Accountable to women and girls: In the programme that I am familiar with, the project is not systematically accountable to women and girls, because participatory M&E is not part of the the programme’s monitoring, evaluation and learning processes. Participatory planning is a crucial aspect of the programme, but there is less emphasis on following-up in a participatory manner. The M&E is more for donors and government or, where it goes beyond that, is only qualitative and not rigorous enough.
Based in a gender-power analysis: The programme that I am familiar with is based in a gender-power analysis because it collects qualitative and quantitative data about community’s demographics and sociopolitical context before beginning project planning and implementation.
Inclusive and intersectional:The programme strives to be inclusive and intersectional by engaging as many community leaders and community organisations. It is not always possible to get past gatekeepers and, because the programme works at neighbourhood-scale, it can be challenging to find the more marginalised voices. This is an ongoing journey where programming is only as inclusive as the community participation team is able to make it based on their available resources, time and contacts in the community.
Prioritising the safety of women and girls: This is a priority for the programme. Project planning involves strategizing for risk mitigation. Situational/environmental interventions such as walking buses are frequently used.
Starting with ourselves: The programme has an ongoing transformation process that is consistently evolving and responding to the needs of the team and the communities where it is being implemented. At the same time, the programme is chronically understaffed and extremely busy – it is one thing to create the brave spaces for transformation and another to hold them regularly enough or to hold the team accountable for what they discuss. At the same time, informal conversations often occur between colleagues where people learn from one another and expand their perspectives together.