What sort of projects have used GEM?

A broad range of initiatives have applied GEM for evaluation, advisory, and planning purposes - community groups, small and larger-scale NGOs, government agencies, donors, women's organisations and networks. It has been used by urban and rural telecentres, GEM is a flexible methodology in this sense - if you are interested in ICTs to promote social change, then GEM will bring fundamental insight into your work.

Is GEM for women's organisations or for ICT programs?

Both. For those mixed and women's organisations already familiar with gender analysis, GEM helps them take a look at how gender and ICTs intersect in their initiative and its impact. For ICT practitioners who have little experience with gender analysis, GEM provides a gender framework from an ICT point of view. WNSP's emphasis on participatory evaluation and putting results to work will also be of interest.

Our project isn't something that is specifically designed for women, it's for everyone and anyone who is interested. Can we still use GEM?

Absolutely. When the APC WNSP developed GEM it did so with members of the ICT community who have no experience in gender issues in mind, to provide a basic guide to look at gender and ICT crossroads. GEM helps you take a look at gender roles, relationships and dynamics within an ICT context, and may offer you a different view on social transformation. GEM is appropriate for any ICT initiative interested in social change.

As a feminist organisation, we are very familiar with gender evaluation methodologies and gender analysis. How is GEM different?

The APC WNSP developed the Gender Evaluation Methodology for ICT and Internet Initiatives because there was no other tool available to really measure the impact of our and other women's organisations' work on transforming women's lives and achieving social change via ICTs. We needed a tool to measure impact, to document and analyse women's experiences in the world of ICTs. Certainly GEM is an action-oriented methodology. We hope that learnings from GEM will inform policy work, ICT practice, and organisational practice.

How do we get started with GEM?

GEM is available on-line or can be downloaded for off-line exploration. You'll find the methodology in the GEMworks section of the website for you to review the three phases entailed in the evaluation process. We highly recommend that you delve into our basic conceptual documents, in Understanding GEM, before beginning to apply GEM. Many evaluators start by having discussion groups with these documents. You also might like to join the GEM Practitioners Network, where you will be able to exchange experiences and knowledge with GEM practitioners from around the world. The network will offer you an idea of what can be achieved from using GEM and also help provide sample indicators as well as suggest complementary tools and methodologies.

What kind of support does the WNSP offer to those using GEM?

The GEM Services Coordinator does offer consultancy services and technical support to those who are applying GEM. All of GEM is freely available on-line for you to use. One aspect of the GEM Practitioners Network is to provide a space where you can find materials to support your evaluation process and learn from other's experiences. You can also find materials to support your evaluation process from GEMworks.

If you would like an in-depth orientation to GEM, we do offer GEM Services to provide organisations with an overview of gender and ICT issues and how to apply GEM in their organisations. In these preliminary workshops, organisations finish with a well-developed evaluation plan and methodology outline to begin work. GEM consultants provide on-site or on-line support during the evaluation process.

We encourage everyone interested in GEM to also share resources, ideas, strategies and evaluation results so that our collective learning grows.

You say that GEM is freely available but I saw that it is copyrighted? Does it have a cost?

GEM is freely available and free of charge. It is copyrighted with a Creative Commons License. You are welcome to make use of the material and distribute it as long as you give the APC WNSP credit, and make no commercial gain from GEM. You are also welcome to transform it and produce something of your own as long as you share your results with others, do not use it for commercial purposes, and put a creative commons license on it.

Where can I find examples of indicators?

The GEM manual incorporates indicator examples in the methodology and exercises and suggestions to help you develop indicators for your initiative. The companion guides also provide illustrative examples from the experiences of telecentres, localisation initiatives, and rural ICTD projects.

GEM Evaluator reports are available on line and summarized according to GEM's different steps to permit easy perusal of indicators, sample methodologies, and results. You can also read the full reports by the evaluators themselves.