[This story is part of our collection on transforming research collaboration. It highlights efforts and challenges in reimagining partnerships for greater equity, with a focus on strengthening Southern-led approaches to research.]

Beginnings

The story of the Gender and Equity Network South Asia (GENSA) began long before its official launch in June 2020. Its foundations were laid in the aspirations of over 250 passionate individuals who sought to address gender-related challenges in South Asia but lacked a dedicated platform. These original GENSA members also wanted to make their voices heard and to shape the gender and equity global discourse. 

Discussions with members of an existing group, the Community of Evaluators, South Asia (COE SA), sparked the idea of GENSA, with the aim to formalise COE SA’s strong interest in gender- and equity-related issues in evaluation. Unlike networks formed through corporate policies or donor-driven initiatives, which tend to be top-down and shaped by their own priorities, GENSA emerged from a deep, collective commitment to tackling extreme inequities in South Asia.

A passionate COE SA Board member pushed for the creation of a gender and equity platform, leading to GENSA’s launch after two years of discussion. GENSA became the first special interest group within COE SA, aligning with its vision of “Evaluation for a just and equitable society”. Members from across eight South Asian countries were encouraged to join and contribute. This story is a dedication to the GENSA family.

A Collaborative Effort

GENSA’s mission was shaped collectively. A call for interested members was sent out to COE members, particularly among participants of a new gender and evaluation course in South Asia, who would understand the need to align gender issues with evaluation rather than covering them in silos. This led to the formation of a core group of five young professionals who took the lead in shaping the network’s vision. Key decisions at the very start included:

  • Opening membership to individuals with a regional connection or interest in gender and equity in South Asia.
  • Creating a Google group to facilitate discussions and knowledge exchange.
  • Devolving decision-making to a core group of volunteers, ensuring inclusivity and openness.
  • Committing to consensus-based decision-making.
  • Prioritising young professionals to ensure leadership continuity.
  • Putting emphasis on teamwork.

A conscious decision was made to keep GENSA open to all without imposing any membership fees. As an unregistered entity, managing legal and financial systems would have been burdensome for a fledgling network, making an open and accessible platform structure the most practical choice.

As GENSA had no budget, its success was built on the dedication and volunteerism of its members. The network’s logo and social media campaigns were developed pro bono, and word-of-mouth referrals fuelled its membership growth – we gained 150 members within the first six months of its launch! 

How is GENSA Different?

GENSA distinguishes itself from other online gender platforms by emphasising action over mere information sharing. The network is committed to:

  • Producing knowledge products.
  • Supporting capacity building.
  • Enabling innovative evaluations.
  • Localising knowledge to fit the South Asian context.
  • Supporting its members in gender-related initiatives.

By defining its operational boundaries within South Asia, GENSA ensures that its initiatives are culturally relevant and impactful. The network collaborates with members to promote, coordinate, and engage in research, evaluation, policy development, and capacity building aimed at fostering gender transformation and equity while being attuned to the unique cultural nuances of the region. We encourage members to reach out for support – whether brainstorming issues if they are panellists in conferences, writing abstracts, or applying for jobs or scholarships, to name a few. Our members are sought after for their expertise and are regularly invited to contribute to global and regional forums. Notably, GENSA members have successfully competed for EvalPartners grants, which have been collaboratively implemented. All funds received have been pooled into a shared corpus, supporting initiatives such as website development and scholarships for conferences.

This strategy was consciously implemented as evaluation and gender specialisation is an emerging profession in South Asia, and we understand that members need support, mentoring, and guidance. We have worked towards building a network that goes beyond just gender issues and genuinely cares about its members – both in their personal and professional journeys. The connection is deeply personal as well as professional. 

GENSA was launched just before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was a significant turning point for GENSA. As the world moved online, the network seized the opportunity to continue supporting its members by curating virtual workshops, organising coffee break sessions, and offering expert lectures. These initiatives were organised entirely by the core group and wider membership, with facilitation from a Board member. A conscious effort was made to feature regional speakers and discussants, ensuring that conversations remained contextually relevant.

Challenges and Institutional Growth

GENSA has remained steadfast in its commitment to local ownership and contextually relevant approaches. Importantly, no Northern institutions have been involved, nor has external funding been sought, ensuring that GENSA remained an independent and locally-driven initiative.

The network’s independence from Northern funding sources was a deliberate choice, ensuring its priorities were shaped by regional needs rather than external agendas. This principle has guided GENSA’s collaborations, including its leadership of a research project with Global South partners to develop a tool for funders to assess their equity commitments in commissioning evaluations. The issue was identified by GENSA, and funding was resourced to maintain its independence. However, the absence of dedicated funding meant that all financial resources, including grants and awards won competitively by its members, were voluntarily reinvested into networking activities.

Like many volunteer-driven organisations, GENSA has faced (and still faces) significant challenges, often resembling those of a start-up. As GENSA’s scope of work grows, the sustainability of a purely volunteer-driven model has become an increasing concern. With most core group members being young or mid-career professionals, time constraints pose challenges. Attempts to secure funding for a secretariat function were unsuccessful, highlighting the difficulties of institutionalising a grassroots initiative while maintaining autonomy.

The Commitment Continues

Yet, despite these challenges, GENSA has gained recognition as a key network representing gender and equity concerns in South Asia. It continues to provide a platform for South Asian evaluators to share knowledge and experiences, support young researchers and implementers in building both technical and contextual capacities, engage development professionals across disciplines to foster knowledge exchange, stimulate localisation and contextualisation of evaluation-related knowledge and approaches, compile and disseminate South Asian knowledge on gender, equity, masculinity and evaluation, encourage researchers to integrate indigenous knowledge into gender and equity evaluations, and, most importantly, create an enabling environment for South Asians to document lessons, publish articles, and contribute to global evaluation literature. 

GENSA has participated in panels at various conferences, conducted capacity-building workshops, developed knowledge products, and served as a research partner. It is currently leading a Global South partnership to assess equity principles of commissioners of evaluation. GENSA also forged alliances with other regional and global networks, including EvalGender+, the African Gender and Development Evaluators Network (AGDEN), and the Latin American Network of Evaluators (ReLAC). Its members contribute to Asia’s only gender and evaluation course, using local expertise and resources. Additionally, GENSA was invited to participate in a Landscape Analysis commissioned by the Ford Foundation in recognition of its growing influence.

GENSA’s journey is a testament to the power of collective action, volunteerism, and a deep commitment to equity and gender justice. In a landscape often shaped by external influences, GENSA stands as a locally driven, contextually relevant network that continues to grow through the dedication of its members. The challenges remain, but so does the unwavering vision: to create an inclusive South Asian-led space for knowledge sharing and institutional change in gender and equity evaluation. 

[Explore other stories from our collection on transforming research collaboration and engage with ideas envisioning a more equitable future for research. ]

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