USAID Gender Integration Technical Assistance II Task Order Year 4 - Quarter 3 Report

The Task Order applies expertise in gender research and practice to the process of designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating USAID strategies, projects, and activities to reduce the gender and women's empowerment gaps that impede development outcomes. This technical assistance is provided by Banyan Global under a contract with the USAID Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI) Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GenDev) Hub. During the quarter of March 15, 2023, to June 15, 2023, Banyan Global undertook various operational and technical work under the GITA II Task Order. The company carried out tasks under several Mission-specific work orders, including the USAID/Niger Country-level Gender Analysis to inform the Mission's 2022-2027 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), the USAID/South America Region (SAR) Fisheries Sector Gender Analysis, and the USAID/Nigeria Gender Integration Technical Assistance. Banyan Global also performed tasks with GenDev under the following work orders: Gender Integration and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Portfolio Technical Assistance. Under the Gender Integration work order, Banyan Global wrote a summary report on findings and recommendations to improve the quality and uptake of gender analyses at USAID, developed a good practices resource for developing high-quality gender analyses, and drafted a gender marker tool for assessing gender integration in activities. Under the MEL Portfolio Technical Assistance work order, Banyan Global continued to provide technical support to the GenDev MEL team, including providing a draft Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund MEL Plan, a learning agenda for USAID's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy, and technical input for evaluation reports and responses. In addition to these tasks, Banyan Global continued to convene events and facilitate communications for the USAID Women's Economic Empowerment Community of Practice (USAID WEE CoP), including holding a learning event and a coffee chat, distributing three monthly communications, and expanding the USAID WEE CoP membership base and LinkedIn group. Banyan Global finalized several GITA II technical deliverables under the work orders listed in Table 1 during this quarter, including a report on increasing the quality and uptake of gender analysis at USAID, a resource on good practices for developing effective gender analyses, and a USAID WEE CoP learning event on user protection for women in the digital economy. The USAID/Niger Country-Level Gender Analysis Report and the USAID/SAR Fisheries Gender Analysis Report were also finalized during this quarter. Banyan Global conducted two sessions for Nigeria implementing partner (IP) gender focal points on managing a gender analysis process and understanding the gender digital divide in Nigeria, and a session for Nigeria health IP gender focal points on integrating gender-based violence (GBV) in health programs. The GITA II Task Order is a critical component of USAID's efforts to promote gender equality and women's empowerment, and Banyan Global's work under this Task Order has contributed significantly to these efforts. The company's technical assistance has helped to improve the quality and uptake of gender analyses at USAID, and has supported the development of effective gender integration strategies and programs.