Key informant interviews for enabling
environment
• For gender experts who have substantial experience
and strong knowledge about national policies related
to gender
• Individual or group
• No scoring

Data Collection

Scoring gender capacities
1. Very Low: No evidence or only anecdotal evidence of the gender capacity
2. Low: Gender capacity exists but has not been developed
3. Medium: Gender capacity exists and is under development or partially
developed
4. High: Gender capacity exists, is widespread, but not comprehensive,
further development is planned or needed
5. Very High: Gender capacity exists and is fully developed and integrated into
the organization – no more capacity development needed

Data entry: Introduction
• For each organization, one Excel worksheet (assessment
tool NRP or Development partner) is filled in
• Opening and introductions
• Open the sheet “data entry_org”.
• Fill in basic information
• Explain the scoring 1-5 and practice with one parameter

Data entry: the assessment
• In the sheet “data entry_org”:
• For each core gender capacity, facilitate a discussion
• Use the definitions in the guide.
• For each parameter, one or more questions need to be discussed
and scored.
• The questions (NOT the parameter) can / should be adapted to the
local situation and understanding of the organization.
• The scoring is done by all present staff members together after
consensus.
• Scores are entered next to the question. The comments should be
entered next to the parameter.

Scores are entered next to the question. The comments should be entered
next to the parameter.

Data entry: strongest and least developed
parameters
• Open the sheet “summary c’s”. You should be seeing a list of all the
parameters with their scores and comments.
• select column D and sort the scores ascending and descending, to
get the top 10 of strongest and least developed capacities
(parameters).
• Copy the selection and paste (use “paste special”: values) in the
sheet “overview”.
• After sorting, make sure that all the capacities are back in the
original order, by sorting the first column (A).
• If the organization has more than 10 parameters with score "1",
copy all these parameters and paste them in least developed
capacities

Select column D and sort the scores ascending

Copy the selection

Paste (use “paste special”: values) in the sheet “overview”.

After sorting, make sure that all the capacities are back in the original order, by
sorting the first column (A).

Data entry: discussion
• Open the sheet “overview”.
• Use the top 10 strongest and least developed parameters to
discuss capacity development. Capacities that have come up
during the assessment should be included as well. It may be
useful to vote.
• The inputs for capacity development are entered in the sheet
“data entry_org”. The priority capacities are the parameters
that need to be developed, the proposal for capacity
development gives an explanation and content to what has
been discussed.
• Make it specific!

After the discussion…
• Provide a brief narrative of the outcomes of the
assessment (in the sheet “overview”).
• The sheet “overview” and “summary” can be saved
(print as) as PDF and shared with the organization, and
annexed to the country assessment report.

Spiderweb appears automatically after organisational and
individual have been filled in!
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Gender analysis and strategic
planning
Gender responsive
programming, budgeting, and
implementation
Knowledge management and
gender responsive M&E
Effective partnerships and
advocacy on promoting
gender equality
Gender and leadership
Innovation in gender
responsive approaches
Org Ind

Data entry individual
• The responses to the questionnaires will appear in Google Forms.
Go to “view responses ”, copy the relevant responses (e.g. for that
organisation), and paste them into the tab “G forms”.
• For each organization, one Excel worksheet is filled in
• Data will appear automatically in “data entry_ind”.
• when all individual responses have been entered, delete manually
the emtpy columns in data entry ind (otherwise the zeros are
calculated in average)

Results from the Implementation of Gender
Capacity Assessment Tools in Ethiopia

Gender capacity of six organizations were assessed
at organizational and individual levels
• Areka Agricultural Research Centre
• Bako Agricultural Research Center
• Yabello Pastoral and Dryland Agricultural Research Center
• Doyogena Woreda Office of Agriculture
• Horro Woreda Office of Agriculture
• Yabello Woreda Pastoral Development Office

Organizational level core gender capacities of
development and research patners
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Gender analysis and
strategic planning
Gender responsive
programming,
budgeting, and
implementation
Knowledge
management and
gender responsive
M&E
Effective partnerships
and advocacy on
promoting gender
equality
Gender and leadership Innovation in gender
responsive approaches
Average Scores Development Partners Research Partners
Scores
Core gender capacities

Individual level core gender capacities of
development and research partners
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Gender analysis and
strategic planning
Gender responsive
programming,
budgeting, and
implementation
Knowledge
management and
gender responsive
M&E
Effective partnerships
and advocacy on
promoting gender
equality
Gender and leadership Innovation in gender
responsive approaches
Average scores for development and research partners Development Partners Research Partners
Scores
Core gender capacities

Combined spider web for the development and
research partners
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Gender analysis and
strategic planning
Gender responsive
programming, budgeting,
and implementation
Knowledge management
and gender responsive M&E
Effective partnerships and
advocacy on promoting
gender equality
Gender and leadership
Innovation in gender
responsive approaches
Core Gender Capacities-Organizational Core Gender Capacities-Individual

Reference
• http://livestock-fish.wikispaces.com/capdev

CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. The CGIAR
Research Program on Livestock and Fish aims to increase the productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems
in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable across the developing world.
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
livestockfish.cgiar.org