Monitoring and Evaluation Within the Department

The Department will track and report progress in implementing the NAP objectives. This will include analyzing the success of staff training, collecting sex-disaggregated data in conflict, crisis, and transition environments, and establishing metrics to determine whether programs are having the desired results. This is supported by the Department of State and USAID Performance Plan & Report system, which includes seven broad output and outcome indicators on gender equality, female empowerment, and gender-based violence, in addition to gender-sensitive indicators in other Program Areas such as Peace and Security and Governing Justly and Democratically. Bureaus and embassies will integrate these indicators, as well as custom indicators, in performance management plans where applicable to measure progress toward the achievement of Women, Peace and Security goals.

S/GWI, together with the Department Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, will assist bureaus and embassies in assessing progress, identifying best practices and lessons learned, and focusing on areas in need of further attention. These efforts will be complemented by the Department’s twice-yearly meeting for PDASs, to be chaired by the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, to review progress on implementing the U.S. Department of State Policy Guidance on Promoting Gender Equality, including its relevant provisions relevant to the NAP, and the Department’s gender integration objectives. The National Integration and Institutionalization Section of this Implementation Plan provides greater detail on the progress and next steps in this regard.

Evaluation, Monitoring and Reporting with the Interagency

Each year, the Department, along with DoD and USAID, will report to the National Security Staff’s Deputies Committee on its implementation of the NAP. The Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor will draw upon agencies’ reports to provide an annual report to the President. S/GWI will coordinate the preparation of the Department’s annual report on Women, Peace, and Security, working closely with relevant bureaus and embassies.

The Department will continue to work with USAID and other relevant interagency partners to refine the existing monitoring of efforts to achieve its goals related to Women, Peace, and Security. Progress in implementing the objectives of the NAP will be monitored and evaluated against specific indicators to be identified at the direction of the Women Peace and Security Interagency Policy Committee (WPS IPC). The WPS IPC will monitor and review actions taken in support of U.S. national objectives, and will integrate the Women, Peace, and Security agenda in relevant national-level policies and strategies. In 2015, the National Security Staff will coordinate a comprehensive review of, and update to, the NAP, which will be informed, in part, by consultation with international partners and civil society organizations.

Partnership and Collaboration on Women, Peace, and Security

Engaging within the Department

The Department Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security will meet regularly to share ideas on more effectively integrating Women, Peace, and Security into our policies and programs.

The Department will encourage and support the sharing of best practices, tools, indicators, and evaluation methodology through internal websites and other online platforms. S/GWI will expand intranet websites to create an accessible repository for gender related issues, including Women, Peace, and Security. Department personnel are encouraged to post entries and communicate on opportunities for engagement. Furthermore, the Department will post a mapping of bureau and embassy actions, organized by high-level objectives, which identifies lead offices, locations, timeframes, and resources. Department personnel can easily sort this material to identify examples of engagement and opportunities for collaboration.

Engaging with the Interagency

The Department will continue to work closely with USAID, DoD, and other agencies in implementing the NAP and Department Implementation Plan—both in Washington and in the field. Collaborating with partner agencies will strengthen and provide strategic coherence to our policies and programs and allow us to more effectively focus our resources—achieving a synergy while avoiding duplication. The Department will collaborate with other departments and agencies on initiatives that are applicable across government, such as training.

Engaging with Outside Partners

The goals set forward in the NAP and Department Implementation Plan can only be realized through partnership and collaboration with other governments and multilateral organizations, and civil society actors, as well as innovative partnerships with the private sector. Central among these partners are the men and women and organizations throughout the world working every day to build sustainable peace and security and to champion women as vital, equal partners. Together, we can coordinate and leverage resources, learn from the successes and challenges of others, and design and implement inclusive assistance programs that build local capacity and promote sustainable outcomes.

Through our bilateral diplomacy, development assistance, and security cooperation in countries affected by crisis and conflict, we will support existing national government efforts to protect and empower women as agents of peace and security, and advocate for greater inclusion and efforts in cases where the voices of women need to be amplified and supported.

We will partner with other countries, both donors and those with specific experience dealing with the challenges of conflict, to amplify our bilateral assistance and advocacy efforts and ensure their efficient coordination. These partnerships will reflect the sound principles set forth in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action, and the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, which underscore the importance of country ownership, donor coordination, inclusive partnerships, harmonization, alignments, results, and mutual accountability.

Through our multilateral engagement, we will endeavor to ensure that the work of the UN and other international, regional, and sub-regional organizations upholds the principle that women must have an equal voice in addressing challenges to peace and security. When these institutions are themselves engaged as actors in conflict and post-conflict situations, we will, as appropriate, assist and cooperate with them to help ensure that development, humanitarian assistance, and peace and security operations integrate a strong gender perspective and effectively serve the interests of women and girls.

In all our efforts, we will seek collaborative partnerships with NGOs, including foundations, active at the national, regional, and international levels, as well as the private sector. Civil society will play a critical role in monitoring and providing feedback on our implementation. We expect civil society to hold us accountable to our commitments, to help us learn from activities and approaches implemented under the NAP, and to contribute to future revisions of the NAP. We will work with academic and other research institutions and practitioners to understand and expand the information available on the role of women in all aspects of peace and security, so that policy-makers across the government can reach more informed decisions, such as how best to invest our resources, and where to direct our efforts. We will enlist public diplomacy to build awareness among the public of the role of women in peace and security and to amplify the efforts of the United States in areas of crisis, conflict, or insecurity.