Conclusion and recommendations

This manual addresses the concept of gender-responsive planning, and sheds light on ways through which this concept can be integrated into the planning processes. It further indicates that this type of planning leads to an efficient use of financial resources to meet the needs of all social groups according to their needs, expectations and aspirations. The manual refers to the conceptual framework governing gender responsive planning, including the tools and mechanisms used in this type of planning, and the legislative and institutional framework supporting responsive planning in Egypt, in addition to the leading international experiences in this field.

This manual has adopted a comprehensive methodology to apply responsive planning in the country’s sustainable development plan. In this regard, the methodology is based on a participatory approach, where several interviews were conducted with different sectors and agencies, to study and analyze the laws and strategies launched by these parties and to identify the most prominent gaps and urgent needs of these groups, and then work to meet these needs to integrate these groups into society and maximize their economic participation in the development process. Moreover, the methodology relies on activating these legislations and strategies by proposing activities and interventions across different sectors and setting indicators to measure the impact of these activities and projects on the aforementioned social groups.

After presenting the conceptual and practical frameworks of the manual, the key learnt lessons were as follows:

• The necessity of relying on quantitative and qualitative indicators in analyzing the gaps and evaluating the effects of development programs/interventions on the target groups.
• The significance of integrating responsive planning mechanisms across all stages of the development program/project, including gap analysis, designing programs/ interventions, implementing activities, ending with monitoring and performance evaluation.
• The necessity of having communication channels for all groups to express their needs to be included in the planning stages according to the priorities and available resources.
• Integrating the concept of social groups into economic models through which financial allocations and public spending priorities are determined. The purpose is to study urgent issues of different groups and areas that need directing investments to them, thus ensuring the efficiency of investment spending and the fair distribution of resources according to the needs of different groups.
• The importance of integration and cooperation between government agencies, civil society organizations and private sector institutions to ensure the success of efforts aimed at implementing responsive planning in all sectors expanding the scope of equal opportunities units to cover gender issues and prioritize social groups (women - children - people with disabilities).