What We’re Learning

WomenStrong seeks to build a global community of organizations that are better equipped to further the rights and wellbeing of urban women and girls.

We believe that when like-minded, women-led organizations come together to share with each other what works, are supported in strengthening their capacity, and can share their learnings with a wider community of practice, they will improve their mutual effectiveness in carrying out their work.

We measure our success by the value our program brings to our Learning Lab partners, including whether and how we have helped strengthen their work to help women and girls thrive.

WomenStrong also seek to amplify our partners’ solutions beyond the Learning Lab, deepening understanding among the broader global development field of how best to address gender inequality, further social progress, and contribute to equitable, sustainable human development.

Our Results

How do we know we’re making progress?

To measure our results, we draw from multiple sources of data, such as online surveys, focus-group discussions, and in-depth interviews with our Learning Lab partners, to understand the value they derive from peer interactions, webinars, technical assistance, and other activities. We also monitor their use of tools such as WomenStrong’s online learning portal, and the quality of the interactions and sharing among partners that participate in our various activities.

In an external evaluation conducted in late 2020, we learned that the flexible funding, tailored technical assistance, and capacity-strengthening provided by WomenStrong have helped our partners meet their organizational needs and have generated trust and risk-taking in their WomenStrong-funded activities. Our Learning Lab partners also report a keen interest in sharing their experience with their peers, and many have applied what they have learned to improve their programs.

To-date, partners have also shared their lessons well beyond the Learning Lab with thousands of other women’s organizations and development practitioners, through events, publications, and the media.

Learn More:

What We’re Learning: WomenStrong’s Approach to Knowledge and Learning

What We’re Learning: WomenStrong’s Grantmaking Model

What We’re Learning: Reflections on Year One of WomenStrong’s Learning Lab