NO ONE LEFT BEHIND

••
Theme 4. Demand for and use of evidence from
equity-focused and gender-responsive evaluation to
inform equitable development
Each of these themes has different implications in different
countries, regions and sectors, and according to
the type of organization. Consequently we invite you
to share your experiences and perspectives to assist
the EvalGender+, UNEG and UN Women IEO teams
in ensuring that the Guidance Note will reflect the
diversity of experiences and perspectives in different
countries, regions and types of organization.
Theme 1. The relevance of “new metrics” (measurement
tools and indicators) for the evaluation of
SDGs from an equity-focused and gender-responsive
perspective
In recent years a number of “new metrics” have evolved
that can potentially widen the range of indicators and
measures available for the M&E of development results
from equity and gender-responsive perspectives.
These include:
••
Data that can now be collected through mobile
phones, tablets, internet, GPS mapping and other
new information technologies
••“Big data” collected from satellites and drones, remote
sensors, analysis of Twitter and social media,
mobile phone records, digital electronic transfers
(including purchase of mobile-phone air time and
ATM withdrawals) and crowdsourcing
••
Participatory consultations (e.g., Most Significant
Change, Outcome Harvesting)
••
Concept mapping
••
Mixed methods evaluations
••
Feminist research methods (e.g., oral history, feminist
ethnography and content analysis, power relations,
social justice and empowerment approaches)
Participants are invited to share their thoughts and
experiences on the following questions (as well as
others they propose) as they relate to equity-focused
and gender-responsive evaluation.
••
In your experience, what are some of the limitations
of current data collection methods and the kinds of
indicators they produce?
••
What are the most difficult issues to measure with
respect to social equity? What about those with respect
to gender equality?
••
What are the new challenges for assessing sustainable
social equity and gender equality?
••
What have proved some of the most effective
methods?
••
In addition to those mentioned above, what other
new metrics are you familiar with?
••
Which of the new metrics show the greatest
promise?
Theme 2. Evaluation and complexity: Dealing with the
increasing complexity of development and interconnectedness
of SDGs to ensure “no one is left behind”
As SDGs are interconnected, national policies and
programmes to implement them will be complex. As
programmes grow in size and scope, the number of
partners and stakeholders, and in terms of the kinds
of social and behavioral changes they seek to produce,
they become more complex—not only in terms of how
they are designed and implemented, but also in terms
of how they must be evaluated. Complexity is defined
in terms of: (a) the nature of the programme, (b) the
number of partners and stakeholders and the patterns
of interaction among them (including the level of
consensus or disagreement among them on the goals
of the programmes), (c) the number of external (contextual)
factors that influence how the programme is
implemented and its outcomes, and (d) the complexity
of the causal chains through which outcomes are to
be achieved. A number of additional factors are particularly
important for the evaluation of social equity
and gender equality, including: (a) social and cultural
constraints and pressures, (b) the power relationships
Evaluating the Sustainable Development Goals with
an Equity-focused and Gender-responsive Lens 27