Collaborative feminist research approaches

This document, Feminist MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning), redefines traditional MEAL approaches through a feminist lens, promoting equity, inclusivity, and justice. It challenges conventional methodologies by prioritizing participatory processes, gender power analysis, and the validation of lived experiences, advocating for approaches that recognize the diversity of women’s rights and gender justice in humanitarian work. Humanitarian professionals will find this guide invaluable as it offers practical tools for allocating resources to feminist MEAL, facilitating participatory evaluations, and integrating storytelling and embodied knowledge into reporting practices. It emphasizes the importance of self-reflection, questioning assumptions, and honoring diverse knowledge systems, creating a holistic and transformative approach to MEAL. This document serves as both a framework and a call to action, urging practitioners to shift from traditional metrics to those that celebrate agency and empower marginalized voices. For those committed to building accountable, gender-sensitive interventions, this guide is essential for embedding feminist principles in MEAL systems, fostering programs that are as impactful as they are equitable.

New article ´Building on decolonial feminist scholarship, we show how a commitment to reflexive practice “in the field” has developed further, through a reflection on the self as a researcher and on “the field” as a construct. This ethical and political commitment prompts a rethinking of key concepts in fieldwork (and research more generally), including those of “the researcher,” “the research participant” (or “population”), “expertise,” and what constitutes “data” and “knowledge.” We argue that a preferable approach to critical fieldwork is grounded in feminist and decolonial, anti-racist, anti-capitalist politics. This approach is committed not just to reflecting critically on “the field” and the interactions of the researcher within it but also to challenging the divisions, exclusions, and structures of oppression that sustain the separations between “here” and “there,” “researcher” and “researched,” and “knower" and “known.”´

How can we shape our knowledge production practices for them to be more equitable? And for our knowledge to lead to change? 🚨🔐💻OPEN-ACCESS PUBLICATION ON FEMINISM, KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND RESEARCH ETHICS! 📜   CRG Senior Staff Member María Martín de Almagro, PhD has co-authored an article titled "Doing Feminist Research on Conflict, Violence, and Peace: Ethical and Methodological Dilemmas." Co-authored with Julia Zulver, Priscyll Anctil Avoine, Nancy Tapias Torrado, and Marie E. Berry, Ph.D., the article is published in Millennium: Journal of International Studies. Abstract This piece offers a space for critical debate and reflection on the methodological and epistemological foundations that underpin feminist research on conflict, violence and peace. Taking stock of the variety of approaches and theoretical standpoints, we examine the (feminist) politics of knowledge production in academia and its limitations. We discuss how ontological and epistemological assumptions shape what counts as (feminist) academic knowledge and what is considered to be possible in (policy) practice. The article makes three contributions. First, we argue that the production of knowledge within disciplinary boundaries, and in particular, International Relations, is closely related to the discipline’s history of positivism and exclusion. Second, to counter that, we propose a close engagement with Black and decolonial feminist methods of feeling-knowing, storytelling and collaboration. Third, we highlight that embracing uncertainty means accepting incommensurability and heterogeneity, as well as a shift away from the urge to accumulate knowledge towards paying attention to the process of co-constructing it. To access the journal, click 👉🏻  https://lnkd.in/gtYZZFvc #gender #feminism #violence #conflictstudies #knowledgeproduction #ethics Maria’s research is at the intersection of gender studies, international peacebuilding governance, and the role of knowledge production and meaning-making practices in world politics. Theoretically, much of her work investigates concepts and performances of authority, legitimacy, and power through poststructural and postcolonial accounts and feminist and interpretive methodologies. Empirically, as an IR scholar and an Africanist, she studies the micro-dynamics of war-to-peace transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of producing original findings that derive from an in-depth study of this region, but that can at the same time inform broader debates in the discipline.

Gender Inclusive Framework and Theory (GIFT) GIFT refers to conceptual models and analytical approaches that explicitly recognise and incorporate gender as a critical factor in understanding social phenomena. These frameworks go beyond binary notions of male/female and aim to understand how gender intersects with other identities (e.g., race, class, age, disability) to shape experiences, access to resources, opportunities, and power relations. Key Components of a Gender Inclusive Framework and Theory: 1. Recognition of Gender as a Social Construct: Gender is understood not as a biological given but as a product of social norms, expectations, and power dynamics. 2. Intersectionality: Rooted in Black feminist theory, this emphasises how gender intersects with other identity markers to create unique experiences of oppression or privilege (e.g., Crenshaw, 1989). 3. Power and Agency: Examines how gendered power relations affect people’s ability to make decisions, access opportunities, and influence outcomes. 4. Structural and Institutional Analysis: Explores how laws, policies, education systems, and cultural norms reinforce or challenge gender inequalities. 5. Transformative Potential: Goes beyond inclusion by aiming to transform systems and structures that produce gendered disparities. 6. Participatory and Inclusive Methodology: Advocates for research and interventions that actively involve marginalised genders in the design, implementation, and evaluation stages. Examples of Gender Inclusive Frameworks: 1. Gender Analysis Frameworks (e.g., Harvard Analytical Framework, Moser Framework, Gender at Work) 2. Intersectional Feminist Theory 3. CARE’s Gender Equality Framework 4. UN Women’s Gender Equality Framework 5. Gender Transformative Approach (GTA) Applications: i). Policy development (e.g., gender-sensitive budgeting) ii). Program design (e.g., inclusive education or health interventions) iii). Research (e.g., analyzing gendered impacts of climate change or technology) iv). Monitoring and Evaluation with gender-disaggregated data and qualitative indicators. UoN Anthropology and Gender Students Association, Institute for Faith and Gender Empowerment (IFAGE), Isiolo Gender Watch (IGW), Institute for Gender and the Economy, Gender, Work & Organization, Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI), ADB Gender, CGIAR Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, HBS Race, Gender & Equity Initiative, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung | Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy, Gender and Environment Data Alliance (GEDA), Gender DEI, Gender & Health Hub, Gender Unit | Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, FEMNET - African Women's Development and Communication Network, Women's Empowerment Link, Women Business Hub - Nonprofit Social Enterprise Organization, Women On Boards Network Kenya, Women Educational Researchers of Kenya, UN Women, African Women Rights Advocates, European Network of Migrant Women (ENOMW), WIDE+ (Women in Development Europe+)

Some reflections on feminist research from our recent work: Before I share these thoughts, I want to say upfront I am no expert. I am learning through my everyday work, interactions, and collective experiences. These reflections stem from co-authoring the paper “Urgent Imperatives: Advancing Gender Equality in Climate Action” with my colleague Saumya Shrivastava. The roots of this work lie in a commitment to social change generating new knowledge, and ensuring that the concerns of women, especially those facing intersectional vulnerabilities, are truly at the center. It felt natural to ground this research in feminist principles as it came from lived experience, collective need, and a desire to challenge systems rather than tick boxes in neoliberal academia. The framework we developed is not static, it is imagined to be tested, adapted and reshaped with time and context. It has been an osmotic process that seeps into our shared thinking and practice. One of the most powerful tools for this was "listening" 👂 : not just as a method, but as a relational practice. We listened deeply, online and in-person, to the women whose experiences are often missing from dominant discourses. We asked open-ended questions, and held space for pauses, silences and stories without steering people to neat conclusions. The conversations that shaped this framework were diverse, honest, and often pushed us to reflect critically on our own assumptions. It was also challenged and strengthened through dialogue with those, whose voices are critical for a truly gender-transformative approach.  Feminist research means centering methodologies that expand our own understanding and create space for those rendered invisible by our institutions and action. 📄 You can read more about the methodology we adopted, here 👇 https://lnkd.in/gGn6QrJP #FeministResearch #GenderEquality #ClimateAction #ListeningAsPractice #TransformativeFrameworks