End-of-phase checklist: conducting the evaluation

Before you start the fieldwork for your evaluation, make sure you:

Yes

No

Question and address the assumptions and biases that may influence your decisions and approach during the process of designing and carrying out the fieldwork.

Identify and include local gender experts to help prepare for data collection.

Use gender-sensitive language throughout all interactions with stakeholders and participants and in all reporting.

Designate people with the skills and contextual knowledge to conduct the fieldwork effectively and respectfully.

Strive to provide a positive and meaningful experience of participation to individuals by being transparent about the nature of participation, as well as respecting and upholding the dignity of the participants.

Include specific questions in data collection tools that explore participants’ views and experiences of gender equality, intersecting inequalities and power dynamics in the context under evaluation.

Anticipate and put in place plans to address the risks involved in discussing issues that may be highly personal and sensitive for participants.

Assess the relative benefits of in-person versus virtual data collection.

Seek a gender-balanced sample of participants across groups.

Assess the need to match the gender of the interviewer and interviewee, or to host mixed or gender-segregated discussion groups

Address barriers to participation in data collection for those who are most marginalised.

Ensure that there is a reasonable degree of flexibility in your data collection plans to adapt to new information and the unforeseen realities of fieldwork.

Before you conduct the evaluation, make sure you avoid the following mistakes.

  • Do not assume that you are immune from making assumptions and gender biases.
  • Do not assume that having an outsider reading about the context is sufficient to guarantee appropriate consideration of cultures. Understanding and respecting the intricacies of contexts requires more profound engagement and direct involvement with the communities and stakeholders involved.
  • Do not assume that a positive experience of participation can be ensured solely by relying on consultation without addressing underlying power imbalances.
  • Do not overlook the barriers to participation encountered by marginalised women and men, as this may lead to the exclusion of their voices and experiences, ultimately resulting in an incomplete understanding of the context under evaluation.

End-of-phase checklist: conducting the evaluation (EIGE, 2016)