Asia Regional Overview for the Strategic Impact Inquiry on Women’s Empowerment Bangladesh SII Synthesis Workshop September 2006

The Strategic Impact Inquiry on Women’s Empowerment How did the SII come about? What is it? How will it contribute to CARE’s work in Bangladesh and Asia?

Evolution of CARE’s Programming Framework 1996: HLS 1998/9: Gender Equity 2000/1: RBA 2003: RBA programming principles 2004: Unifying Framework Outcomes Livelihood Conditions Women’s Conditions ? Rating scale Human Conditions, Social Positions, Enabling Environment

CARE International Programming Principles Principle 1: Promote Empowerment We stand in solidarity with poor and marginalized people, and support their efforts to take control of their own lives and fulfil their rights, responsibilities and aspirations. We ensure that key participants and organisations representing affected people are partners in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our programmes. Principle 2: Work with partners We work with others to maximise the impact of our programs, building alliances and partnerships with those who offer complementary approaches, are able to adopt effective programming approaches on a larger scale, and/or who have responsibility to fulfil rights and reduce poverty through policy change and enforcement. Principle 3: Ensure Accountability and Promote Responsibility We seek ways to be held accountable to poor and marginalized people whose rights are denied. We identify individuals and institutions with an obligation toward poor and marginalized people, and support and encourage their efforts to fulfil their responsibilities. Principle 4: Address Discrimination In our programs and offices we address discrimination and the denial of rights based on sex, race, nationality, ethnicity, class, religion, age, physical ability, caste, opinion or sexual orientation. Principle 5: Promote the non-violent resolution of conflicts We promote just and non-violent means for preventing and resolving conflicts at all levels, noting that such conflicts contribute to poverty and the denial of rights. Principle 6: Seek Sustainable Results As we address underlying causes of poverty and rights denial, we develop and use approaches that ensure our programmes result in lasting and fundamental improvements in the lives of the poor and marginalized with whom we work. We hold ourselves accountable for enacting behaviours consistent with these principles, and ask others to help us do so, not only in our programming, but in all that we do.

ENABLING ENVIRONMENT Institutional Environment for Growth & Equity HUMAN CONDITIONS Promoting Human Development & Quality of Life SOCIAL POSITIONS Promoting Social Equity & Inclusive Societies Poverty Eradication & Social Justice

Unifying Framework for Poverty Eradication and Social Justice Outcome Areas Program Areas Underlying Causes of Poverty and Social Injustice Human Conditions (Increasing Opportunity) Social Positions (Improving Social Equity) Enabling Environment (Improving Governance) Gender Inequity Social Exclusion Unequal Rights of Access to Resources and Services Weak Governance Systems

Why the Strategic Impact Inquiry? Five years after adopting a rights based approach – what kinds of (different impacts are we having as an organisation? Are we even clear HOW we are attempting to measure impact in terms of our efforts to address underlying causes of poverty and social injustice? How can we demonstrate the value of our work more effectively and reshape the image and reputation we have as an organisation, in the changing context in which we operate?

The Strategic Impact Inquiry Goal Deepening a culture of learning and critical inquiry through: Accountability Offer stakeholders in and out of CARE evidence – good, bad, and ambiguous – to assess our work Improvement Empowering Analysis Use participatory, rights- based methods that are empowering in themselves Reseed findings into new program approaches and policies. Aggressively share CARE successes and challenges with the wider profession

The Strategic Impact Inquiry on Women’s Empowerment Guiding Questions What contributions are CARE programs making, if any, to the empowerment of women and the advancement of gender equity? What internal, organizational variables are associated with higher – and lower – levels of impact on women’s empowerment and improving gender equity?

Agency RelationsStructure Carrying out our own analyses, making our own decisions, and taking our own actions. Empowerment involves poor women becoming the agents of their own development Routines, conventions, relationships and taken-for- granted behavior Institutions that establish agreed-upon significations (meanings), accepted forms of domination (who has power over what or whom), and agreed criteria for legitimizing the social order Array and quality of social interaction through which women enact agency & alter structure to realize rights & livelihood security Empowerment involves women analyzing, then renegotiating or establishing supportive and strategic relations. SII Framework

How can we embed critical inquiry and reflective practice for impact assessment in our work in a more organic, ongoing way? How can we learn from such critical inquiry, conducted across different countries, to improve the approaches we use to facilitate the empowerment of women? Methods and Content: Questions for FY 07 FY07 Questions for the Strategic Impact Inquiry

CARE in Asia: Scenario Planning Rapidly changing operating environment: China and India are rapidly emerging as global powers and the relationship between them has a huge determining effect on poverty in the region. Environmental and social problems are serious: there are likely to be many crises over the next 5-7 years China’s growth model is unsustainable with a ticking time bomb of inequity and environmental neglect; India’s slower but more democratic growth model emerges as potentially more robust than China Scenario work shows spheres of influence seem likely to be maintained within region; Asian unity feasible, but tortuous process if occurs

Implications for CARE Wide range of programming options for CARE: from supporting rights entitlements and civil society development to a much greater emphasis on dealing with conflict and disasters Some futures have significant donor constraints and limited operational space. China and India will emerge as new donors. Non- traditional donors such as the private sector may become more important The scenarios suggest new programming areas: for example migration, environment, youth, political voice In futures with unitary Asia or spheres of influence it would be important to have a strong Asian identity for CARE or a strong sub- regional identity. CARE needs to be a “global organization” adapting to different contexts, rather than having a single international model

Gender Equity Exchange and Synthesis Meeting, Hanoi, Dec 2005: Purpose Statement We, as CARE in Asia, will place gender equity and diversity at the centre of all that we do in applying the CI programming principles to address the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice. In so doing we will forge relationships with those who share the same values to challenge and confront inequity by: –Deepening and acting upon our analysis of the underlying causes of gender inequity and social exclusion –Ensuring our staff profile mirrors diverse social identities –Providing space for passion, dialogue and reflection –Holding ourselves accountable to measuring our progress along the way

CI Program Principles Accountability & Learning GED focus ARMU program framework Women & Girls take Control of their Lives High Quality, High Impact Programs during and in between Emergencies Mind-set and Organizational Culture Operating Models Structures & Systems Staff Capabilities Leadership and Management Resources

SII in Asia CARE India and Bangladesh decided to participate over Range of programs involved – innovative pilots like Nijera and VAW-PHL (Bdesh) and larger programs like CASHE and STEP (India) and RMP (Bdesh) CARE Bangladesh also looking at impact of internal organisational reforms on women’s empowerment; India yet to decide Synthesis process from two countries will be combined in a regional synthesis – will contribute at country, regional and global levels

Synthesis Questions for Asia What have we learned about the relative effectiveness of different program approaches in contributing to women’s empowerment? How do we use this learning? What organisational factors contribute to or constrain our ability to advance WE? How do we use the SII work to demonstrate the value we add to the facilitation of WE in Asia? How does this work contribute to our ongoing evolution as an organisation in Asia?