The integration of Gender Equality approach in national evaluation systems in Latin-America Alejandra Faúndez Director for Latin-America Inclusión y Equidad ReLAC Gender and Evaluation Group Coordinator EVALGENDER- Member of Management Group

Exploratory and comparative study in 2014 in 18 countries of the region (UN Women and the Inclusion and Equity Consultancy) Case studies in Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay. Information included in a report published by UN Women LAC and CLEAR LAC in 2015.

Some findings on the evolution of evaluation institutional frameworks Years 1989 1995 1997 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2009 2010 2011…

Placement of evaluation functions in the different countries Coneval México AUTÓNOMO y con representantes del ejecutivo en su Consejo PRESIDENCIA, directamente de presidencia: Venezuela y Panamá. Dependiendo de una Secretaría o Dirección Técnica de Presidencia, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, Nicaragua. PLANIFICACIÓN, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia y Guatemala. Ministerios de PRESUPUESTACIÓN-HACIENDA PÚBLICA-FINANZAS, Chile y Paraguay Ministerios relacionados con Políticas SOCIALES, Perú 12 de los 18 países enfocados al monitoreo de metas gubernamentales

Funtions of the evaluation institutions 14 de 18 a evaluación de programas Evaluation of programs Evaluation of policies Training Knowledge production Standards and guidelines Technical support to other agencies

How is the gender equality approach included? Direct mechanisms 6 countries: Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, México, Colombia. (Instruments, ToR with specific annex or use of indicators). Indirect mechanisms Indicators formulated and provided by the Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women. Equality policies / plans incorporated into national development / government plans: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay. INEs, Observatories. They provide data disaggregation.

What we learned from experiences?

The specialized institutional structure is very heterogeneous in the region: challenges for the evaluation of SDGs Dispersion and fragmentation of the evaluation function (with only one exception: Mexico). The demand for technical assistance from the countries is very diverse. Capacity building processes must have: Common basic contents and agreements in the use of concepts. The modalities must be defined case by case. As the degree of maturation of institutionalization of evaluation evolves, its rigidity increases with respect to the inclusion of the gender approach. ATENTION ATENTION

Lack of precision between distinction of monitoring and evaluation. Certain common trends Lack of precision between distinction of monitoring and evaluation. Emphasis on monitoring government goals and less on evaluating policies and programs. Not inclusion of gender equality mainstreaming in policies and programs, more difficult to assess. More focus on results and less on processes, participation and theory of change. ATENTION ATENTION

The demand for training is very high and in LAC there is a varied offer The staff has limited training opportunities in evaluation related issues, their time is very limited, therefore, they demand capacity building initiatives and training courses. It is important to design training courses which focus on both supply and demand for evaluation. The deficit in capacities in gender approaches and evaluation are everywhere. ATENTION

Key partnerships The "political will" of the authorities is a critical factor for the success of the initiatives. Public employees quickly align themselves if they perceive the buy in and interest of authorities. Support from United Nations (its independent Evaluation Offices, regional and country offices), donors, EVALPARTNERS and the international community, is very important to advance the inclusion of a gender approach in country-led evaluations. Strengthen partnerships among evaluation networks, VOPES, UN, Governments, Evaluators, etc. is very important at this time to move forward in this direction. ATENTION

Making gender equality visible in all dimensions of evaluation Challenges to evaluate SDGs Making gender equality visible in all dimensions of evaluation RIGHTS OF EQUALITY VULNERATED RIGHTS OF EQUALITY GUARANTEED PARTICIPATION SATISFACTION NEEDS SOCIETY POLICY / PROGRAM PLANNED OBJECTIVES PROCESSES STRATEGIES / MEDIA RESULTS ACHIEVED Por todo esto, los retos siguen siendo: Apurar la estrategia de vínculo y trabajo con las instituciones especializadas Visibilizar la igualdad de genero en todas las dimensiones de la evaluación, en sus procesos, en el diseño, en la gerencia, la difusión y uso de sus resultados. Incluir el criterio de gender plus como criterio de calidad de las evaluaciones. Incorporar la noción de derechos vulnerados y de derechos de igualdad como propuesta de transformación (en la teoría de cambio) Incluir la mirada y participación de los colectivos más rezagados (para que nadie se quede atrás) Apoyarse en marcos de análisis sobre cuestiones estratégicas del género Efficiency Effectiveness Coherence Revelance impact Gender / Inclusion / Participation Social transformation

Gracias Thank you alejandra.faundez@inclusionyequidad.org