Management Response

: Multi-Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka
: 2020 - 2022 , Multi-Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka (MCO)
: Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Sri Lanka (G7 WPS Partnerships Initiative)
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: Multi-Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka
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The final evaluation of the UN Women project “Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Sri Lanka (G7 WPS Partnerships Initiative)” concludes that the project´s approach and strategies were relevant to the agenda of women´s overall empowerment and Women, Peace and Security with a good and well tested combination of policy design and consultation, capacity building at different levels and grassroots work. The project also supported the validation and finalisation of the country’s first-ever National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP WPS), and with the adoption of the NAP WPS a more favourable policy scenario was created with enhanced dialogue among government officers and women on the ground. The final evaluation commends the project for being successful in developing capacities of government officers at a national and regional level and of women on the ground, especially in entrepreneurial skills. It identifies that the project had a strong human rights framework, helping to develop the capacity of duty bearers and rights holders to be more gender-responsive and strengthen institutions. It utilised a gender transformative approach by helping to change norms (approve legislation) and change power relations at the household level with the contribution of women´s economic empowerment. It further identifies that women participants are now more confident and more aware of their rights and possibilities. The final evaluation also commends UN Women for its ability to adapt the project design to the demands of the government and the needs identified of the various stakeholders.
: Approved
Recommendation: Continue engagement in the implementation of the NAP WPS.
Management Response: UN Women agrees with the recommendation and considers it highly relevant to continue promoting and supporting the implementation of the NAP WPS and the overall WPS agenda in Sri Lanka
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Renew agreement with the Government of Japan to design a new project which can help with the implementation of NAP. 2. Continue engagement with government officers at a local level, keeping the same stakeholders to the same possible extent to deepen dialogue, capacity built and engagement. 3. Help support collaboration mechanisms among Women Development Officers at different levels with well-established communication channels and regular regional and national meetings. 4. Continue capacity building activities for government officers at a local, regional and national level. 5. Raise awareness/Promote advocacy and communication campaigns on how women can be promoters of social cohesion and social transformation (UN Women´s value added). 6. Include a module on business and sustainability in future trainings so that environmental sustainability is clearly contemplated by the project. 7. Institute follow-up mechanisms in future project to see whether the new knowledge and skills are being used by participants (e.g. follow-up calls) and new community projects are being implemented. 8. Increase the linkages between economic empowerment and peacebuilding during trainings, helping women become more aware of their responsibility as agents of change by partnering with CSOs which have extensive know-how in this area and which can deliver specific modules in this topic. 9. Identify women and CSOs which already have relevant and continuous work in conflict prevention and engage them in training as opposed to women who have no experience n this area. 10. Consider include capacity building for women as mediators in local conflicts where they can be actively included in preventing the escalation of conflicts. 11. Review training curriculum for women on social cohesion based on a benchmark of Successful Regional Experiences to help women develop practical skills for their use in daily life and in settling down conflict. 12. Consider public speaking as part of the training curriculum for women as a way of helping them voice their opinions and feel more confident. UN Women 2024/04 Completed In discussion with the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, UN Women has developed a plan for the roll-out of the NAP WPS in 2023. This will include supporting the Government of Sri Lanka on coordinating multiple state and non-state stakeholders involved with the implementation of the NAP, including costing, strengthening the M&E framework, and resource mobilization. UN Women is also engaged with continuing dialogues and capacity building of government officers at local level, specially on the implementation of the NAP WPS. UN Women has leveraged additional non-core resources to support some of the abovementioned actions. The office is also in discussion with other development partners to mobilise additional resources for implementation of NAP WPS activities. Update (April 2024): UN Women has received new funding from the Government of Japan for 2024-2025 to implement certain activities of the NAP WPS in relation to women’s economic empowerment and women’s participation in peacebuilding and decision-making. Within this new project, learnings from this evaluation have been considered, particularly to strengthen the linkage between WEE and WPS interventions. In 2023, UN Women provided technical expertise on WPS and M&E, along with support for coordination, to the Government to establish and convene the oversight and coordination mechanisms embedded in the NAP WPS. The Core Steering Committee has been convened twice thus far and the Inter-Agency Coordination and Assessment Committees are being established. Additional funding has been mobilised to continue the support to these mechanisms, build the capacity of government officials, and strengthen the monitoring of progress.
Recommendation: Develop a communication strategy on a narrative for WPS which helps to set the policy scenario to further dialogue in the country and position UN Women as a key actor working in this agenda.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and will continue to advocate for the implementation of the NAP WPS and the overall WPS agenda in Sri Lanka.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Identify entry points for deepening the WPS agenda in the country given the new government and scenario (not directly addressing the word security/peacebuilding, but rather dialogue, cohesion, social harmony). 2. Engage with the Regional Office to further allocate resources (staff/financial resources) to a context specific communication strategy for the office in Sri Lanka. UN Women 2023/09 Completed The Office has been able to strengthen its partnerships, advocacy and communications footprint in light of the adoption of the NAP WPS. Key partnerships with development partners recognized for their interest in peace and security work have been strengthened via regular briefings, and UN Women has been increasingly recognized as the focal agency on women, peace, and security in Sri Lanka. The Office has been able to use this role to advocate for more coordinated and holistic funding for the WPS agenda in Sri Lanka, and to lead the process on credibly costing the NAP WPS for reference by donors. The Office has successfully secured some funding to continue its work on WPS, and is engaged with the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka on raising funds through the UN’s MPTF and other development partners. Update (April 2024): The office has expanded on its communications and advocacy footprint, with continued resourcing for a dedicated Communications and Advocacy Officer and ensuring sufficient resourcing for communication activities within WPS projects. The office most recently received approval to expand its social media presence to cover Instagram. Additionally, UN Women continues to be the lead agency in providing support to the Government on implementing the NAP WPS. Concerted effort has been made by the Office to engage civil society in its implementation, though there are credible reasons as to the lack of engagement by certain sections of civil society.
Recommendation: Engage partners in future project design whenever possible, consult HQ and Regional Office before engaging in refurbishment and IT projects as per the recommendation in Internal Audit of Liberia Country Office (IEAS/IAS/2019/13) referring to infrastructure and explore alternative ways of delivering refurbishment and IT projects when needed (e.g. partnership with other agencies and consultations with beneficiaries to determine utility).
Management Response: This recommendation is partially accepted due to globally set operational procedures for UN Women. UN Women policies do not allow the engagement of partners when designing projects (“co-creation”). Additionally, the office did consult both HQ and the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific prior to commencing the refurbishment component of the project.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Call partners for inputs in the new project design. 2. Involve technical experts when designing reprograming of the project. 3. Publish guidelines for UN Women to deliver on IT and refurbishment based on lessons learned in implementation in these areas globally. 4. Conduct a needs assessment to determine utility of final outputs prior to implementation. UN Women 2023/09 Completed This recommendation is partially accepted. UN Women policies do not allow co-creation of projects with partners, as there is an expectation that the consulted partner would be a Responsible Party or Implementing Partner for the project – which goes against the competitive selection process of partners as stipulated in the PPGF. However, UN Women will continue to engage with and consult partners and other UN Agencies where possible. Additionally, it is understood that UN Women HQ is currently developing guidance on implementing construction-related projects. Update (April 2024): UN Women policies still do not allow for co-creation. Guidance from HQ on implementing construction related projects is awaited. Based on what is within the control of the country office, the recommendation on involving technical experts within UN Women (RO-level) when re-programming has been implemented.
Recommendation: Explore lessons learned and challenges in the attempts to engage people with disabilities in this project .
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and will continue to be prioritized for future work.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Produce a document and discuss lessons learned on best practices and challenges to involve people with disabilities in this project. 2. Benchmark inclusion of people with disabilities in peacebuilding projects in initiatives implemented by other UN Agencies in the Region. UN Women 2023/09 Completed There are challenges in involving persons with disabilities for project activities, especially for women’s economic empowerment trainings. As the final evaluation has identified, women with disabilities who were identified for the WEE programme did not attend the activities due to health and safety concerns in the backdrop of COVID-19 or because they had already benefited from support provided by previous project interventions. However, UN Women will continue to include women with disabilities in its future interventions. Update (April 2024): In the most recent project on WEE, beneficiary selection criteria included targets for persons with disabilities, though given the nature of the project, it was not always possible to meet these. UN Women will continue to ensure all future projects target women with disabilities.
Recommendation: Appropriately plan for contingency resources and flexible modes of delivery adapted to contexts of crisis and the work with partners.
Management Response: UN Women partially accepts this recommendation.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Include in future project design a chapter on ´possible adaptations in a context of crisis´ where upfront strategising and thinking can be included on how to deal with possible crisis (contingency funds, more flexible delivery modes etc). This should be negotiated with the donor based on previous experience. 2. Review reporting requirements for partners as a way of keeping up with control and at the same time facilitating accountability measures to ease the burden on implementing partners. UN Women 2024/04 Completed The nature of different crises to affect Sri Lanka could not have been planned for in advance. However, all UN Women contracts (in this project and others) included a 10% contingency (the maximum as approved by the ROAP Procurement Unit) to accommodate for any price fluctuations within the contract period. However, due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka in 2022, there has been staggering inflation since January 2022. Inflation was recorded to be 14% in December 2021 and it rose to 60.8% by July 2023. As such, the contingency measures that were already in place were not adequate under this special circumstances. UN Women’s Risk Register is an available tool to support identification and implementation of risk mitigation activities. Reporting requirements for Responsible Parties are globally developed requirements to be reviewed by HQ/RO. Update (April 2024): UN Women’s projects continue to include contingency allocations in both the project design and execution phases. Regular meetings to understand risks and challenges continue, assisted by tools such as the Risk Register.
Recommendation: Increase dialogue with other government agencies beyond those related to women´s related policies
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendations and has taken several steps in this direction
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Include other government agencies in future project design (Ministry of Finance and others) as to sensitize more key agencies on the importance of policies aimed at empowering women. UN Women 2024/04 Completed UN Women has taken measures to strengthen existing ties with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and the Presidential Secretariat after the adoption of the NAP WPS. In July 2023, UN Women had several meetings with the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the officials of the Presidential Secretariat to discuss the Government’s priorities for 2023 and the support that UN Women can provide. During the meetings, UN Women highlighted the importance of prioritizing the implementation and of resource allocation for the policies aimed at gender equality and women’s empowerment. Update (April 2024): In 2023, orientation/sensitisation workshops on GEWE and WPS were conducted for all Ministries involved in the implementation of the NAP WPS. This included the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment, Ministry of Mass Media, Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment.
Recommendation: Include staff time in political processes whenever high-level policy dialogue is involved.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and will continue as a practice in future interventions.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1 Consider staff time in project budget directed to policy dialogue. 2. Engage senior UN Women Officials whenever high-level policy dialogue is involved. UN Women 2024/04 Completed Post the adoption of the NAP WPS, UN Women Sri Lanka conducted a number of bilateral discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka and the development community in Sri Lanka about the next steps involved with the NAP WPS and the overall WPS agenda in Sri Lanka. The bi-lateral meetings were attended by the Policy Advisor of the Governance and Security Unit of the UN Women Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific. UN Women will continue to engage senior UN Women Officials wherever possible. Update (April 2024): In the new project supported by the Government of Japan for the implementation of the NAP WPS, inter-community, multi-stakeholder dialogues will be conducted in the project locations. UN Women is presently recruiting additional personnel to support the project in these aspects. Senior UN Women officials will be engaged – including other notable guests such as the UN Resident Coordinator – where possible.
Recommendation: Disseminate knowledge products of the project, create a communication strategy for future projects and ensure continuous communication with partners in project implementation.
Management Response: UN Women welcomes this recommendation.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Publish knowledge products in UN Women´s website. 2. Send knowledge products to UN Women partners beyond this project´s scope. 3. Disseminate knowledge products to the press and other UN Agencies 4. Create opportunities for networking with partners beyond the project´s activitiies (e.g. UN events, Embassys´ functions etc). 5. Invest in a dedicated campaign with a clear message and specific spots produced and disseminated via social media, radio, TV and other means with the agenda of WPS. 6. Include a communication strategy with partners in future project design (within and outside the UN) – with dedicated budget allocated. UN Women 2023/09 Completed The office is continuing to disseminate information about the Women, Peace and Security Agenda on various channels including social media and mainstream media. For example, following the launch of the NAP WPS, a press release was disseminated which received wide coverage on local media. This was accompanied by a social media campaign which was useful in highlighting the relevance of the NAP WPS in Sri Lanka. Additionally, an article featuring UN Women Sri Lanka’s head of office was featured on a leading Sri Lankan newspaper – which outlined UN Women’s role and priority areas of the NAP WPS. The office is continuing to communicate the different priority areas of the NAP WPS on different channels over the coming months. Parallelly, the Office has also strengthened partnerships - particularly with development actors invested in peace and security issues in Sri Lanka. This has been done primarily through regular and substantive communication on the NAP WPS and persisting WPS issues. Update (April 2024): Communication around the NAP WPS (through a dedicated campaign) was conducted. Knowledge products and human-interest stories from past and ongoing projects have been published on the UN Women website. Similar to previous projects, future programmes will include dedicated funding for communications guided by an overall strategy
Recommendation: Include continuous learning as part of the M&E framework.
Management Response: UN Women welcomes this recommendation and consider learning activities as vital for the success of project implementation.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Include learning activities in project implementation (such as quarter meetings to reflect on what happened, present monitoring data, discuss corrective actions etc). UN Women 2024/04 Completed UN Women will continue to conduct periodic meetings to reflect on the progress, challenges and corrective actions required for the project implementation. Update (April 2024): Regular team meetings are being conducted to ensure that progress is maintained, and corrective action is taken where needed.