Tool 1: Self-assessment questionnaire about the legal, regulatory and policy frameworks
This tool can be used by contracting authorities, policymakers and practitioners working towards gender equality and gender mainstreaming to explore the possibilities of, knowledge regarding and the context for applying GRPP.
GRPP focuses on bringing a gender perspective to public procurement. If you are considering applying GRPP, it may be helpful to know to what extent your specific context (laws, strategies, support structures, stakeholders) may facilitate the use of GRPP and to determine the extent of your knowledge of these existing frameworks in your country. This tool consists of nine questions and is designed for you to make a quick assessment of your existing enabling conditions and your knowledge thereof and as such can serve as an initial guide for further investigation.
Before you start, here are some points to bear in mind:
- it will take you between 10 and 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire;
- there are NO wrong answers;
- you can redo the questionnaire any time and as many times as you want.
Q1. Legislation is in place to support GRPP (e.g. public procurement laws mentioning gender equality as an objective, gender equality laws mentioning public procurement or GRPP as a tool to advance gender equality). To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q2. Policy objectives and targets for promoting and supporting GRPP (e.g. strategies on public procurement or gender equality action plans) have been defined / are in place. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q3. Gender equality strategies specifically mention GRPP as a tool to promote gender equality. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q4. Support structures, guidelines and capacity-building strategies to promote GRPP are in place and readily available. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q5. Effective coordination mechanisms are in place to facilitate collaboration among public procurement actors and gender equality bodies and experts involved in promoting GRPP. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q6. Monitoring and evaluation are used to measure progress regarding the application of GRPP. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q7. GRPP is an intrinsic part of public procurement. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q8. There is collaboration between gender equality institutions/departments and those responsible for public procurement. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Q9. Responsibilities for GRPP are clearly identified and divided between gender equality institutions/departments and those responsible for public procurement. To what extent is that true in your context (e.g. country/region)?
Results
If most of your answers are 1, the context in which you operate is not favourable to GRPP, but the toolkit will help you, step by step, to develop GRPP.
If most of your answers are 2, the context in which you operate is rather favourable to GRPP. The toolkit will assist you in further developing GRPP given your specific context.
If most of your answers are 3, the context in which you operate is favourable to GRPP. As you implement GRPP, the toolkit may be helpful in addressing some specific issues that you may encounter in its application.
If most of your answers are 4, the ‘What to do next’ section will help you find information relevant to GRPP in your Member State. Afterwards, you can redo the questionnaire and assess to what extent the context in which you operate facilitates the use of GRPP.
What to do next
In all four cases, this toolkit can provide further guidance.
Once you have completed the self-assessment questionnaire, you can move on to Tool 2, which will provide you with information on the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks relevant for GRPP in your Member State. EIGE also has online resources that can provide you with information about gender equality and gender mainstreaming in your country[1], and additional sources are also listed in "Additional resources" of this toolkit.
As a general rule, you should also consider establishing contact with gender equality and/or public procurement bodies to start developing a strategy for implementing GRPP.
If you are a policymaker, you can take inspiration from the green ‘How to act’ boxes to develop better enabling conditions for the promotion of GRPP.