Case Studies & Resources

Explore the following case studies to see how GenderUp has been used by innovation teams across the globe.

Keep scrolling for literature, other tools, and a glossary of terms used frequently throughout the GenderUp journey!

Diversification in East & Southern Africa: Zambia Case Study

Explore the Ukama Ustawi Initiative’s Work Package 5 training workshop on inclusive and responsible scaling of agricultural innovations using the GenderUp methodology.

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Gender
(Up-Date)

This report outlines GenderUp’s progress towards intended outcomes – practical applications, method improvements, institutionalizing GenderUp principles, and research spin-offs.

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Mechanized CA Innovation Packages: Zimbabwe Case Study

Explore the Ukama Ustawi Initiative’s Work Package 5 GenderUp workshop that engaged several stakeholders to scale the use of mechanized conservation agriculture with an inclusive lens.

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Agroecology Initiative: Tunisia Case Study

This report aims to highlight discussions from the Gender-Up workshop on implementing the Controlled Designation of Origin (AOC) for olive oil in the El Kef region.

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Literature

The following publications and journal articles cover relevant topics of inclusive scaling, intersectionality, and responsible food systems transformation.

  • Hidrobo, M., Kosec, K., Gartaula, H. N., Van Campenhout, B., & Carrillo, L. (2024). Making complementary agricultural resources, technologies, and services more gender-responsive. Global Food Security, 42, 100778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2024.100778
  • Hofstra, B., Kulkarni, V. V., Munoz-Najar Galvez, S., He, B., Jurafsky, D., & McFarland, D. A. (2020). The Diversity–Innovation Paradox in Science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9284–9291. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915378117
  • Katie Tavenner, Todd A. Crane, Renee Bullock & Alessandra Galiè (2022) Intersectionality in gender and agriculture: toward an applied research design, Gender, Technology and Development, 26:3, 385-403, DOI: 10.1080/09718524.2022.2140383
  • Klerkx, L., & Rose, D. (2020). Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: How do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways? Global Food Security, 24, 100347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2019.100347
  • Leeuwis, C., Boogaard, B.K. & Atta-Krah, K. How food systems change (or not): governance implications for system transformation processes. Food Sec. 13, 761–780 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01178-4
  • Makate, C. (2019). Effective scaling of climate smart agriculture innovations in African smallholder agriculture: A review of approaches, policy and institutional strategy needs. Environmental Science & Policy, 96, 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.01.014
  • McGuire, E., Rietveld, A. M., Crump, A., & Leeuwis, C. (2022). Anticipating gender impacts in scaling innovations for agriculture: Insights from the literature. World Development Perspectives, 25, 100386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100386
  • McGuire, E., Leeuwis, C., Rietveld, A. M., & Teeken, B. (2024). Anticipating social differentiation and unintended consequences in scaling initiatives using GenderUp, a method to support responsible scaling. Agricultural Systems, 215, 103866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103866 
  • McGuire, E., Ewell, H., Bailey, A. et al. Breaking biases and building momentum for transforming agricultural research for development practices: recommendations and research opportunities. npj Sustain. Agric. 3, 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00044-y 
  • Opola, F. O., Klerkx, L., Leeuwis, C., & W. Kilelu, C. (2021). The Hybridity of Inclusive Innovation Narratives Between Theory and Practice: A Framing Analysis. European Journal of Development Research, 33(3), 626-648. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00290-z
  • Polar, V., Babini, C., Flores, P., Velasco, C. (2017) Technology is not gender neutral: Factors that influence the potential adoption of agricultural technology by men and women. International Potato Center. La Paz – Bolivia. 41 pp. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/90133
  • Rietveld (Anne), A. M., van der Burg (Margreet), M., & Groot (Jeroen), J. C. J. (2020). Bridging youth and gender studies to analyse rural young women and men’s livelihood pathways in Central Uganda. Journal of Rural Studies, 75, 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.01.020
  • Schut, M., Leeuwis, C., & Thiele, G. (2020). Science of Scaling: Understanding and guiding the scaling of innovation for societal outcomes. Agricultural Systems, 184, 102908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102908
  • Van Loon, J., Woltering, L., Krupnik, T. J., Baudron, F., Boa, M., & Govaerts, B. (2020). Scaling agricultural mechanization services in smallholder farming systems: Case studies from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Agricultural Systems, 180, 102792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102792
  • Woltering, L., Fehlenberg, K., Gerard, B., Ubels, J., & Cooley, L. (2019). Scaling – from “reaching many” to sustainable systems change at scale: A critical shift in mindset. Agricultural Systems, 176, 102652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102652
  • Wigboldus, S., & Leeuwis, C. (2013). Towards responsible scaling up and out in agricultural development: An exploration of concepts and principles. Centre for Development Innovation Discussion Paper, no. 65, August 2016, pp. 1-36. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:133359114

Other Resources

These links highlight relevant tools, methodologies, and learning opportunities to complement your GenderUp journey.

Scaling Readiness:

GenderUp may be used independently or together with Scaling Readiness, a method that guides teams towards successful scaling strategies.

How to combine the GenderUp method with the Scaling Readiness Tool?

First, go through the Fit-for-Purpose Step in the Scaling Readiness tool to find out if you would like to use this approach. Then go through the GenderUp journey up to Stage 3. After you have identified socially differentiated groups, you can use these as an entry point in the Characterize Step of Scaling Readiness. From there, continue with the Scaling Readiness tool to systematically identify innovation packages, bottleneck innovations and corresponding scaling strategies that are specific to the groups that you identified with the help of GenderUp.

Scaling Scan:
  • Scaling Scan (CIMMYT): The Scaling Scan is a user-friendly tool to explore what is required to scale an innovation in a specific context, the implications this has for project management and collaborations and the potential trade-offs on the environment as well as social dynamics.
Learning Opportunities:
  • Online Scaling Course (CGIAR): This online course was developed to support innovation teams and partners in developing a common understanding of innovation and scaling in the context of agricultural research for development.
  • FAO e-learning series – “Gender equality in climate change and agrifood systems”: This e-learning series facilitates the exchange of promising approaches, tools and good practices that can be used to support the design and implementation of sustainable and gender-transformative policies, legislations and investments to advance gender equality and empower women and youth in the agriculture sector and in agrifood systems. 
Scaling Community of Practice:
  • Scaling Community of Practice: The CoP is a platform for knowledge exchange among experts and practitioners on approaches to scaling up development interventions, for developing partnerships, and for championing the idea that scaling up development impact is critical for achieving global development aspirations, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change aspirations.
Other Tools:
  • Agricultural Scaling Assessment Tool (Feed the Future / Agrilinks): The ASAT is designed to provide a qualitative appraisal of an innovation’s scalability. It provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of the innovation relative to scalability, the most promising scaling up pathways (i.e., commercial, public, or public-private partnerships), and information on the extent to which target contexts — locations and populations – and their market and public-sector capacity currently facilitate scaling.
  • Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (IFPRI): The WEAI measures the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agriculture sector in an effort to identify ways to overcome those obstacles and constraints.
  • NetMap (IFPRI) : NetMap is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes. By creating Influence Network Maps, individuals and groups can clarify their own view of a situation, foster discussion, and develop a strategic approach to their networking activities.
Other Resources:
  • Capacity development for agriculture innovation: This interactive guidebook brings together tools and resources to help practitioners design and implement capacity development activities with an innovation systems approach in mind.
  • GENNOVATE (CGIAR): GENNOVATE is a global comparative research initiative that addresses the question of how gender norms and agency influence men, women, and youth to adopt innovation in agriculture and natural resource management.
  • Evidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equity (EMERGE): An initiative and platform focused on measurement of gender equality and empowerment. The platform is designed as a repository of measures and resources for survey reserachers and practitioners working on development, program monitoring and evaluation, and for consideration of state or national indicators. 
  • Gender equality in agriculture: FAO video. Watch the video
  • Women in agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development.  Executive summary of FAO’s State of Agriculture 2010-2011. Read the summary
  • Integrating ‘gender’ in research for development: How you interpret the term can shape project achievements. Flier from CIMMYT. Read the flier

Glossary

Refer to this list of commonly used terms as you navigate the GenderUp journey.

Scaling and Innovation

  • Innovation: Novel practices, products, services, models, and institutional arrangements that have a social and/or economic use in society.

  • Scaling: The process of increasing and/or expanding the use of a specific innovation, and often decreasing and/or reducing the use of pre-existing practices.

  • Scaling strategy: A set of coherent activities, stakeholders, and stakeholder engagement models to overcome one or more scaling bottlenecks.

  • Intended innovation user: A group or segment of people that is supposed to use and benefit from an innovation.

  • Non-user: A group or segment of people that does not use an innovation, or is not able to use an innovation, but who may still be impacted by others using the innovation.

  • Unintended impacts: Effects of an innovation that were not anticipated or intended.

  • Mitigating activities: Actions taken to reduce negative impacts or enhance positive outcomes of an intervention.

  • Complementary innovations: Additional changes that are necessary to scale core innovations. They often relate to the broader environment and are geared towards making this environment more enabling, thereby allowing the core innovation to have impact at scale.

Gender and Inclusivity

  • Gender: The social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their biological sex, encompassing roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender may influence a person’s power and autonomy (ability to make their own decisions).

  • Social inclusivity: Improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of people that are disadvantaged on the basis of their social characteristics to take part in society.

  • Social dimension: An aspect or attribute along which people differ (e.g., wealth or age) and can be categorized into groups (e.g., rich or poor, young or old). People can be categorized along multiple dimensions, but not all dimensions are relevant to a particular scaling ambition.

  • Relevant social dimension: The identified social dimensions and corresponding distinctions between groups that need to be taken into account to ensure that scaling activities are equitable and inclusive.

  • Intersectionality: The interplay of multiple social dimensions that increases vulnerability and inequality in privilege and power, and further entrenches inequalities and injustice. These characteristics are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another.

  • Intersectional group: A group of people who are categorized by multiple social dimensions, such as gender and wealth.

Social Dimensions used in GenderUp
  • Wealth Status: Economic standing. Descriptors: Low, medium, high income.
  • Other Job: Employment status regarding the number of jobs held which may impact time resources or provide other sources of income. Descriptors: One other job, more than one job.
  • Education: Level and type of formal or informal learning received. Descriptors: Informal, formal; primary, secondary.
  • Age: Length of time lived, categorized into life stages. Descriptors: Child, adolescent/youth, adults, senior/elderly.
  • Land Ownership: Legal right to possess, use, and control land. Descriptors: Owner, renter, landless; smallholder, large scale owner.
  • Mobility: Ability to move freely. Descriptors: High (e.g., access to transport), low (e.g., no access to transport); nomadic, sedentary.
  • Ethnicity: Shared cultural, linguistic, or ancestral traits. Descriptors: Based on your context, may include caste.
  • Migrant Status: Condition of having moved from one place to another. Descriptors: Migrant, non-migrant, spouse of migrated partner.
  • Marital Status: Legal standing in relation to marriage. Descriptors: Married, divorced, widowed, polygamist.
  • Location: Geographical area of residence. Descriptors: Rural, peri-urban, urban; highlands, lowlands; remote, central.
  • Household Structure: Composition of a household. Descriptors: Size, number of children.
  • Disability: Condition limiting movements, senses, or activities. Descriptors: Vision, hearing, or mobility impaired; cognitive disabilities.
  • Religion: System of faith and worship. Descriptors: Christian, Muslim, Hindu.
  • Gender: Social and cultural differences assigned based on biological sex. Descriptors: Male, female, third gender.