PROJECT UPDATE
Project Overview
This initiative supported South Africa’s Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) in developing its own Gender‑Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) e-learning course.
Project Profile
The Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) engaged Canadian expert Alina Meyer to provide technical support for adapting Canada’s GBA Plus training to the South African context. The initiative was modeled after Canada’s successful GBA Plus training tool and aims to strengthen the capacity of government personnel at local, provincial, and national levels to formulate, implement, communicate, and monitor gender‑ and intersectionality‑responsive policies, programs, and services that reflect the rights and needs of all citizens, including the most marginalized.
Canadian content was translated and converted into a technically and culturally relevant form for South Africa and developed into a rollout plan across the Government of South Africa. The tailored course will serve as a valuable, context‑specific resource, reflecting the lived experiences of South Africans, fostering knowledge exchange between the two countries, and providing mutual benefits for Canada and South Africa.
Key Deliverables
- Capacity Support and Training
- Delivered a GBA Plus orientation session to government officials
- Provided coaching and mentorship to DWYPD’s core team
- Supported storyboard development and integration of modules into virtual learning content.
- Technical Support and Knowledge Products
- Finalized and shared a script and content adaptation package
- Developed eight scenarios and case study concepts to illustrate the GBA Plus application
- Created tailored GBA Plus e-learning modules and made them available online for public servants
Project Outcomes and Lessons Learned
The project improved DWYPD’s capacity to promote adoption of GBA Plus in South Africa’s civil service, supporting evidence‑based policymaking by collecting and analyzing disaggregated data through an intersectional lens for gender‑responsive program delivery.
A key lesson learned was that budgetary constraints added complexity to the module development process, requiring more adjustments than initially anticipated. The experience highlighted the importance of close coordination with technical partners and the need to plan sufficient resources and specialized expertise for content development to ensure quality and timely delivery.
Direct Project Reach:
- 141 participants engaged through activities, training sessions, and deliverables
Public Engagement (Canada):
- 55 Canadians reached through public engagement activities
Public Engagement Activities:
- Canadian expert Alina Meyer:
- Served as a panelist for the GE Week TAP-hosted webinar, for which a short video clip was produced for social media
- Posted three LinkedIn posts
