Banyan Global is implementing the Gender Integration Technical Assistance (GITA) II task order, which provides on-demand, rapid-response, short-term technical assistance (STTA) to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Missions and Bureaus across multiple sectors and in crisis and non-crisis settings. This task order applies expertise in gender research and practice to the process of designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating USAID strategies, projects, and activities to reduce the gender and women’s empowerment gaps that impede development outcomes.

USAID Missions or Bureaus may buy into GITA II to obtain technical support to address gender equality and women’s empowerment for any of the following tasks:

• Gender analyses for the preparation of Country Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCSs) and Project Appraisal Documents (PADs), and technical assistance in incorporating findings into results frameworks and narratives texts.
• Sector-, project-, and activity-specific gender analyses and research (value chains, access to WASH services, etc.)
• Desk studies.
• Monitoring and Learning Plans for strategy-level and project-level activities (developing gender-sensitive indicators, developing scopes of work, engendering results frameworks, etc.)
• Technical assistance to improve the capacity of Missions and other operating units to incorporate gender- and inclusive development-related issues (disability, LGBTQ, indigenous populations, etc.), and the facilitation of staff discussions and/or workshops.
• White papers or background papers on emerging, time-sensitive issues (sudden-onset refugee crisis, resilience, fragile states, pandemics. etc.)

All USAID Washington and overseas operating units can access technical services through GITA II.

Under GITA II, Banyan Global is carrying out the following work:

• USAID/Ghana Gender Analysis and Assessment
• USAID/Guinea Gender Analysis
• USAID/Haiti Gender Analysis
• USAID/Kenya Gender Analysis
• USAID/Madagascar Gender Analysis
• USAID/Serbia Gender Analysis
• Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative Community of Practice
• Technical Support on Gender-Based Violence to USAID’s Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

In addition, in collaboration with the USAID Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Banyan Global has developed a job aid tool under GITA II to support USAID missions to carry out COVID-specific gender analyses of activities focused on COVID-19 risk mitigation and response. The tool provides an overview of USAID’s gender-analysis requirements, sector-related considerations, and illustrative questions and programmatic measures.  Missions can use this tool to gain insights on different gendered effects of COVID-19 (advances, constraints, and opportunities) that will help form recommendations for the activity. The tool harnesses lessons learned from the Zika, SARS, and Ebola Virus Disease pandemics. It also addresses gender-based violence risk mitigation and sexual exploitation and abuse as key priorities. 

Banyan Global is using the tool to carry out 17 COVID-specific gender analyses for USAID activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. On July 16, 2020, Banyan Global trained 20 of its consultants on how to carry out this type of analysis, using the job aid tool as well as a report template. Currently, Banyan Global research teams are carrying out analyses using the tool in the following countries/regions:

• Burkina Faso
• Central Asia
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Dominican Republic
• The Gambia
• India
• Mali
• Niger
• Peru
• Vietnam

Banyan Global is also developing a technical brief on the gendered impacts of COVID-19 and strategies to undertake gender-sensitive programming to design and implement COVID-19-responsive activities. Furthermore, Banyan Global is developing and curating a publicly accessible website with tools and resources, by sector, on key issues and strategies to mitigate gender inequalities in the prevention and response to COVID-19.