Disaggregation of People Indicators
HELVETAS collects data on people reached (primary stakeholders) across all projects and combines it into global totals for reporting. For deeper analysis, these totals are broken down into different disagregation categories. This helps HELVETAS to check whether its work is inclusive and fair, making sure that vulnerable and marginalized groups are properly reached and supported.
Most people indicators must be broken down (disaggregated) by gender, age, and ‘left behind groups’ (previously called vulnerable population groups). This does not apply to indirect staekholders. Projects can also add other breakdown categories depending on their own strategies and needs. However, the three categories above are the minimum requirement for annual reporting, and projects are strongly encouraged to apply them to all their people related indicators.
Disaggregation categories
Gender
In most contexts, gender is recorded as female or male. Where relevant and appropriate, a third option, ‘other,’ may be included. However, this must be done with great care to avoid putting the projects primary stakeholders at risk. In contexts where ‘other’ is not accepted or could create danger, this data should not be collected, especially if there is a chance that government authorities could demand access to it.
If sensitive data such as ‘other’ gender categories is collected, it must always be encrypted to ensure maximum protection
Age
People counts must be reported in three age categories: children, youth, and adults (including the elderly). Since the definition of these age groups can differ across cultures and contexts, each country office must clearly define the exact age ranges it uses (as described in the Prodoc).
For head office reporting, only the broad categories will be used (children, youth, adults including elderly) without specifying age ranges.
If monitoring data does not yet provide age details, since this is a new requirement, please use estimates from baseline surveys or national statistics on the population’s age and gender distribution
Left behind groups
Each people indicator should also be disaggregated by on whetehr a primary stakeholder belongs to a left behind group. A general definition for these groups of persons cannot be provided. The disadvantaged persons need to be identified and defined at the level of each country programme as they are specific to the individual country context. For the identification of the relevant groups, the following serves as a general guideline:
Each country programme should carefully identify which poor and disadvantaged (vulnerable) groups it will work with. This choice should be based on local needs, the opportunities created by the legal and institutional environment, and our own capacity and resources. Since HELVETAS cannot support all vulnerable people everywhere, the selection requires joint reflection within the country team, using available statistics and information, and agreeing on a clear definition of priority groups.
Because women remain disadvantaged in nearly all contexts where we work, a gender analysis is essential. Special attention should be given to women who head households, widows, and women who face multiple barriers. Other disadvantaged groups may include people living in poverty, those discriminated against due to origin, ethnicity, religion, caste or occupation, people living in remote areas, young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Many individuals experience discrimination in several ways at once, for example, a young indigenous woman.
Poor and disadvantaged groups often face barriers that prevent them from taking part in development activities. Projects may therefore need to design additional measures to help overcome these barriers. For instance, if women cannot participate in paid work because of childcare duties, a project might support a day care centre. In other cases, the barriers may be too large for a single project to address—such as the need for legal reforms to secure women’s access to land or the lack of basic education among some minority groups. In such situations, complementary projects may be designed to act at field level, policy level, or both. Country programmes are therefore encouraged to actively consider these opportunities when designing new projects.
Finally, it is important not to see poor and disadvantaged groups only as victims. They are rights-holders with responsibilities, and projects should engage with them as partners in development, working together in a spirit of mutual respect