By Sharon Atieno
The research and policy projects under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women – East Africa program (GrOW-EA) initiative positively influence regional policies.
The initiative, a partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aimed for transformative change to advance gender equality in the world of work. It focused on gender segregation, unpaid care, and women’s collective agency.
The projects under the initiative include the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), Dalberg, ChildFund Ethiopia, Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI), Africa Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Strathmore University, Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association (NEWA), Oxfam, Policy Studies Institute (PSI), Pro-Femme/Twesse Hamwe (PFTH), and Includovate.
According to the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP) report, which examined 29 stories of change (SoC) and technical progress reports, the research projects have tremendously impacted policy. The types of impact have been categorized into four groups: conceptual, attitudinal, behavioral, procedural, and content.
The report notes that conceptual impact arises when research influences policymakers’ intellectual frameworks to understand policy issues, even if it does not result in immediate policy changes. It also manifests in stakeholders’ adoption of new terminology or the emergence of new discourses to frame policy issues.
The report found that all the project teams claimed conceptual impact in their technical progress reports, and over a third (34%) of the SoC described contributions to advancing the conceptualization of women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and unpaid care work (UCW) in East Africa.
The conceptual impact cuts across legal, institutional, and community levels. AFIC, for instance, contributed to establishing a legal definition for women-owned businesses within public procurement guidelines in Uganda. Includovate’s work in Ethiopia contributed to further understanding the interconnectedness of care work and broader women’s economic empowerment initiatives at the Women Economic Empowerment Division Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. PFTH’s research findings in Rwanda have contributed to a more nuanced understanding of UCW, enabling stakeholders to embed these considerations into national strategies.
In Uganda, Oxfam realized the need to start activities by fostering a conceptual understanding of UCW among government partners. At the same time, APHRC and ChildFund’s work in Kenya and Ethiopia contributed to the knowledge that WEE can be strengthened by supporting childcare centers.
The report notes that changes may manifest in several ways in explaining the attitudinal and behavioral impact, including improved decision-makers responsiveness, increased willingness to discuss policy issues, greater openness to addressing these challenges collaboratively, and adoption of innovative approaches and practices to tackle policy challenges.
According to the report, all the teams reported contributing to attitudinal and behavioral change in their technical progress reports, and most (79%) of the SoC describe how they have influenced attitudes and behaviors towards WEE and UCW across East Africa.
The projects have generated change at government levels, in the private sector, and individual, household, and community perceptions, fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for WEE.
The report says that AFIC’s work has contributed to adopting open contracting data standards, implementing beneficial ownership transparency, and harmonizing local content policies at the regional level. These measures address barriers such as inadequate capital and expertise among women-led businesses (WLBs), fostering greater participation in public procurement. Authorities now better appreciate the importance of addressing the diverse needs of stakeholders, reflecting a growing commitment to inclusivity.
In Kenya, PEP’s work on the inclusion of soft skills in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curricula has garnered interest from government and private sector stakeholders, such as the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), recognizing its importance in improving employability and addressing gender gaps in labor market participation. Also, Dalberg‘s work has contributed to transforming attitudes in the male-dominated construction sector, gaining support from the National Construction Authority (NCA) to support women’s participation in this field and increasing women’s representation in the industry.
In Uganda, APRI’s work has contributed to the Ministry of Gender Labour & Social Development (MGLSD) and religious leaders acknowledging the unequal allocation of UCW as a negative gender practice requiring systemic change and the need to address this gap in policy frameworks, including the Culture and Family Policies.
In Ethiopia, ChildFunds’ work establishing 16 Early Childhood Development centers in collaboration with the government and other stakeholders has demonstrated the transformative impact of accessible childcare. This has led to interest from government and community stakeholders in scaling these initiatives to more schools and nationally.
According to the report, procedural impact involves the influence of research evidence on the processes involved in developing, debating, decision-making, and implementing policies. It also has the potential to facilitate gradual policy changes over time.
Under this category, the report found that eight teams (72%) described procedural impact in their technical progress reports, and nearly half (48%) of SoC described how they have contributed to changing the way policy is formulated.
The report underscores that these projects have built a foundation for ongoing support for WEE and UCW by fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships, capacity building, addressing systemic barriers, and promoting collaboration. They have also set a precedent for scalable and replicable solutions.
AFIC and ESRF have contributed to the development of the National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST), the new e-platform for government procurement launched by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which addresses barriers that excluded WLBs from tenders.
Strathmore’s work in Kenya contributed to further coordination between the PPRA, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), and the National Treasury to enhance the women entrepreneurs’ access to the Access Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) initiative.
ChildFund’s work in Ethiopia has high work in Ethiopia has highlighted childcare centers as critical enablers of childcare development and WEE and influenced government stakeholders, who are now exploring scaling these initiatives nationally.
PEP’s work in Kenya on the importance of soft-skills training has been incorporated into TVET curricula, and the Ministry of Labour and Skills in Ethiopia has begun transforming youth centers into Job Information Centers based on NEWA’s model.
The report refers to content impact as the type where research findings inform the development of new policies, plans, or strategies, the amendment of existing legislation, or the allocation of resources.
According to the report, only six teams reported content impact in their technical progress reports, and 41% of the SoC described changes in policies and policy frameworks concerning WEE and UCW in East Africa.
The impacts range from tackling systemic barriers and introducing reforms to improve access and participation of women entrepreneurs in public procurement processes, improving safety conditions for women at work sites, to mainstreaming gender in existing and new policies.
AFIC’s research in Uganda, which revealed that less than 1% of government procurement contracts were awarded to WLBs, prompted the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to develop guidelines reserving 15% of public procurement for special interest groups, including women (8%), youth (5%), and persons with disabilities (2%).
AFIC’s work in Kenya contributed to the establishment of a Pending Bills Verification Committee in 2024. The committee aims to expedite payments to WLBs for government-provided services by reducing payment delays. This initiative addresses a significant deterrent for women entrepreneurs in public procurement.
GrOW-EA partners also collaborated with Tanzania’s Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to enhance the National e-Procurement System (NeST). Changes included reducing the group size requirement for tender applications from 15-20 members to five and easing participation for women entrepreneurs.
Additionally, funds were pre-committed before tender announcements, ensuring timely payments. These reforms promote WLB participation and alleviate financial risks, enabling growth and stability for women-owned businesses.
Findings from GrOW-EA projects have also contributed to reviewing and enhancing gender equity in existing or new public policies. APHRC’s evidence on providing quality childcare and WEE in Kenya resulted in an invitation to join the National Care Policy development process led by the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action. This process seeks to reduce and redistribute UCW through better policies, decent jobs, and social protection.
In Rwanda, PFTH worked with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) to review the National Investment Policy, which was approved in 2023 and includes guidelines to help further reduce inequality and promote gender transformative and socially inclusive development. After approval of the new policy, PFTH and its partners continued working with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion to develop a strategy to mainstream gender in the revised National Investment Policy to ensure the sustainability of the changes. Besides, IPAR’s work in the country contributed to increased attention to unpaid care work within the existing Family Law.
In Ethiopia, findings from rapid reviews conducted by PSI contributed to the incorporation of Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in the Ministry of Finance’s training manual, which aims to enhance resource allocation toward gender-equitable development and address gaps in WEE and in the new Gender Policy and Implementation Roadmap led by the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs.
