Energy and Gender for Sustainable Development: A Toolkit and Resource Guide

3.2 Project Planning Frameworks

In both the situations described above, it is not simply the question of choice of energy technology that is of concern (by which gender? for use of which gender?), but the choice of energy system as a whole – including the details of who is involved in implementation and how the energy technology is managed, maintained, and repaired, and the gender relations that are thereby implied.

For both the integrated development and the single energy technology situations described above, one can formulate a set of questions that must be answered to assure gender-sensitive energy project planning. These projects will also have gender goals (efficiency, equity, empowerment), which need to be explicit. Subsequently, these questions are linked to the different steps in the general integrated planning framework of the project cycle. The answer to a question can come from a desk exercise, a brief consultation with relevant stakeholders, or can be based on the outcome of a data analytic tool.

The gender data analysis and gathering tools are not “add-on” in nature; they are integrative. The tools should not be used on top of regular planning tools but rather should partly replace regular planning tools, i.e., their intent is to mainstream gender. This means that gender is seen as one of many important variables and not an over-arching one. The tools pave the way for energy project planning that provides disaggregated data about the main stakeholders.

Integrated Development Situation

The framework for the integrated development situation (IDS) is shown in Table 3.1. The various components are discussed below.

Conceptualisation
Incorporating gender in energy planning begins at the project conceptualisation stage, when data can be assessed for disaggregation based on gender and other social variables such as income and age. All those involved in problem identification should be gender sensitive. This is the point to assess the gender sensitivity of project staff and adopt appropriate training strategies where necessary.

Problem Identification
Two important tools in project identification are stakeholder and livelihoods analyses.

Stakeholder analysis involves determining who has the resources to participate in the problem identification stage. Gender issues can arise here. Time constraints can prohibit participation in problem identification – and that can be particularly problematic for women, who tend to work longer hours than men and have less spare time for new activities. As a consequence, problem identification can reflect male agendas. Subdividing men and women into separate groups is – or should be – a standard step in stakeholder analysis.

Livelihoods analysis has to reflect the role energy can play in improving men’s and women’s livelihoods. Men and women have different livelihood strategies and outcomes.

Project Formulation
In the integrated development situation, energy might not be identified as one of the community’s priorities but can play an important enabling role providing the services people want, such as lighting, grain grinding, water pumping, crop drying, and vaccine refrigeration. After identifying the community’s priorities, which is best done in a consultation exercise although a desk analysis is also possible, the next step should be to assess whether energy technologies can provide a possible solution for those priorities. Insights into which energy technologies are currently in use within a community can be helpful in project design. Why are those technologies in use? Who has access and/or control? For uses of new energy technologies, these sorts of questions can identify which community members are likely to take up new activities and who is likely to benefit, or be disadvantaged, for example, through an added work load (e.g., in biogas projects, when women have to fetch the dung to feed the digester, there is little time saved on fuel acquisition). A quick desk analysis can be carried out to determine whether the options the people (men/women) have identified are (technically) feasible. This type of analysis is an iterative process until a suitable solution has been found.

In the case of energy technologies, one can differentiate between interventions adopted by individual households (e.g., smoke hoods, solar home systems, etc.) and those that have a community aspect (e.g., micro-hydro facilities, communal wood lots, etc.). With the latter, one can distinguish a household component (e.g., a household is connected to the micro-hydro facility) and a community component (e.g., the community installs, manages, and maintains the micro-hydro facility). Each of these requires different sets of questions.

The household-level questions that must be asked include: Who can participate in implementation of the intervention? What constraints might keep the intended target group from being reached? These questions can be broken down further to ensure that there are no discrepancies between i) who will benefit from adoption and the implementation process of the intervention, ii) who has access to key resources that are critical for participation in implementation, adoption of the intervention, and its sustainable use, and iii) who has the power to decide whether the intervention will be adopted or not. It should also be determined what, if any, mitigating interventions are needed to overcome the discrepancies and assure a high chance of up-take of the proposed intervention. Finally, to ensure sustainable use of the energy technology involved, it is important to identify who will be involved in maintenance and repair. Who has the resources (e.g., skills, tools, money) to do maintenance? Is maintenance and repair capacity building necessary to increase women’s access in particular? Women are often excluded from training on the maintenance of solar home systems (e.g., topping up the water in the battery) despite being around the household more than men.

The community-level questions involve determining who will be involved in management and maintenance of the community aspect of the intervention. For community facilities, one might need to set up community committees. In that case, it is important to know: Who will be on the committee? Who decides who will be on it? Who is going to be involved in maintenance of the community facility? If current capabilities of men and women are not sufficient, capacity building programmes will be necessary. The water sector found that hand pumps became more sustainable when women were trained to carry out the maintenance even though many men had adequate skills to carry out the required repairs and servicing.

Taking into account different stakeholders within the community and within the household will provide a picture of what groups are able to participate in implementation of the project and will benefit from it. Identifying potential increases in work load, particularly for women, is important in order to take mitigating measures.

These questions can also be used as part of the “alternatives analysis” to determine which proposed intervention can have the greatest positive impact on peoples’ lives based on the likelihood of adoption and the nature of the implementation.

Other aspects that can strongly influence the likelihood of adoption are opportunities and limitations created by policies, institutions, and processes. Additional questions are designed to help develop mitigating interventions. Partner organisations should be evaluated for gender awareness and any contracts should reflect gender issues.

Gender indicators, along with standard indicators, need to be developed as an aid to project monitoring and evaluation.

Project Appraisal
At this stage, the proposed interventions should be assessed on whether or not they meet the (initial) gender objectives. This question can be answered by a brief desk analysis. The main question here however assesses how well the various proposed interventions priorities match those of the community. Project appraisal can be participatory, in which case women’s NGOs with knowledge of gender and energy should be involved.

Project Implementation
Gender balance needs to be monitored both in project staff and project participants/beneficiaries.

Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation can be carried out using participatory approaches. Staff carrying out evaluations should have gender expertise and documentation should be assessed to ensure that it covers all relevant gender issues.

Impact Assessment
Impact assessment should be gender disaggregated.

Single Energy Technology Situation

The framework for the single energy technology situation (SETS) is given in Table 3.2 and is quite similar to the integrated development situation framework. The main differences are at the problem identification stage, so only that step is described here.

Problem Analysis / Project Formulation
The first question in this stage is a desk analysis about the range of possible uses of the specified energy technologies as well as what types of energy technologies are currently in use. However, a desk analysis is not sufficient and the community should be consulted about the possibilities for the proposed energy technology, again looking at both use in current activities and use in new activities. It is also important to tap into the indigenous technical knowledge of both men and women.

An assessment should be made about the likelihood of adoption of the proposed energy technology, which in turn is linked to the priorities of the target group. If it is not a high priority it is unlikely to be adopted, at least within the lifetime of the project.

Table 3.1
Framework for Embedding a Gender and Energy Approach into an Integrated Project Planning Situation

Planning Process Step			Questions To Be Addressed		Planning Activity/ Tools
Conceptualisation	Background information		Has all background information been disaggregated by age, sex, and ethnic origin?		Desk analysis
			Have those involved with the problem identification been briefed on gender and energy issues?		Desk analysis
	Issue		Is there a gender dimension to the issue being addressed by the project?		Desk analysis and consultations.
			What are the differences in energy requirements of any new activities that are planned/desired for women and men? Has consideration been given to doing a gender-sensitive energy needs assessment? What are the energy technology options?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Have individuals and women's NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender mainstreaming participated in strategy development and agenda setting?		Desk analysis and consultations
Problem identification	Stakeholder analysis		Is the analysis based on information supplied only by experts, or does it take into account inputs from stakeholders and end users, including women in the community? What are the energy requirements of any new activities that are planned/desired by men and women?		Desk analysis and consultation if necessary
			What are the opportunities/constraints posed by local cultural practices to the project and project planning? Should women and men be consulted separately?		Desk analysis and consultation if necessary
			What is the difference between women’s and men’s ability (including resources) to participate during the problem identification stage as well as in other stages of the project cycle?		Consultation
	Livelihood strategy analysis		What are the priorities of women and men to improve their livelihood outcomes? How do women and men prioritise possible livelihood strategies to accomplish this?		SLA study; consultation
			Can energy technologies play a part in achieving these livelihood outcomes?		Desk analysis and consultation; incorporate Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK)
			What current livelihood strategies do women and men use to survive (related to the prioritised ones) and what is the role of energy in these?		Consultation
			Why do people use these livelihood strategies? I.e., what are limiting factors that make women and men use these strategies?		Consultation; incorporate ITK
			What energy interventions will improve the livelihood strategies of women and men? Will women or men be responsible for the activities related to new interventions?		Consultation; incorporate ITK
Project formulation	Current situation, context, and baseline		Are the different roles and responsibilities of women and men documented and understood?		Desk analysis and consultations
			What are the differences of access to and control over resources related to energy and energy services between women and men?		Desk analysis
			Does the project formulation process take into account women’s knowledge, especially on ecosystems and biological diversity, as well as biomass for fuel?		Consultation; incorporate ITK
			Has all background information been disaggregated by age, sex, and ethnic origin?		Desk analysis
	External factors and risks Questions pertaining to likelihood of adoption and sustainability of intervention	General	What are the expected positive and negative impacts on women and men as a result of the project? How can the impacts be increased or reduced respectively?		Desk analysis and consultations
			What are the factors (discriminatory attitudes, lack of time, etc.) that may influence women’s ability to participate and benefit from the initiative? Has the project consciously and effectively created space and opportunity for women community members to participate in the project formulation?		Desk analysis
		Household / community level	Participation of women and men in implementation and constraints	Have both men and women’s views about the various proposed technology options and design features been sought? What are the benefits of the interventions, as perceived by men and women?	Consultation
				Will women and men benefit or be disadvantaged in the same way by the adoption of the proposed interventions and means of implementation?	Desk analysis; consultation
				What relevant resources related to the intervention do women and men have access to and control over?	Desk analysis; consultation
				Are women or men likely to make decisions regarding the adoption of the proposed intervention and participation in implementation?	Desk analysis; consultation
				How can the intervention ensure access to assets and power to make decision by both women and men? How can women and men use/benefit from the intervention?	Desk analysis; consultation
				Will women or men be involved in maintenance and repair?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Is training necessary? If so, what for and for whom?	Consultation
				Have the differences between women’s and men’s willingness and ability to contribute labour, materials, or money for project activities been determined?	Consultation (daily: time charts; seasonally: seasonal calendars)
				Will the initiative increase women’s/ men’s/ girls’/ boys’ workload during or after the initiative? Are there conflicting demands?	Desk analysis and consultations
			Community institutions and processes to assure sustainable use/ management of the intervention	Are women or men going to be involved in management and under what arrangements?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Will women or men be involved in maintenance and repair and under what arrangements?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Do women or men need training in either of these two areas?	Desk analysis; consultation
		Institutional/national level	Policy, institutional, and process-related constraints	Do the implementing organisations have the capacity to work using a gender perspective? Is the personnel gender-sensitive?	Consultation
				Do existing policies take into account gender?	Desk analysis of relevant policies
				Do existing institutions have a framework for gender-sensitive stakeholder consultations?	Consultations
				Has consideration been given to how the project design will address constraints in policies, institutions or processes?	Desk analysis
			Policy, institutional and process-related needs	Has consideration been given to policy, institutional and process-related reforms to address gender issues related to access to energy services?	Desk analysis and consultations
				Is there a need for capacity building in these areas?	Consultations
	Alternative strategies		In looking at alternative strategies, has there been consideration of the possible benefits of strategies that both promote women's participation and work toward sustainable energy use?		Desk analysis
	Objectives and expected outcomes		Is it appropriate to have specific objectives relating to gender?		Consultations
			Given the proposed interventions, will the livelihood outcomes for women and men change?		Desk analysis
	Logical framework		Are gender issues clearly set out in the logical framework?		Desk analysis
			What activities are required to ensure attention to gender issues?		Desk analysis
			Is there a budget for gender-related analysis and activities?		Desk analysis
			What type of expertise is required to ensure attention to gender issues?		Consultations
	Management arrangements		Do partner or implementing organisations have a commitment to gender equality?		Desk analysis
			Are the responsibilities and expectations concerning gender aspects clearly indicated in project documents, agreements, and contracts?		Desk analysis
	Indicators		Are the project indicators gender-sensitive?		Desk analysis with discussions and consultations
			Will indicators be disaggregated on the basis of sex?		Desk analysis
			Have both women and men participated in the development of indicators?		Desk analysis
			Are there indicators to track progress toward meeting specific objectives relating to women’s participation, the capacity of organisations to work with a gender perspective, etc.?		Desk analysis
	Gender in project formulation		Have those involved with the project formulation been briefed on gender issues?		Consultation
			How far have individuals and women’s NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender and energy mainstreaming participated in project formulation?		Desk analysis
			Do the terms of reference for the project formulation reflect a requirement of relevant gender and energy knowledge and experience?		Desk analysis
			Have women been consulted equally with men during the formulation process, especially female beneficiaries?		Consultation
Project appraisal			What are the views of men and women on the value of proposed interventions and what are their priorities?		Consultation
			Have relevant gender issues been raised at project appraisal meeting(s), ensuring discussion of the impact of the project on gender equality in the country?		Desk analysis
			To what extent have individuals and women’s NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender and energy mainstreaming participated in project appraisal?		Desk analysis
Project implementation			Have all possible steps been taken to ensure gender balance in project staff?		Desk analysis
			Has gender balance in project training been ensured?		Desk analysis
			How far has gender balance among participants in all project meetings been attained?		Desk analysis
			Do project staff include gender knowledge and experiences in the terms of reference?		Desk analysis
			Do programme staff monitor project disbursements to ensure that inputs are used in ways that ensure equality of outcome for both women and men project/programme beneficiaries?		Consultations
			Have women’s groups and women’s NGOs been involved in collection and interpretation of data?		Desk analysis and consultations
Monitoring & Evaluation			Is/has the gender objective being/been met?		Verify gender indicators; use participatory M&E
			Do programme and project evaluations report reflect gender issues, and is information disaggregated by sex?		Desk analysis
			Do final reports systematically identify gender gaps and gender-related project successes?		Desk analysis
			Do the terms of reference of evaluators require gender expertise and experience?		Desk analysis
			Are evaluators briefed on relevant gender issues and provided with documentation?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Will the evaluation consider project outcomes/results with respect to differences in needs and priorities for women and men?		Desk analysis
			Does the assessment incorporate the views of participants and end users, both male and female? Who decides whether a project is successful or not? And what are the parameters for success? Do the monitoring reports capture information on gender-related changes including impact of intervention on women’s workload and time use, access and control of income and resources, decision making, reproductive roles, and expressed aspirations of women and men?		Desk analysis
			Will the evaluators seek the input of both women and men and analyse differences and similarities? Is there a feedback mechanism within the project that allows implementers to make course corrections? Are women as able as men to influence effectively any required corrective changes?		Desk analysis
Impact assessment and lessons learned			What were the impacts of the project on women and men?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Will the ex-post evaluation identify “lessons learned” relating to working with a gender perspective in energy?		Desk analysis

Table 3.2
Framework for Embedding a Gender Approach into a Single Energy Technology Situation

Planning Process Step			Questions To Be Addressed		Planning Activity/ Tools
Conceptualisatio	Background information		Has all background information been disaggregated by age, sex, and ethnic origin?		Desk analysis
			Have those involved with the problem identification been briefed on gender and energy issues?		Desk analysis
	Issue		Is there a gender dimension to the issue being addressed by the project?		Desk analysis and consultations
			What are the differences in energy requirements of any new activities that are planned/desired for women and men? Has consideration been given to doing a gender-sensitive energy needs assessment? What are the energy technology options?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Have individuals and women's NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender mainstreaming participated in strategy development and agenda setting?		Desk analysis and consultations
Problem identification	Stakeholder analysis		Is the analysis based on information supplied only by experts, or does it take into account inputs from stakeholders and end users, including women in the community? What are the energy requirements of any new activities that are planned/desired by men and women?		Desk analysis and consultation if necessary
			What are the opportunities/constraints posed by local cultural practices to the project and project planning?		Desk analysis and consultation if necessary
			What is the difference between women’s and men’s ability (including resources) to participate during the problem identification state as well as in other stages of the project cycle?		Consultation
	Livelihood strategy analysis		Given that the project is working with energy technology type X, in what way can it improve livelihood outcomes of women and men either through use in current livelihood strategies or through adoption of new livelihood strategies?		Desk analysis
			What are women’s and men’s perceptions of the role that the proposed energy technology can play in improving their livelihood outcomes? Will the use of this new technology lead to the adoption of new livelihood strategies?		Consultation; incorporate Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK)
			Given the possible uses of the proposed energy technology, will women and men adopt it to improve their livelihood outcomes?		Consultation; broad-brush Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA)
			What current livelihood strategies do women and men use? What are the energy sources and technologies involved in current livelihood strategies?		Consultation; broad-brush SLA
			Why do people use these livelihood strategies? I.e., what are limiting factors that make women and men use these strategies?		Consultation; broad-brush SLA
Project formulation	Current situation, context, and baseline		Are the different roles and responsibilities of women and men documented and understood?		Desk analysis and consultations
			What are the differences of access to and control over resources related to energy and energy services between women and men?		Desk analysis
			Does the project formulation process take into account women's knowledge, especially on ecosystems and biological diversity, as well as biomass for fuel?		Consultation; incorporate ITK
			Has all background information been disaggregated by age, sex, and ethnic origin?		Desk analysis
	External factors and risks Questions pertaining to likelihood of adoption and sustainability of intervention	General	What are the expected positive and negative impacts on women and men as a result of the project? How can the impacts be increased or reduced respectively?		Desk analysis and consultations
			What are the factors (discriminatory attitudes, lack of time, etc.) that may influence women's ability to participate and benefit from the initiative? Has the project consciously and effectively created space and opportunity for women community members to participate in the project formulation?		Desk analysis
		Household / community level	Participation of women and men in implementation and constraints	Have both men and women's views about the various proposed technology options and design features been sought? What are the benefits of the interventions, as perceived by men and women?	Consultation
				Will women and men benefit or be disadvantaged in the same way by the adoption of the proposed interventions and means of implementation?	Desk analysis; consultation
				What relevant resources related to the intervention do women and men have access to and control over?	Desk analysis; consultation
				Will women or men make decisions regarding the adoption of the proposed intervention and participate in implementation?	Desk analysis; consultation
				How can the intervention ensure access to assets and power to make decision by both women and men? How can women and men use/benefit from the intervention?	Desk analysis; consultation
				Will women or men be involved in maintenance and repair?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Is training necessary? If so, what for and for whom?	Consultation
				Have the differences been determined between women's and men's willingness and ability to contribute labour, materials, or money for project activities?	Consultation (daily: time charts; seasonally: seasonal calendars)
				Will the initiative increase women's/ men's/ girls'/ boys' workload during or after the initiative? Are there conflicting demands?	Desk analysis and consultations
			Community institutions and processes to assure sustainable use/ management of the intervention	Are women or men going to be involved in management and under what arrangements?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Will women or men be involved in maintenance and repair and under what arrangements?	Create scenarios for consultation; be guided by gender objectives
				Do women or men need training in either of these two areas?	Desk analysis; consultation
		Institutional/national level	Policy, institutional, and process-related constraints	Do the implementing organisations have the capacity to work using a gender perspective? Are the personnel gender-sensitive?	Consultation
				Do existing policies take gender into account?	Desk analysis of relevant policies
				Do existing institutions have a framework for gender-sensitive stakeholder consultations?	Consultations
				Has consideration been given to how the project design will address constraints in policies, institutions, or processes?	Desk analysis
			Policy, institutional, and process-related needs	Has consideration been given to policy, institutional, and process-related reforms to address gender issues related to access to energy services?	Desk analysis and consultations
				Is there a need for capacity building in these areas?	Consultation
	Alternative strategies		In looking at alternative strategies, has there been consideration of the possible benefits of strategies that both promote women's participation and work toward sustainable energy use?		Desk analysis
	Objectives and expected outcomes		Is it appropriate to have specific objectives relating to gender?		Consultations
			Given the proposed interventions, will the livelihood outcomes for women and men change?		Desk analysis
	Logical framework		Are gender issues clearly set out in the logical framework?		Desk analysis
			What activities are required to ensure attention to gender issues?		Desk analysis
			Is there a budget for gender-related analysis and activities?		Desk analysis
			What type of expertise is required to ensure attention to gender issues?		Consultations
	Management arrangements		Do partner or implementing organisations have a commitment to gender equality?		Desk analysis
			Are the responsibilities and expectations concerning gender aspects clearly indicated in project documents, agreements, and contracts?		Desk analysis
	Indicators		Are the project indicators gender-sensitive?		Desk analysis with discussions and consultations
			Will indicators be disaggregated on the basis of sex?		Desk analysis
			Have both women and men participated in the development of indicators?		Desk analysis
			Are there indicators to track progress toward meeting specific objectives relating to women’s participation, the capacity of organisations to work with a gender perspective, etc.?		Desk analysis
	Gender in project formulation		Have those involved with the project formulation been briefed on gender issues?		Consultation
			How far have individuals and women’s NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender and energy mainstreaming participated in project formulation?		Desk analysis
			Do the terms of reference for the project formulation reflect a requirement of relevant gender and energy knowledge and experience?		Desk analysis
			Have women been consulted equally with men during the formulation process, especially female beneficiaries?		Consultations
Project appraisal			What are the views of men and women on the value of the proposed interventions and what are their priorities?		Consultation
			Have relevant gender issues been raised at project appraisal meeting(s), ensuring discussion of the impact of the project on gender equality in the country?		Desk analysis
			To what extent have individuals and women’s NGOs with knowledge and experience of gender and energy mainstreaming participated in project appraisal?		Desk analysis
Project implementation			Have all possible steps been taken to ensure gender balance in project staff?		Desk analysis
			Have women’s groups and women’s NGOs been involved in collection and interpretation of data?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Has gender balance in project training been ensured?		Desk analysis
			How far has gender balance among participants in all project meetings been attained?		Desk analysis
			Do programme staff monitor project disbursements to ensure that inputs are used in such a way as to ensure equality of outcome for both women and men project/programme beneficiaries?		Consultation
Monitoring & Evaluation			Is/has the gender objective being/been met?		Verify gender indicators; use participatory M&E
			Do programme and project evaluation reports reflect gender issues, and is information disaggregated by sex?		Desk analysis
			Do final reports systematically identify gender gaps and gender-related project successes?		Desk analysis
			Do the terms of reference of evaluators require gender expertise and experience?		Desk analysis
			Are evaluators briefed on relevant gender issues and provided with documentation?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Will the evaluation consider project outcomes/results with respect to differences in needs and priorities for women and men?		Desk analysis
			Does the assessment incorporate the views of participants and end users, both male and female? Who decides whether a project is successful or not? And what are the parameters for success? Do the monitoring reports capture information on gender-related changes including impact of intervention on women's workload and time-use, access and control of income and resources, decision making, reproductive roles, and expressed aspirations of women and men?		Desk analysis
			Will the evaluators seek the input of both women and men and analyse differences and similarities? Is there a feedback mechanism within the project that allows implementers to make course corrections? Are women as able as men to influence effectively any required corrective changes?		Desk analysis
Impact assessment and lessons learned			What were the impacts of the project on women and men?		Desk analysis and consultations
			Will the ex-post evaluation identify “lessons learned” relating to working with a gender perspective in energy?		Desk analysis