CANADA NEPAL GENDER IN ORGANIZATIONS

Section I: Executive Summary

4. Conclusion

The significant CNGO project outcome achieved over the five year project period was the strengthened capacity of eleven gender-responsive NGOs⁴ and a shift toward gender equality and collaborative DDC-NGO relations in the district environment in the six selected districts. CNGO's intervention spread to the far western region, mid-western region and central region, establishing entry points for scaling up the approach in the three different regions of the country.

The Outcome Mapping consultants concluded that the key CNGO Outcome was achieved:

NGO participants that effectively plan and implement gender-responsive development initiatives and that competently provide technical services to community-based organizations and user groups in a gender-responsive manner.

Through the capacity building program, the PNGOs developed the qualities necessary to be GROs in their respective districts. The PNGOs are successfully established as:

Gender mainstreamed organizations
Gender trainers and advisors, and
Gender advocates.

Among the eleven PNGOs, WAM, WDS, and WCDC are especially strong gender advocates. They are strongly committed to the cause of gender equality as the utmost factor for sustainable development and have made it their organizational priority. JJA stands very clear on its gender advocacy, and influencing the district environment with its gender mission. VCDC, RCDSC and EDS are now well known for their professionalism on community development, dalit's rights issues and cooperative development respectively while being especially trusted for their skills on gender training. RWUA has taken gender equality as one among the priority issues for organizational intervention, while also accommodating several other donors' programs that focus on the interests of a wider community. This will create new opportunities. EDC has a strong image as an advocate for dalits' rights, and is committed to the movement for dalit women's human rights as a complementary priority. SG has the potential to re-emerge as an organization with strong women leadership, but needs to think through their analysis on gender relations and how to address strategic issues while resolving their internal leadership. MPDS has links with various donors and non-government organizations in the district for development projects but could not maintain its focus on gender advocacy, although the gender trainers of MPDS are trusted by others.

Thus all PNGOs, with one exception, are GROs with excellent capacity - skills, knowledge, and organizational resources and systems. They have yet more potential to grow and deliver on the agreement that they made when signing the CNGO-PNGO Partnership Agreement in the year 2000.

The CBI Fund was a valuable contribution to the PNGO capacity building. They practiced skills, learned by doing, acquired resources (previously CNGO did not pay salaries, for example) and had an impact in their work. PNGOs enhanced their reputations and district stakeholders recognized their work. The CBI Fund also contributed to district results and demonstrated the demand for gender equality projects.

The factors that made the difference are:

Retaining women's NGOs as places where women can build their confidence and reputation,
NGOs where women cared enough to face conflict within the organization to make changes. Conflict is seen as a way forward rather than something to be avoided,
Men with the courage to go beyond what their cultural norms prescribe - and willing to face some social ridicule from friends and community.

The Outcome Mapping team also concluded that CNGO's capacity building program activated an encouraging environment at district for taking up gender strategic issues among all sectors including local government. The district government responsibility for creating space and accountability for gender mainstreaming is however not functioning at the expected level of commitment. This happened in part due to the continuous transfer of government officials and the absence of local government bodies. Ownership for advancing this process among the two PNGOs in each district has yet to take an organized and systematic pattern.

Ownership of the CNGO pilot district committee initiatives has been taken up at the central level. Both the Ministry of Local Development and Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare are committed to institutionalizing the guidelines developed in the CNGO working districts and facilitating the replication of these structures in all districts.

The major external constraints impacting on project outcomes are the ongoing conflict, the absence of local government bodies and political instability. Consequently, during implementation CNGO adapted its programming while adhering to the original project logical framework. Programs were delayed and consequently results have had less time to root. The additional year for implementation and coaching support to the PNGOs for the Community based Initiatives Fund contributed to sustaining the capacity building among the PNGOs. The project demonstrated that there are challenges yet also that a gender capacity building project can continue and achieve results in the current situation. And that these results are important contributions in addressing root causes of the conflict.