Evaluation

Furthering its work in research, the team began to explore the field of evaluations, specifically Gender Transformative Evaluations. While the teams at ISST have been undertaking evaluations since its inception, the organization made this a niche starting in 2010. A four-year-long project with IDRC and the Ford Foundation on ‘Engendering Policy Through Evaluation’ played a pivotal role at this time and solidified ISST’s position as a key player in the field of Gender Transformative Evaluations.

Gender & Evaluation : An online community

Established in 2011 and hosted on the Ning platform, the Gender and Evaluation Community has evolved into a dynamic hub for individuals passionate about gender-transformative evaluations. Serving as an inclusive space for knowledge exchange, our community facilitates open discussions, webinars, and interactive forums that encourage members to share, question, and learn from each other. With a thriving membership of 5200 individuals worldwide, our diverse and engaged community is at the forefront of shaping the discourse around gender-responsive evaluations.

EvalFest 2024

Organised by Evaluation Community of India (ECOI) and EvalYouth India, EVALFEST 2024 is scheduled for February 21-23, 2024. Having played a crucial role as a conference partner in the successful editions of 2018, 2020, and 2022, ISST continues its commitment to shaping this biennial event. Against the backdrop of dynamic changes in the evaluation landscape, EvalFest 2024 adopts the theme 'The Shifting Sands in Evaluation: Need for Responsive, Adaptive, and Future-proof Approaches.' Stay tuned for release of the registration forms and join us on the days of the event.

Evaluation Studies

1. Aagewan Vikas Program: An Evaluation of Women's Grassroots Leadership - LSST and SEWA Bharat

The purpose of the evaluation is to account for the progress under the Aagewan Vikas program - 2, and the extent to which the program achieved its intended goals as well as to identify key lessons and recommendations for the future sustainability of the program. Agewans are the elected leaders in the SEWA union. They are the face of SEWA. The Agewan Vikas Program aims to train these grassroots leaders to develop their capacities to provide leadership in their communities and to enhance the socio-economic rights of workers. The evaluation is being conducted with SEWA Bharat in Bihar, Jharkhand, Nagaland, and Uttarakhand with SEWA Bharat and LSST in Gujarat.

Phase 1 Report - SEWA Bharat Aagewan Vikas Program: An Evaluation of Women’s Grassroots Leadership across Four States of India

2. Report on Study to assess the impact on Mental Health and Emotional Well-being of Students across Schools in Delhi due to closure of schools on account of Covid-19 and shift to online education.

3. Catalysing collective action towards a violence-free world of work for women home-based workers (HBWs) in South Asia

This project is a three-year initiative led by HomeNet South Asia Trust (HNSA) in collaboration with partners in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Led by HomeNet South Asia (HNSA), in partnership with their affiliates in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, the initiative “Catalysing collective action towards a violence-free world of work for women home-based workers (HBWs) in South Asia” embraces a multi-dimensional approach towards addressing the issue of violence and harassment in the world of home-based work ISST is engaged as the monitoring and evaluation partner for the project, assessing partner data, coordinating data collection, conducting field visits, and preparing consolidated evaluation and learning reports over a three year period 2022- 2025. ISST has shared its findings and recommendations with HNSA and the affiliates in the three countries after each year, with the final report being submitted in 2025.