Page 14 - GESI Framework

Gender Equality and social inclusion framework

10.2. Annex 2—Update on results
The Learning Notes showcase actions taken
Over the last two years, CIWA’s Senior GESI Expert has by CIWA project teams to ensure the
developed and delivered online training on Gender integration of a GESI lens for diverse CIWA-
Equality and Social Inclusion to CIWA staff and donors. funded projects ranging from the NCCR the
As part of its commitment to provide technical support Sustainable Groundwater Management in the
to implementing partners, CIWA has also supported the Southern African Development Community
development and delivery of tailored training to three (SADC) Member states project, the Horn of
regional transboundary water institutions: the Nile Africa Groundwater for Resilience project,
Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program and the Sahel Groundwater Initiative. To
Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU), the Eastern Nile facilitate the uptake of lessons learned within
Technical Regional Office (ENTRO), and the Lake CIWA and more broadly, CIWA has also
Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC). All of these worked with its communications team to
organizations are implementing a key component of the facilitate the sharing of these Learning Notes.
Nile Cooperation for Climate Resilience (NCCR) project. CIWA also prepared and disseminated a series
The training was delivered in two parts to ensure an of blogs and other social media messaging
about its work on GESI.
in-depth understanding of how to mainstream GESI at
the project and institutional level:

In 2020, CIWA’s Senior GESI Expert presented at a
Part 1 sought to establish a foundational conference organized by the Institute Delft for Water
Education (IHE) entitled “Engendering Transboundary
understanding of gender and social inclusion Water Governance Feminist Perspectives on Water
including the importance of effective
engagement of men to counter the male Conflict and Cooperation.” The presentation focused
domination that tends to exist within on sharing insights from key stakeholders on the
transboundary water institutions. It also approach to, and effectiveness of, integrating a
provided an opportunity for each organization transformative approach to gender within the Nile
to review and revise its respective Gender Basin context. As a follow-up to the conference, CIWA
Action Plans with a focus on identifying steps to was asked to prepare a paper that was published in a
make organizations more gender friendly to book, “Gender Dynamics in Transboundary Water
increase recruitment, retention, promotion, and Governance Feminist Perspectives on Water Conflict
participation of female staff. and Cooperation.” The paper draws on interviews with
Part 2 facilitated an understanding of how key stakeholders who have worked on gender in the
Nile Basin by collecting and analyzing their views on
to mainstream GESI throughout the project
cycle including critical measures such as the the strengths and weaknesses they have experienced
preparation of a budgeted Gender Action in applying a transformative approach to gender
Plan, integration of GESI into project equality in their work.
planning and implementation, and the
development of a results framework that
incorporates disaggregated quantitative Applying a Social Inclusion Lens to Identify
and qualitative indicators. Vulnerable Populations:
CIWA’s approach to social inclusion stems from the
perspective that women and men are not
Knowledge Management and Learning Lessons: homogeneous, and that it is important to identify
additional barriers and vulnerabilities that can prevent
stakeholders from participating and benefiting from
CIWA’s Framework emphasizes the importance of transboundary water projects and programs. To
facilitating knowledge management and fostering a facilitate the identification of specific vulnerabilities of
learning culture as a means of gathering and sharing stakeholders that will be involved in, or impacted by the
lessons learned that can contribute to improving projects it supports, CIWA developed a Social Inclusion
approaches to mainstreaming GESI within the projects Tool Kit targeted to sociologists. To ensure that
and institutions it supports. members of project teams understand and support
efforts to identify vulnerable populations, CIWA also
A key tool for capturing lessons learned has been the developed a complementary two-page Summary
preparation of a series of Learning Notes that reflect Document. Designed to provide guidance throughout
succesful efforts to mainstream GESI into the planning of the project cycle, the tool kit recommends targeted
CIWA-funded projects: measures ranging from stakeholder mapping and
engagement to collection of data to analyze the
situation for specific vulnerable populations. The tool
Applying Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Lens kit also seeks to prompt reflection on how these
to the Transboundary Water Context vulnerable populations could be adversely affected or
unable to derive the full benefits of a CIWA-funded
Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Nile Basin project. Overall, information on gender equality and
Transboundary Water Resources Management and social inclusion, including the collection of qualitative
Development and quantitative data on gender and social inclusion has
formed part of the process to guide the development
Ensuring Gender and Social Inclusion is Considered at and implementation of CIWA-funded projects and to
the Project Concept Phase identify actionable approaches to tackling systemic
barriers to gender equality and social inclusion.

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