Pilot Projects
During the build-up phase of Genderforce, pilot projects will be launched in Afghanistan, DRC and Columbia to prove the concept, identify lessons learned and best practices in order to feed into the development of procedures and methods.
Each pilot is intended to be run between two and three years in each country prior to a full-scale rollout of the Genderforce methodology. The pilot approach will provide enough time and feedback through local entities and populationto tailor, verify and further develop our concept in situ. This will inevitably present Genderforce with refined methods, procedures and working practices which will be packaged to support a wider global rollout of our services.
The Planning Phase
As a part of our methodology, Genderforce follows the established operational planning (OPLAN) principles used by NATO and most modern military organisations today. This enables Genderforce to use verified methods for planning and deploying operations in crisis areas. It gives also a shared methodology and terminology that allows us to interact more effectively with existing security actors within the framework of interoperability.
The OPLAN methods dictates that prior to the deployment of an operation, an initial operational planning phase must take place. In our case, we calculate a planning period of approximately four to six months will be carried out before any pilot project is fully deployed.
During this initial planning phase, thorough investigations and analysis will be performed focusing on fact findings, evaluating partnerships, assessing and mapping the key stakeholders (e.g. UN, AU, European Union etc.) present in the mission area. Through this work, we will also seek to de-conflict with any finalised, ongoing or planned projects, programmes, activities and training programs already taking place.
During the planning phase, new contacts and partnerships will also be established and existing ones fine-tuned to facilitate an effective implementation of the pilot project. Contacts and partnerships will be established with many local and international actors within (but not limited to); government, security sector, diplomatic missions, private security companies, religious organisations, educators and various civil society organisations.
The planning phase will also clarify the legal framework for the pilot project, in order to ensure that the operating procedures will align with international and national laws and standards. Additionally, the planning phase will also strive to identify and describe the specific individuals and/or groups or area that will be the recipient of the enhanced security and protection during the pilot project. The selection will be conducted together with local partners and will be based on the following criteria;
- BENEFITS – For the recipient, for the community, for the region and the nation
- ABILITIES – Competences, capabilities and mandates/official roles
- MOTIVATION – Willingness, drive, rationale
- COSTS & RISKS – For the recipient, for the community, for Genderforce and our stakeholders
The framework around each single pilot project will be different depending from where the funding will come from and who is the requesting/inviting actor etc. During planning we will also identify and recruit the individuals and teams that will be deployed during the pilot project as well as to initialise preparation for logistics and administration. As a parallel and prioritized activity we will also perform fundraising activities for a 2-3 year follow-on pilot project through financial support from governments, trust funds, organisations and private donors.
