Progress in gender mainstreaming in LIVES

Ephrem Tesema (ILRI)

Workshop on gender and value chains in the LIVES Project, Adama, Ethiopia, 19-22 August 2013

Outline

• Progress in LIVE Gender Mainstreaming Task• Opportunities• Challenges• The Way Forward• A Message for LIVES Team on Gender

Mainstreaming Secret for Success

Progress in LIVE Gender Mainstreaming Task

• Directly Project Related Activities

1.1. Familiarizing LIVES Staff with the Gender mainstreaming guideline ( Presentation) May 30, 2013

1.2. Selection of gender in value chain reading materials to be down loaded on E-readers and distributed to

partners for action research purpose

1.3. Supporting the knowledge management intervention through commenting the knowledge

management guideline, the E-reader based data collection questionnaires

Continued

1.4. Distribution of soft copies for headquarter and Regional staff to share new insights, gender analytical tools and innovative approaches

1.5. Involving in designing a research project call from the World Bank with CRP 3.7. team to

• gain expertise to carry out a research in four PAs with the objective of designing gender

• Self-determination and Empowerment path ways. The pilot gender self-determination

• and empowerment tools will be tested in four value chain projects located in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Tanzania

Continued

1.6. Supporting the LIVES Staff recruiting panel through involving in the interview questions and by presenting gender in value chain related questions during

Recruitment of Research Officers, Business Development Officer1.7. Contribution a part on gender disaggregated reporting

for a weekly reporting format prepared by LIVES’s Programme Coordinator

Opportunities

• Coordination and Gender Infrastructure Past Experiences, Guidelines, Tools• Proper Planning and Guidance Familiarization of staff, Co-planning with LIVES team• Partnership and Resource sharing LIVES Gender Unit closely work with ILRI Capacity Building CG

Gender Consortium, CRP 3.7 ATA, Agri-Hub Ethiopia, AGP, Ministry of Agriculture Gender

Unit, Individual Researchers on Gender, Gender and Nutrition etc.

• Gender proactive Project Management Style and Good Relation with Donor Agency

Allocation of resources, space for influencing project pillars and budget and logistic allocation for Gender Work

Constructive Relation with CIDA

Challenges

• Communication and Information Flow Need improved communication with Regional and Zonal

Team The Understanding of the Gender Dimension of LIVES and

how to materialize Gender equity in the project pillars across all intervention Areas

Low Assessment of partnership building at Regional and Zonal Level-Need to inspire, involve and support key Partners in the Ministry of Agriculture-Gender Unit, Women Affairs Offices, Cooperative Agent Gender Unit

Minimum Resources and Capacity to uniformly address gender issues across Project Areas( Pillars) from Headquarter so far.

The Way Forward

• Gender Sensitive team building within LIVES• Build Capacity of Gender LIVES Regional and Zonal Team

through coaching, mentoring and TOT Training• Carry our Gender in Value chain analysis on the basis of

selected Commodities in each intervention regions/zones• Creating partnership b/n LIVES regional and Zonal teams with

gender units in the Ministry of Agriculture, Women Affairs Offices and NGOs with Gender and Agriculture related intervention

• Capacitating key partners ( DA’s, Extension Agents and other front line development partners) through gender sensitization training, coaching and mentoring of gender in value chain issues and gender in value chain mapping and analysis

• Publication on Gender in value chain success stories and Lessons

Gender Mainstreaming Secret for Success

• Readiness to discover the lost six sense within us• Readiness to listen others perspective and capitalize on that• Gender contributes a lot for Career building and to claim

professional excellence at individual level in the present century Professionalism

• Gender sensitivity also add value to enhance the success of ILRI and LIVES in its core competency areas

• Do Gender across all intervention areas and pillars with sense not only with sense of responsibility but with high sense of humour and

Facilitation Skills: Semi Structured Interview(SSI) With Community

• The Basics of Gender Facilitating Skills• Individual Interview• Group Interview• Key Informant Interview• Focus Group Interview

The Basics of Gender Facilitating Skills

• High Degree of Trust between The Field Workers and Community

• This Requires Facilitation Skills• It Empowers people equally• It help men and women to assess and review their

environment and world views

Individual Interview

• Connected with an opportunity sample of purposely-selected individuals

• It may include leaders; innovative persons, women household heads, resource poor farmers

• Interviewing a number of farmers on the same topic will quickly reveal a wide range of opinions, attitudes and strategies

• It is advisable to ask individual respondents about their own knowledge and attitude

Group Interviewo Provide access to a larger body of knoldge (

or community level information)o Provide an immediet crosscheck on

information, for it is received from others in the group

o It is difficult to mange a larger group at a time

o As a rule of thumb keep the size from 20-25

Key Informant Interview

• Can be done with any one with Special knowledge on a particular topic

• Key informants are expected to be able to answer :• Questions about the knowledge and behavior of others • Especially about the operations of the broader system• Crosschecking is necessary to avoid risks of mislead by key

informants• Outsiders who live outside the community can be valuable key

informants

Focus Group Interview

• Helps to discuss specific topics in details with small groups of people

• Keep the size of interviewees from 6 to 12• They should have intimate knoldge about the topic under

considerations• The facilitator make sure that:1. The discussion does not diverge too far from the original

topic2. No participant dominates3. No participant ignored4. Eye contact5. Responsive gestures/para-liguistics6. Selecting words and probing not arguing

How to Conduct Semi-Structured Interview Def.:SSI is a form of guided interviewing where only some

questions are predetermined There are three types of Questions Leading Questions: Imply the kind of response that is

expected: the speaker may try, consciously or unconsciously, to get the listener to agree with or support the speaker’s point of view

Direct questions: Usually aimed at obtaining specific points of information. Usually they are prefaced by: How many, How much, How often, Who, When, Where

Open questions: are key questions in dialogue on innovation. They give free rein expression without explicitly directing interviewee's response

Preparations Select an appropriate team of interviewers. Assign

responsibilities i.e. note taker, observer and moderator Formulate questions clearly. Agree on how to conduct the

interview: Focus Group, Key informants, individual Prepare yourself for the interview Prepare a check list

Before Interview Begin with traditional interview Explain who you are? Your name, job, purpose of visit Began your Qing by referring to something or some

visible entity Be sensitive and respectful Take a sit as same level with the interviewee Do locally accepted polite talk Find the right place to sit Avoid language barriers Dialogue/ casual conversation Rapport between interviewee and facilitator dictates the

quality of data Spend some time for casual conversation Observe,keep eyes for patterns, behaviours differences,

usual things and non-verbal indicators

During interview

• Ask one questions at a time• Most interview should be open ended with broad

questions to allow respondents to discuss the topic in their own terms, not the interviewer's

• Use words phrased like Why, Who, Where, When, How.• Probe responses• Do not suggest answers• Avoid lecturing and advising• Carefully lead up to important or sensitive questions• Take your time, allow your respondents to answer

completely before moving to another point

Closing the InterviewSummarise the discussionDo not refuse drinking water or local drinksDo not take a photograph of people unless

you ask and receive their permissionFinish the interview politelyThank the interview

Recording the Interview

Devide the page of your note into two columnsOne, for responses and the other for observationsAsk permission from your informants before you start writing thingsRecord what is being saidDetails of an interviewImportant pointsWho was interviewed?Was it in a group?Where was the interview held?

Please understand

• Both types of knowledge ( local and scientific) merit mutual respect

• The rural people practices, and whole way of life, are respected and esteemed by the outsiders

• The rural people need to understand the discussion that is going on, and therefore has the right to ask questions; they are entitled to explanations and justifications of the discussion

• The outsiders are motivated to learn the rural people who will therefore teach as well as learn

• The rural people will be responsible dor decisions that can make or break the success of the field work/data collection

Points to remember for FGI/SSI Facilitators• Plan ahead of time and relax as it is a journey in

another realm of knowledge from the formal one• Consult community members and leaders• Identify the necessary composition that fulfills

your purpose• Understand that it is not a last resort to your

problem then relax if the first attempts fails• Re-plan your interview after thorough evaluations• Thank participants for their time and knowledge• Organized your not immediately after interview• Do it with one team members

Thanks

Together We Can!! Thaks!!www.lives-ethiopia.org

Thanks