Using Evidence in Policy and Practice – Policy Brief
June 2020
The research highlighted in this policy brief was carried out with, and through the perspective of, policy makers, rather than researchers. It explored how African policy makers, researchers and development practitioners can apply interventions to promote the use of evidence to improve development outcomes and practice. The case study research was guided by a common analytical framework that combines two different frameworks: i) the Science of Using Science’s framework that looks at evidence interventions and outcomes from a behaviour change perspective (Langer et al., 2016) and the Context Matters framework that serves as a tool to better understand contextual factors affecting the use of evidence (Weyrauch et al., 2016). The framework takes into account contextual influencers and the demand from policy makers. It breaks the evidence journey into the ways in which evidence is generated (evaluations, research etc), the interventions taken in order to ensure evidence use (such as training), the changes in capability, motivation or opportunities to use evidence which arise, and how these eventually translate into evidence being used. We take a nuanced view of use, to include instrumental, conceptual, process and symbolic use.
Equity-focused and Gender-responsive Evidence in the Parliamentary Context
June 2019
Gender is defined as the social construction of being female or male and the relationships between women, men, girls and boys based on society construction.
Gender is socially constructed and culture determines roles associated with being male or female. (Men provide for the home women care for family members)
It varies from society to society and time to time and is therefore not static e.g. some women have taken over the role of house hold heads as opposed to the past.
It is embedded in the socialization process and is passed on through generations from birth, school system, family, media and religious systems. Church sermons, media adverts, cultural functions etc.
Diagnostic of the Gender Responsiveness of the National Monitoring and Evaluation System
October 2018
Purposes
- Use the AGDEN gender diagnostic tool to Review National Monitoring and Evaluation System (NMES).
- Identify potential barriers and enablers to having a well-functioning gender responsive M&E system at country level.
- Identify and develop concrete strategies (or recommendations) to strengthen gender responsiveness of country’s Monitoring and Evaluation system.
Monitoring and Evaluation Gender-Responsiveness Training
August 2019
A gender responsive national monitoring and evaluation system refers to how different strategies, tools and policies can affect men and women differently and in so doing, improve their effectiveness.
This system also includes how monitoring systems are designed and operated, as well as utilising myriad evaluations types that can pick up the nuances of gender and gender programming.
Gender-Responsiveness Evaluation
June 2019
Gender-responsive evaluation is important as a means for building strong systems for generating and using confirmation to improve the work that government departments do to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Gender-responsive evaluation is a powerful tool for achieving the transformative agenda laid out in the government’s national policies in through its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.