Step 3: Inform the decision-making process and facilitate positive changes
Follow-up actions (e.g. conducting an impact assessment, drafting guidance) can be identified in the annual management plans of the Commission services. Actions should be followed up with senior management and progress should be monitored.[1]
It is a good practice to draft a follow-up action plan for gender-responsive recommendations, indicating the stakeholders responsible for taking the necessary actions and providing a provisional timetable (see next step).
Such a plan requires a management response that states the position of the management (and the implementers of the intervention being evaluated) towards the recommendations made in the evaluation report.
This response should assess the quality of the gender-responsive evaluation report, and if each recommendation is relevant and possible to implement. The management response should be clear as to whether it agrees, partially agrees or disagrees (and why) with each recommendation. If no follow-up action is planned (or taken), this should be explained and justified.
Plan for the management response when designing an evaluation and writing the terms of reference:
- State the intended users and how they are expected to use the results of the evaluation. This should include the management, implementing and/or partner organisations involved.
- Outline a plan for responding to recommendations, monitoring and reporting on progress towards their implementation.
Define general parameters for what good recommendations should look like and share these with the evaluation team to facilitate the process of developing recommendations. You can see more about this in Tool 10.
Establish a process for providing the management response, including communicating and implementing it:
- Indicate the person(s) or unit(s) leading the response and monitoring of the implementation.
- Add the management response process to the organisational calendar or workplan.
- Specify how, when and to whom the response will be communicated and reported, including evaluation participants, gender equality bodies and the various groups affected by the intervention.