This guide, “Local Government Gender Assessment and Action Planning” (LGGAAP), can be used by local government staff and officials in collaboration with civil society organizations and members of the community to assess how well a local government addresses gender inequality and engages with diverse groups of women. Following the assessment, it can help to mainstream gender throughout local government policies, programs and structures and to better understand the potential impact government actions may have on women. Through approachable and practical guidance, the LGGAAP guide helps oversee a process that is participatory and inclusive in order to identify concrete actions, strategies and steps that can be taken to increase women’s participation and gender equality at the local government level.

Designed by NDI with an inclusive, intersectional and open government perspective, the LGGAAP guide seeks to enhance meaningful inclusion of the public in local government, which includes administrative districts at both the provincial and state levels. The theory of change for LGGAAP: If local governments incorporate gender perspectives and gender transformative approaches, and operate with the principles of transparency, accountability and collaboration, then women can be empowered to take a meaningful and active part in their communities and have greater agency over their lives. The two main parts of the guide are: a Gender Assessment Guide and a Gender Action Plan. The guide can be used on its own, concurrently with other or ongoing action plans including those focused on transparency, or can be used in parallel with the co-creation, implementation and review phases of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) action-plan cycle.

The guide is available for download in English, French, Spanish, and Georgian. In addition, example research instruments, including templates for community surveys, focus group questionnaires, and key informant interviews, are available for download separately to allow gender assessment teams to adapt them to their own contexts.

Questions on the use of the LGGAAP tool can be directed to members of NDI’s Democratic Governance and Gender, Women and Democracy teams, including Kristen Sample ([email protected]), Erin Houlihan([email protected]), Cole Speidel ([email protected]), and Sandra Pepera ([email protected]).