KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

KWDI has been conducting a multi-year ODA research project since 2011 with an objective of establishing political and social infrastructure for gender equality policy in the Asia-Pacific region. During the year 2011 – 2012, KWDI partnered with Cambodia and Indonesia and carried out various programs including baseline surveys, policy dialogues and capacity building training. From 2013, KWDI expanded the project to include Myanmar and Vietnam as additional partners. Now KWDI is working with these four countries, sharing each other's experiences and deepening mutual learning.

The research report of 2015 comprises three elements. First, it analyzes the concept of gender governance and seeks to strengthen it within the partner governments. Especially, it focuses on encouraging cooperation and coordination between the line ministries. Second, it synthesizes past four years' research results with an aim of disseminating them in the partner countries. Third, it reviews South Korea's gender ODA system and projects. Based on these, the report tries to connect partner countries' ODA demands and South Korea's ODA plans, and examines implications for expanding South Korea's ODA.

Chapter 2 begins with an analysis of the concept and challenges of gender governance. It analyzes gender governance system of the partner countries, including laws, institutions and gender related committees and focal points.

Chapter 3 introduces this year's research outcomes which include contents from the dissemination seminars and joint research results with each partner country. During the dissemination seminars, officials from partner countries' gender machinery shared their countries' gender equality policies and ODA projects by sector, and their findings are summarized herein. The report also introduces the joint research process on women's safety between KWDI and the UN Women Asia Pacific Regional Office which was newly started this year.

Chapter 4 reviews the mid and long-term results of the current multi-year ODA research project. The second monitoring was carried out this year, where surveys were conducted with 148 participants of KWDI's SSAGE(Set and Share the Agenda for Gender Equality) Workshop from 2011- 2014. It reviews the changes at the personal, institutional and national level and find ways for future cooperation with KWDI.

Chapter 5 introduces South Korea's gender ODA status and best practices from donor agencies and multilateral organizations. It lays out South Korea's ODA policy and issues, compares with that of the advanced donor countries, and also examines South Korea NGO's gender ODA situation. It concludes that South Korean government has more gender mainstreamed projects than women targeted ones.

Chapter 6 summarizes four partner countries' gender governance, gender ODA needs, and recommendations to the South Korean government to expand its gender ODA. It suggests inclusion of gender agenda in South Korea's 2nd ODA Basic Plan, active application of gender ODA guidelines in South Korea's gender projects, incorporation of gender perspectives in its concessional loan projects, role of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as leading ODAs in Gender Impact Analysis and Gender Budgeting, and finally KWDI's role as a supplier of gender training and capacity builder for gender officials from the partner countries.