DSD SHARES SOUTH AFRICA’S EXPERIENCE IN EVIDENCE-BASED POLICYMAKING AT INTERNATIONAL GENDER EQUALITY CONFERENCE

By Tholakele Makena

• Ms Desiree (Dez) Jason, Director: Programme and Policy Evaluation at DSD, spoke on a panel at the Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland, held under the theme “Measure to Matter.”
• ⁠She presented South Africa’s experience in using evidence to shape policy, citing the Child Support Grant, the Sanitary Dignity Programme and gender-responsive public procurement as examples.
• The conference stressed that data must be analysed and used to inform decisions, and opened opportunities for ongoing collaboration with the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport and other partners.

The National Department of Social Development (DSD) participated in the Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2026, hosted by the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 29 September 2026. Held under the theme “Measure to Matter,” the conference brought together government representatives, international organisations, researchers, sporting bodies and civil society to discuss how data and evidence can advance gender equality and improve policy and programme implementation.

The Department was represented by Ms Desiree (Dez) Jason, Director: Programme and Policy Evaluation, who served as a panellist in a discussion titled “From Data to Policy to Impact: Evidence-Informed Governance for Gender Equality.” The session explored how research, data and effective governance can inform policies and programmes that promote gender equality and address the challenges facing women and girls.

During the discussion, Ms Jason shared South Africa’s experience in using evidence to inform policymaking, programme development and resource allocation since 1994. She highlighted the importance of integrating gender equality considerations into government policies and programmes to improve outcomes for women and girls.

Among the examples she shared was the Child Support Grant, which supports children and their caregivers. Evidence on social protection has shown that the grant contributes to children’s well-being and educational outcomes, including those of girls, while also providing financial support to caregivers, many of whom are women.

Ms Jason also highlighted the Sanitary Dignity Programme, which aims to improve access to sanitary products and support girls’ school attendance. She described the programme as a demonstration of how gender considerations can be built into service delivery, and referred to its gender-responsive public procurement system as an example of how procurement can support broader gender equality objectives.

She further highlighted the Department’s use of digital innovation and the sharing of administrative data across government. These initiatives support better coordination and the use of information to strengthen service delivery to vulnerable communities.

A key message from the conference was that collecting data is not enough on its own. Data must be analysed and used to inform decisions, improve programme implementation and assess whether government interventions are achieving their intended outcomes. Effective monitoring and evaluation are therefore essential to identifying service delivery gaps, understanding the needs of different population groups and informing future planning.

Discussions also covered gender-responsive budgeting, safeguarding, inclusion and the importance of collecting reliable data that reflects the different circumstances of women and girls. Participants emphasised the need to measure not only participation in programmes, but also changes in people’s well-being, safety, access to opportunities and overall quality of life.

South Africa participated in a closed session for government and intergovernmental representatives, which provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, discuss implementation challenges and explore areas for future collaboration. The session included representatives from the African Union, UNESCO, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Council of Europe and other national and international institutions.

For DSD, the conference provided an opportunity to share the country’s experience while learning from international approaches to evidence-informed governance and gender equality. The lessons discussed are relevant to the Department’s policy development, research, and monitoring and evaluation functions, particularly in strengthening the link between evidence, programme implementation and measurable results.

The engagement also identified opportunities for continued knowledge exchange and collaboration with the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport and other organisations working in gender equality, research, sport and social development.

The conference reaffirmed the importance of using evidence to guide government decisions and to assess the impact of programmes on the lives of the people they serve. For the Department, the knowledge gained will contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen gender-responsive programming, improve the use of administrative data, and support evidence-informed planning and service delivery.