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Support Package 5 - “Inclusive Gendered Innovation” - For Funders - Step 8
Monitoring and Reporting

This step is about how your organisation monitors what gets funded and how inclusion is reflected in programme outcomes. It covers how you collect data, document progress, and report on the uptake of inclusive gendered innovation (IGI) across different stages of the funding cycle .

Monitoring helps you understand whether your programme goals are being met. It shows whether IGI is being taken up in proposals, which applicants are engaging with it, and how inclusion appears in the funded portfolio. Without this information, it is difficult to track progress or identify gaps.

Monitoring and reporting go beyond compliance. They offer an opportunity to ask meaningful questions about what kinds of innovation are being supported, who benefits, and whether your programme is helping shift thinking and practice within the research and innovation ecosystem.

You can start small. For example, by tracking how applicants respond to IGI-related prompts, noting how often reviewers comment on inclusion, or documenting examples from funded projects. These insights can then feed into future programming, call design, or reviewer briefing.

Monitoring also supports internal coordination. It helps teams reflect on where inclusion is well integrated, where expectations may still be unclear, and what kinds of support applicants or reviewers need to meet your goals. Over time, this strengthens your organisation’s capacity to embed inclusion consistently.

Use this step to make inclusion visible in your funding data and decisions. The focus here is on tracking outcomes, reporting what you observe, and creating a clearer basis for strategic reflection.

  • know how to monitor IGI in funded projects. You are able to collect and organise basic information on how inclusion is addressed in applications and project outcomes.
  • can identify trends and reporting gaps. You can spot where inclusion is being taken up, where challenges remain, and where reporting can be improved.
  • are equipped to document examples. You know how to gather concrete insights from proposals, reviews, or panel discussions to inform internal and external reporting.
  • can strengthen internal coordination. You use monitoring findings to improve alignment across teams, templates, and guidance.
  • help build a foundation for strategic reflection. Your data and documentation contribute to ongoing review and quality development

Monitoring and learning often receive less attention than selection and evaluation. But without structured reflection, inclusion efforts remain hard to track and improve:

  • No system for tracking IGI uptake. Many funders do not collect consistent data on how gender and diversity dimensions are addressed in applications or reflected in funded projects.
  • Monitoring responsibilities are unclear. Without a designated lead or process, follow-up on inclusion often gets overlooked or becomes fragmented.
  • Data is considered too sensitive or complex. Teams may hesitate to collect information on gender, users, or inclusion due to privacy concerns or lack of appropriate tools.
  • Insights are not captured systematically. Observations from reviewers or programme teams often stay informal or siloed, making it hard to inform future improvements.
  • Feedback loops are weak or missing. Information from past calls is not always used to update call design, guidance materials, or reviewer briefings.
  • Reporting focuses narrowly on outputs. Internal summaries may highlight quantitative metrics but overlook relevance, inclusion, or social impact.

These actions help you build a feedback culture and strengthen IGI integration over time without needing complex systems.

  • Track IGI across proposals and outcomes: Record how applicants respond to IGI prompts and whether inclusion is reflected in funded projects.
  • Review panel summaries and comments: Look for how IGI was assessed and whether it influenced scoring or discussion.
  • Collect examples from funded projects: Capture real cases of inclusive innovation to inform future calls and support learning.
  • Assign responsibility for monitoring: Make sure someone is clearly tasked with tracking IGI uptake and reporting findings.
  • Adapt reporting formats to include IGI: Add prompts or fields to help teams document inclusion-related insights consistently.ake it easier to document inclusion-related insights at each stage of the process.
  • Frame data collection carefully: Explain why inclusion data is needed and how it will support programme improvement, not individual evaluation.
  • Use findings to adjust calls and guidance: Feed learning from previous rounds into future design, criteria, and support materials.

Here you find more support

These resources support efforts to track, reflect on, and improve how inclusion is integrated into your funding programmes. They offer tools and benchmarks for learning across calls and systems.

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