CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: UN Women Country Level Survey

CALL FOR PARTNERS: Survey about the role of UN Women at country level

1. Background of this project

On 2 July 2010, all member states of the United Nations agreed to set up a new gender equality entity, called UN Women. UN Women is the milestone outcome of the ongoing reform of the UN system. The goal of this reform is to strengthen the UN's development system and its delivery for women at country level. UN Women will be working with a unique and new structure, combining policy-making and norm setting with programming (operational capacity) at country level. As of the January 1st, UN Women is supposed to “go live” and become operational.
The challenge for the coming months and years will be to ensure the operational capacity of UN Women and its expansion built on the needs of women and girls at country level. The operational capacity of UN Women should present a change over the way the UN's development system currently works for women and girls. Not much research has been done to find out from women's rights advocates at country and local level what their wishes and needs are.

2. Purpose of the survey project

Oxfam Novib and the UK Gender and Development Network (GAD Network) are commissioning the international consultancy firm MDF Training and Consultancy to conduct a survey which identifies what women want from the new UN gender equality entity at country level by interviewing a diverse range of women's rights advocates and their organizations. Based on the survey results, we are looking for a report that honestly and accurately captures the needs, aspirations and concerns of women's rights advocates and their organizations at country-level.

3. Call for survey participants: We need you!

Oxfam Novib and the members of the UK GAD Network are looking for 100 partners and colleagues to participate in our survey on what women need from the new UN Women's agency! The survey will be done on the basis of a set of open and closed questions which can be answered online (through a specific website) and which will be followed up with telephone interviews with the survey participants. For partners who cannot work online, the survey will be e-mailed or faxed in advance. The survey will be conducted in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese.

Are you working on women's rights and gender equality in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus for an organization that matches one of these criteria?

· National level women's rights organisation, including working with marginalized women (30% of total sample)

· Local and/or grassroots organization working on women's rights and gender equality, including working with marginalized women (30% of total sample)

· National level NGO with core programming promoting women's rights and gender equality (25% of survey sample)

· International NGO programme offices/country teams with core programming promoting women's rights and gender equality (15% of survey sample)

4. Expressions of interest

If you are interested in sharing your views about what UN Women should do in your country, please send a short e-mail with your contact details and the requested information (see next page) to Hady Klaassen at KL@mdf.nl

The deadline for expressions of interest is Wednesday 29th of September

In your e-mail, please provide the following information:

1. Name of the Organisation:

2. Country:

3. Name of contact person:

4. Full contact details including telephone number, fax number, email and Skype address:

5. Language spoken (English, French, Spanish or Portuguese):

6. Brief description of the organisation's work on women's rights and gender equality:

For general information about this project you can contact the project manager:

Daniela Rosche, Oxfam Novib, daniela.rosche@oxfamnovib.nl