ENGAGE!
Women’s Empowerment & Active Citizenship
$9,797,117 COADY CONTRIBUTION: $600,000 in bursaries
December 18, 2019 – August 31, 2026 PROJECT TIMEFRAME:
Engage is a 6.5 year initiative co-designed by Coady Institute and five partner organizations in India, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Haiti. Coady is a convenor and is bringing these partners together in ways that they can share their expertise, learn from each other, and collectively explore new approaches and tools.
The project works primarily with informal sector women in addressing key issues they are facing. This includes the future of work faced by women; engaging women in community governance; women’s leadership and feminist approaches, young women as entrepreneurs and agents of community change; and asset-based approaches to reducing urban and rural poverty through economic development
PILLARS
Community Engagement
Strengthened leadership of women and men for gender equitable community-driven change processes in their communities.
INNOVATION
144 forms of documentation including op-eds, reports and briefs, guest articles, presentations, video case studies and more.
64 new and/or revised training programs designed, delivered, and improved upon based on Coady methodology.
35 learning products including training curriculum, tools, and case studies.
9 participatory research projects completed and/or in progress.
KEY PRINCIPLES
Starting with existing community and organizational strengths transforms attitudes, fosters respectful partnerships, builds local ownership critical for sustainability, and facilitates innovative solutions. 2. Leadership and education
Community and organizational development require leaders who inspire action and collective ownership of change processes. Education and life-long learning equips people with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to turn local assets into a broader force for social justice.
3. Ensure Development is for all
This means addressing inequality, especially based on discrimination, while creating safe and empowering spaces, and challenging exclusionary structures and negative societal norms in our organizations and our communities.
ENGAGE PARTICIPANTS IN COADY COURSES:
Over 100,000 directly reached through community-based activities (90% women, 10% men)
199 in regional courses (122F / 69M)
30 in on-campus (21F / 9M)
128 in online (100F / 28M)
9 Women’s improved confidence, communication, business and leadership skills
9 Women’s increased participation and influence in local committees
9 Government offices, chairs, and officials are seeking out project participants for their perspectives and opinions
9 Men’s attitudes shifting
FOR COMMUNITY FOR ORGANIZATIONS
9 Deepened approaches to ABCD, women’s leadership, digital skills, entrepreneurship, value chain analysis, and social enterprise
9 Customized community-based, training-of-trainer and training-ofpractitioner course materials and manuals
9 Provision of training to field and mid-level partner staff who would otherwise be unable to access training
9 Adaptation and use of facilitation skills and technologies for mobile learning
LEARNING AND INFLUENCE
9 Enhanced action research and documentation skills
9 Strengthened monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches
9 Strengthened advocacy skills, materials, and approaches
9 Strengthened networks and coalitions to facilitate collective reflection, learning, and consensus-building
* as identified by partners and participants through survey.
100%
of Action Research and Innovation Partners report that ABCD approaches, tools and strategies strengthened their support for women’s leadership.
87%
report applying their new knowledge and skills in their organization or community
100% said the partnership or collaboration contributed to women’s rights and gender equality.
90%
report that their confidence to deliver women-centred training and support has increased
Established in 1959 by St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), Coady Institute is committed to citizen-led, asset-based, and community-driven leadership for economic and social change. The Institute was named in honour of Rev. Dr. Moses Coady, a prominent founder of the Antigonish Movement – a people’s movement for economic and social justice that began in Nova Scotia during the 1920s.
