Commissioned by Nijera Kori | Supported by Brot für die Welt | Led by GenderSphere | 2016–2018
GenderSphere conducted a feminist, human rights and social justice network of members and a wide community of partners and allies. The organisation works to promote and protect the human rights of trafficked and migrant workers from a feminist perspective. At the end of 2016, the Alliance is comprised of 80 Member Organisations. This external evaluation of Nijera Kori’s Core Programme in Bangladesh was commissioned by Nijera Kori and supported by Brot für die Welt (BfW), with a team of researchers including Kalyani Menon Sen, Sudarshana Kundu, and Suresh KT.
The aim was to help the organisation identify and address areas of strengths, weaknesses, gaps, challenges, and opportunities in its programming and operational structure, to better enable it to move forward with a clearer vision and strategic direction, and strengthened operations.
The key objectives included:
- Conduct an organisational capacity assessment of the Alliance, i.e. the membership, the International Secretariat, the International Board and the Advisory Groups;
- Prioritise the action items emerging from the assessment into immediate, short-term, and medium-term; and
- Assist the Alliance, and particularly the IS, in preparing an organisational development plan and a strategic framework which will serve to guide its annual programme plans on the basis of their identified priorities.
The evaluation aimed to assess the overall scope, performance, and institutional strength of Nijera Kori’s long-standing programme, which organises landless rural populations across four regions of Bangladesh—Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Chittagong. The programme focuses on building collective consciousness and action through samitis (village-level groups), with a strong emphasis on rights, justice, and gender equality. The evaluation design included field visits, staff interviews, participatory discussions, and an institutional review, covering both programmatic and operational aspects. It marked a key moment of reflection for one of South Asia’s most significant grassroots movements.
