Our societies are marked by stark inequality and the exclusion of different people, including women and girls, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, and ethnic and religious minorities.
At SDDirect, we work with communities, civil society, governments, businesses and others to foster a culture of active citizenship and greater accountability of all those who hold power.
We work to build inclusive societies where every citizen and community is valued and empowered to make their own choices about their development, act on these choices, and hold duty-bearers to account.
By applying a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) lens, poor and socially excluded people can be better supported to access and claim knowledge, resources, rights and services. This allows them to participate in public life and build fairer, more inclusive communities and become active agents of change.
Our work is technically focused and grounded in practice which is objective and unbiased. Key products and services include:
Gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) analysis, strategy development, training and implementation support
GESI-aware political economy analysis (PEA), including SDDirect’s Gender, Inclusion, Power & Politics (GIPP) analysis
Design and advisory support to active citizenship, community voice and participation, and social accountability initiatives
Fast response ‘helpdesk’ facilities to provide the latest available evidence and analysis on key issues and questions
Disability inclusion mainstreaming, research, review, and analysis
Facilitation and advisory support to more inclusive and equitable development partnership-building
Development of ethical, ‘do no harm’ and safeguarding frameworks
Stakeholder mapping, engagement, and facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogue
Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) for governance-related programmes
Inclusive services, including promoting access to education and health services, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We provide technical leadership on GESI in governance programmes, including developing GESI strategies and promoting GESI mainstreaming throughout programmes. We take an innovative ‘looking inwards and outwards’ approach, working on GESI inclusion within our partnerships and consortiums as well as our programme work.
We deliver GIS programming in a diverse range of country contexts, including development and emergency settings. We take an intersectional approach to understanding and challenging the structural barriers that people face to social inclusion, including discrimination based on gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and other factors.
If you would like to hear more about our work on Governance and Inclusive Societies (GIS), please reach out to Emma Haegeman, Head of Governance and Inclusive Societies Portfolio, EmmaHaegeman@sddirect.org.uk
Civil Society Support Programme Phase 2 (CSSP2) (2018-2022) is a capacity development programme to support Ethiopia’s civil society and its contribution to national development, poverty reduction and advancement of good governance.
In the international development sector, it is easy (and harmful) to assume that everyone is on the same page. Yet we all come with our own personal values and experiences that shape our attitudes on gender equality and social inclusion, and towards others.
An inclusive peacebuilding process in Yemen will have a greater chance of leading to sustainable peace. In support of this aim, this learning brief explores the barriers faced by women and youth peacebuilders in three governorates in Yemen. Drawing on qualitative evidence from interviews with women and youth peacebuilders, it proposes steps that donors can take to ensure that both groups play meaningful roles in shaping a peaceful future for Yemen.
The SDDirect-Christian Aid Gender Inclusion Power and Politics (GIPP) analysis toolkit was developed as part of the UK Aid Connect Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development programme implemented in Nigeria, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe. It integrates traditional Political Economy Analysis (PEA) with Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) analysis and involves several lines of enquiry including problem identification, contextual analysis, systemic analysis, systems mapping, stakeholder dialogue, power, and exclusion analysis.
Serena joined the Business Development team at SDDirect in September 2018.
Emma is the Head of the Governance and Inclusive Societies Portfolio, which houses SDDirect’s work on health; disability inclusion; women’s political participation; women, peace, and security; and governance, voice, and accountabilit
Emma is a social development and governance professional with over 25 years’ experience in advisory, research and management/leadership roles spanning a range of issues and sectors, including climate change, safeguarding, security and justice, violence p
Naomi is a Senior Technical Specialist with experience conducting research, managing projects, engaging in policy, advocacy and influencing, and providing technical assistance.
Rebekah is our Climate Justice Lead and a Senior Technical Specialist with a particular focus on our Governance and Inclusive Societies Portfolio. She provides technical support on
Anisha joined SDDirect in October 2021 as a Technical Analyst, with a focus on the Governance and Inclusive Societies portfolio, including work on the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk.
