Project profile — Blueprints for Gender Equality

• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines (25.00%)
• Grenada (25.00%)
• Dominica (25.00%)
• Saint Lucia (25.00%)

• Democratic participation and civil society:
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (20.00%)
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (80.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (principal objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to foster more open, inclusive, and gender-responsive governance in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The initiative deploys a team of gender equality and social inclusion experts to strengthen the capacity of public institutions to address pressing gender equality issues faced by women, girls and marginalized groups in these four Eastern Caribbean countries. It assists them to design, deliver and budget for public programs and services that better serve their needs. Blueprints for Gender Equality also works with governments to build a culture of citizen engagement with governments and the people they serve, with a focus on connecting with the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls. Project activities include: (1) delivering technical assistance to public institutions to design and deliver more gender-responsive public policies, programs, and services; (2) designing mechanisms to ensure public institutions are more open and transparent to women, girls and women’s rights organizations, including accountability exercises, institutional fairs and communication campaigns; and (3) organizing regional meetings with representatives from public institutions, the Caribbean Community and women’s rights organizations to share good practices and lessons learned on how to address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by women and girls.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced gender-responsive public policies, strategies and practices to address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity in targeted Caribbean countries; (2) increased effective delivery of gender-responsive public programs and services that address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity in targeted Caribbean countries; and (3) improved collaboration and dialogue across public institutions in targeted Caribbean countries on the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity.

Results achieved as of March 2023 include: (1) Cuso International completed hiring of project staff in all four participating Eastern Caribbean countries (Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines); (2) 40 ministries across all four participating countries completed an open, inclusive gender-responsive participatory needs assessment, using gender-responsive tools to inform the final design of project activities; (3) held the first regional project steering committee virtually in December 2022, attended by high-level government officials from all four participating countries; and (4) officially launched the project in Grenada in March 2023 and attended by high-level Grenadian officials, including the Minister for Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs.

• Proactive disclosure