Evaluation Review of the British Council’s Newton Fund Programmes on Gender Equality and Inclusion
about.
The Newton Fund, managed by the UK’s Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), aimed to support partner countries' economic development, social welfare, and research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth.
As one of the seven UK Delivery Partners, the British Council has managed the Newton Fund on behalf of BEIS since 2014.
objectives.
Review the grant application process:
Review the overall approach to the grant application process and recommend clear pathways to make the process more gender-sensitive throughout the lifecycle of the grant administration.
Provide recommendations, tools, and resources:
Supporting teams to strengthen practices on embedding DEI, integrating recommendations from the Gender and Higher Education report. Measuring the extent to which gender considerations and intersection with other identities have been made into programme delivery.
Increase engagement:
Disseminating activities to ensure understanding and engagement from UK and global Newton Fund project teams with the review, recommendations, and supporting resources.
Evaluate the current approach to gender inequality:
Identifying any gaps in current practices to address and/or reduce gender inequalities in Newton Fund countries, including identifying the practical barriers and enablers for access and participation from women and other marginalised groups.
methodology.
Our team applied an intersectional lens to this evaluation which involved considering how various aspects of identity and social categorisations intersect and impact the experiences and outcomes of different groups of people, particularly those who are marginalised or vulnerable. This included examining how factors, in particular gender, race, and disability, intersected and were impacted by their experiences with the Newton Fund programme.
We worked alongside British Council staff to co-create an Analytical Tool, aligned with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial framework, providing an evidence-based benchmark from which to assess the extent to which the programme promoted gender equality.
The final evaluation report used an intersectional lens to review current practices and provide detailed guidelines and recommendations to make programming work more gender-sensitive and, where possible, gender transformative. The report also identified good practice in gender-sensitive and transformative initiatives in partner organisations and the wider Research and Innovation and STEM sector.
outputs.
Analytical Tool
A tool co-created with the British Council staff, based on the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology framework, provided an evidence-based benchmark for assessing the Newton Fund programme's approach to gender equality and offered guidance for the British Council to align its gender equality ambitions with its future science programmes.
Evaluation Report
Detailed findings and recommendations to inform a more effective and inclusive approach to gender equality in future science and innovation programmes managed by the British Council.
Interactive Presentation
The Consultant Team presented the evaluation findings and recommendations to the British Council's Gender Community of Practice, fostering an interactive dialogue around strategies to improve gender equality and inclusivity in future programmes.
