Mainstreaming gender equality in local governament

Mainstreaming gender equality in local government

Fourth Medium-Term Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1996-2000)

A Framework

European Commission

Building Commitment

Meeting Local Needs

Working in Partnership

Sustaining Gender Equality

Achieving Social Justice

Delivering Quality Services

Maximising Resources

Enhancing Local Government Business

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSION

December 1997

Project co-financed by the European Commission.The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission or the Equal Opportunities Commission (Great Britain).

Contents

Executive Summary i

1 Introduction 1

2 Why mainstream? 3

3 Mainstreaming: elements and stages 8

4 The establishment of mainstreaming as a corporate strategy 10

5 The development of a mainstreaming policy 16

6 The implementation of a mainstreaming strategy 19

7 Monitoring, evaluation and policy review of the strategy 23

8 Conclusion 26

9 Contact list Contents 27.

.Executive Summary

Introduction

Local government in Britain plays a key role in delivering services to the community; provides a representative voice for people at a local level; is a major employer of women and men and is a facilitator and key partner in forming links with external agencies. In recent years, individual local government organisations have undertaken important initiatives to promote equal opportunities. There is now widespread agreement that for this experience to be consolidated, equal opportunities should be built into all aspects of the policy process. This process is known as mainstreaming, which has been defined by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)as:

the integration of equal opportunities into all policy development, implementation, evaluation and review processes.

The EOC commissioned ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd to carry out case study research in four countries (Britain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden) as part of the European Commission's Fourth Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1996-2000). On the basis of this research, a framework has been developed to facilitate the process of mainstreaming gender equality in local government. It is aimed at senior officers in local authorities with responsibilities for service delivery and for economic and social regeneration; trade union officials; and the relevant local partners of each authority. The framework examines:

why local authorities should mainstream equal opportunities;
how mainstreaming should be established as a corporate strategy;
how mainstreaming should be developed as a policy; Executive summary
how the mainstreaming strategy should be implemented;
how the strategy should be monitored, evaluated and reviewed.

Why mainstream?

Local authorities mainstream equal opportunities because it enables them to: · sustain progress on equal opportunities; · tackle areas of potential discrimination to ensure that local government services are delivered fairly, equitably and appropriately; · balance the needs of target groups and mobilise human resources; · manage change effectively in the light of internal and external developments; · transform the way organisations think and act; · identify and influence partners; · meet the criteria for accessing financial and other resources from external sources.

The establishment of mainstreaming as a corporate strategy involves:

securing the support of elected members to mainstream equal opportunities;
securing the support of trade unions to mainstream equal opportunities;
securing corporate agreement to mainstream equal opportunities;
defining corporate values and objectives;
identifying needs through the gathering and analysis of data;
identifying needs through internal and external consultation;
developing an understanding of discrimination and inequality;
demonstrating the benefits of mainstreaming; i.
establishing corporate structures internally and organisational linkages externally;
consideration of the staffing implications.

The development of a mainstreaming policy involves:

the defining of a mainstreaming strategy statement;
the preparation of a mainstreaming development plan.

The implementation of a mainstreaming strategy consists of:

carrying out departmental audits to identify areas of unequal representation and service usage in respect of the development of service action plans with identified desired outcomes;
monitoring of long-term development of service standards including equalities dimensions.

Monitoring, evaluation and policy review of the strategy involves:

establishing measurable equality performance indicators;
negotiating change to the strategy as a result of the monitoring and evaluation exercise;
measuring progress over time against the initial plans for mainstreaming.

1 Introduction

ii.Background in the UK

Local government services in Britain are administered by more than 400 local authorities. In England, there is a two-tier structure encompassing five types of local authority whose specific responsibilities vary. However, since April 1996, all local authorities in Scotland and Wales have been unitary authorities which are responsible for the provision of every service (see page 4).

In recent years, important initiatives in relation to the promotion of equal opportunities have been undertaken by individual local authorities in Britain. There is now widespread agreement that for this experience to be consolidated within these and other authorities, equal opportunities should be built into all aspects of the policy process. This process has been termed mainstreaming. As defined by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) for Great Britain:

Mainstreaming is the integration of equal opportunities into all policy development, implementation, evaluation and review processes.

In effect, mainstreaming equal opportunities in local government involves making equal opportunities the responsibility of everyone in local government, including those responsible for the development of strategy, managers of departments, front-line staff, elected members, trade union officials and external partners.

Aim of the framework

The aim of this document is to provide a framework which will facilitate the process of mainstreaming gender equality in local government. The purpose of this framework is 1 Introduction to provide a guide to local authorities on how to establish mainstreaming as a corporate strategy. It is illustrated by examples of good practice which have been drawn from case study research carried out by ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd in conjunction with experts in Ireland (Ursula Barry and Anne-Marie Reynolds); Italy (Manuela Samek and Elisabetta Donati) and Sweden (Anna Thoursie). The framework therefore explains why mainstreaming is significant for local government; states how to establish, implement, and evaluate mainstreaming as a corporate approach; and lists some of the potential problems associated with the process.

The origins of the framework

The framework has been informed by an action research project which was sponsored by the EOC GB as part of the European Commission's Fourth Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1996-2000). This involved research in four European countries: Britain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden.

Case study research was carried out in six local authorities in England (Bristol City Council and London Borough of Hounslow), Scotland (Glasgow City Council and Perth and Kinross Council) and Wales (City and Council of Swansea and Flintshire County Council). The case study authorities in Britain also contributed financially to the project. Research was also undertaken in Ireland (Dublin Corporation; Tallaght Partnership; PAUL Partnership, Limerick); in Italy (Modena Council; Basilicata Region; Venice (a database); and in Sweden (Södertälje Municipality; Haparanda Municipality).

Financial and other support for the project was provided by the local government umbrella organisations in Britain, the Local Government Management Board, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association, and by the main local government trade union in Britain, UNISON. The project was also supported by the respective transnational partners, the Employment Equality Agency in Ireland, the Ministry of Equal Opportunities in Italy and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities.One of the aims of the research was to develop a framework and good practice guidance to mainstreaming in local government using practical examples of mainstreaming drawn from the case study authorities in the four European countries. The accompanying research report, Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Local Government, gives full details of the methodology adopted and the findings of the study.

The audience for the framework

This framework has been developed for use in local government. Local government should be at the forefront of mainstreaming for a number of reasons. These include that local government:

plays a key role in delivering services to the community;
provides a representative voice for people at a local level and is accountable to them;
plays a key role in the local economy as a major employer of women and men;
is a key source of information for local people;
is a facilitator and also a key partner in forming links with external agencies.

The framework is aimed, in particular, at local authorities which are trying to agree, develop and implement a corporate approach to equal opportunities. It should be read by senior officers in local authorities with responsibilities for service delivery and for economic and social regeneration. It should also be read by trade union officials since, if mainstreaming is to be effective, trade union involvement in the process is essential. Indeed, trade unions are often the driving force in equal opportunities activities. Finally, the framework should be examined by the relevant local partners of each authority.

Using the framework

Local authorities in Britain differ considerably in terms of size and structure. They also differ with respect to current and past approaches towards equal opportunities; in some authorities, equalities work is carried out by specialist teams, whereas in others an integrated approach has been adopted. Alternatively, there may be a combination of both approaches. Local authorities also vary in the degree of importance given to equalities work or the stages they have reached in implementing an equal opportunities strategy. The framework has been drawn up on the basis of the experience of larger authorities and may be more appropriate in some respects to larger, than to smaller, local authorities. Local authorities should adopt a flexible approach towards this framework. Before deciding how best to proceed, local authorities should:

take stock of their existing corporate approach towards equal opportunities, as well as in related areas, e.g. their anti-poverty strategies or their approaches to "single status" or "best value" (see p. 4);
tailor the framework to their own local circumstances;
relate their current activities in this area and progress achieved to date to the framework. 2.2

Why mainstream?

Local authorities mainstream equal opportunities because it helps them to achieve their wider aims. For example, within the case study authorities, mainstreaming - or the preferred term in many authorities of "integrating equalities" - was seen as a way of meeting the needs of diverse groups equally and of ensuring good recruitment and employment practices, of encouraging equal participation in decision-making, and of achieving quality and cost effectiveness across all activities. While mainstreaming may involve additional costs in terms of time and resources, these are more than outweighed by the benefits which are accrued to local authorities from the process.

Essentially mainstreaming can assist local authorities to:

sustain progress on equal opportunities;
tackle areas of potential discrimination to ensure that local government services are delivered fairly, equitably and appropriately;
balance the needs of target groups and mobilise human resources;
manage change effectively in the light of internal and external developments;
transform the way organisations think and act;
identify and influence partners;
meet the criteria for accessing financial and other resources from external sources.

Sustaining progress on equal opportunities

By mainstreaming equal opportunities, local authorities can agree corporate equal opportunities strategies and fully integrate the management and operational aspects into the core of their policy making structures. Through this process, progress in tackling discrimination and inequality can be sustained and can withstand change. For example, case study local authorities expressed concern that expenditure cuts (both for the authority overall and for specialist equalities units), restructuring and other major internal and external developments were undermining progress towards equality. Mainstreaming will enable local government more effectively to maintain its commitment to equality and to meet the diverse needs of local residents.

Tackling areas of potential discrimination to ensure that local government services are delivered fairly, equitably and appropriately

In spite of over twenty years of equality legislation, men and women remain unequal in many spheres of life, including in education, the labour market, management and the professions and in terms of their weekly pay, pensions and benefits. Mainstreaming will help local government to identify and tackle these inequalities. In service delivery, communities are not equally represented as service users. Mainstreaming ensures that due account is taken in the planning, design and delivery of services to ensure their fair distribution and effective use.

Balancing the needs of target groups and mobilising human resources

Local authorities often seek to target their resources on certain specified groups within the local population. These "target groups" will vary from authority to authority and individuals can of course be members of more than one target group. They may include women; ethnic minorities; gay men; lesbians; disabled people; transsexuals; immigrants; refugees; younger people; older people; lone parents; and unemployed people. Mainstreaming enables local authorities to balance the competing needs 3.of their various target groups and to ensure that changing needs are met. This is particularly useful since in many areas the number of specified target groups which the authority seeks to serve is increasing. Mainstreaming equal opportunities places emphasis on ensuring that sufficient data are available to identify community resources and enable these to be effectively deployed. Local participation encourages better understanding of, and will enable better decisions to be made about, targeting and tailoring services.

Managing change in the light of internal and external developments

All change - whether financial, organisational or legislative - has the potential to impact on equality. Mainstreaming provides a framework to enable local government to manage the considerable changes that it is currently facing. For example:

The availability of financial resources and the implications of budgetary cuts

Through mainstreaming, local authorities will be able to demonstrate greater transparency in the way that resources are being used, and/or cuts implemented, and provide a clearer justification of why outcomes are different for different groups.

Local government reorganisation

Local government officers and members, and trade union officials, are concerned that if and when any local government reorganisation takes place, it might have an adverse impact on equality (in terms of the political and organisational arrangements for equal opportunities). In Britain, local government in Scotland and Wales was reorganised in 1996 with the replacement of a two-tier structure by single-tier unitary authorities; in England, local government reorganisation has been less extensive, although a number of unitary authorities have been established (and more will be set up in 1998). Unless decisions about restructuring are taken with equal opportunities objectives at their core, equality progress within local government may be diminished. Equally, however, organisational change may provide valuable opportunities to strengthen activities which seek to further equality.

The implications of policy change under the new Labour government in the UK

It is necessary for local government to maximise the equality outcomes of new policy developments. A mainstreaming framework ensures that equality issues are considered across the range of local authority service and regeneration responsibilities.

The quest for quality

In the light of increased global competition, organisations across the European Union (EU) are striving to achieve quality improvements in production and service provision. They recognise that maximising the contributions of all employees is likely to help organisations to achieve their goals. In this context, there is an increasing realisation of the importance of synchronising equality and other corporate objectives through a process of mainstreaming. In Britain, for example, the new Labour government has proposed that service value plans should be developed by local authorities to demonstrate objectively that services are competitive, perform against certain indicators and are in line with customer satisfaction. This process is known as "best value". Best value is to be piloted in a number of local authorities in Britain. Equality indicators should be included as part of the "best value" package and mainstreaming would ensure that these plans were implemented and monitored to the full, against all criteria. Other related policy initiatives by local authorities should also be mainstreamed. In Britain, these include the achievement of "Investors in People"1 status and other quality standards. Local authorities which have adopted a "managing diversity" approach 2 also need to ensure that inequality as experienced by members of particular groups is fully recognised.

Harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment

In Britain, an agreement has recently been reached that the terms and conditions of employment of local authority manual and non-manual staff should be harmonised (a process known as "single status"). Mainstreaming would enable the equal opportunities implications of this process to be fully recognised.

1 Investors in People is a scheme designed to increase organisational investment in human resources.

2 Managing diversity is an approach which focuses on individual, rather than group, differences.

Regionalisation and constitutional reform

The greater emphasis on regionalisation throughout the EU will provide an opportunity for new approaches, including mainstreaming, to be adopted. This will be particularly the case in Britain, where the recent major constitutional changes in Scotland and Wales will result in the establishment of a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. At the same time, by mainstreaming equal opportunities, local government will be able to ensure that the equality dimension is taken fully into account when the new arrangements are being established.

Multiple discrimination

The research illustrated how case study local authorities gave priority to the broad diversity of local needs whilst also providing focussed equalities work, with specialist expertise, for specific target groups. In practice, local government has tended to respond to multiple discrimination by developing generic equality policies which focus on its target groups. This is in line with developments at the Amsterdam Summit (see below).

An agreement for a draft on a new Treaty on European Union

Agreement on a draft for a new Treaty on European Union was reached by Europe's Heads of Government at the Amsterdam Summit in June 1997. In this Treaty, equality between women and men is identified as one of the priority objectives of the European Community. In addition, the rights of individuals are given a new prominence. The priorities include:

combatting discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation;
eliminating inequalities between women and men;
combatting poverty and social exclusion;
public health, environmental protection and consumer protection;
human rights - European citizens can now take action at the European Court of Justice if they consider a breach of their fundamental rights has occurred.

As the United Kingdom has decided to join the Social Protocol agreed at Maastricht in 1991, it has been incorporated into the Treaty's provisions on social policy, education, training and youth.

Equality legislation, positive action and mainstreaming

There is an important body of European legislation covering sex equality issues which, in certain circumstances, may place obligations on employers in the EU Member States. Its key features include Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome. This Article, which established the principle of equal pay, covers not only wages and salaries, but also overtime, bonus payments, sick pay and benefits through occupational pensions. Article 119, which will be expanded by the Amsterdam Treaty on European Union, will state that the Council of Ministers shall adopt measures to ensure the application of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation, including the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. There are also various European Community Directives on Equal Pay, Equal Treatment at Work, Equal Treatment in Social Security Schemes and in other areas. Local authorities' equal opportunities policies have also been implemented in line with national equality legislation in the EU Member States, for example in Great Britain the Equal Pay Acts (1970, 1984); the Sex Discrimination Acts (1975 and 1986); the Race Relations Act (1976); and the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). Finally, decisions taken by the European Court of Justice have had an important effect in a number of areas of employment. Such rulings have, for example, established certain rights for part-time workers and have ensured that the victims of discrimination are entitled to appropriate financial compensation. Mainstreaming is not a replacement for equality legislation. Nor is it a replacement for specialist equality teams (see p. 18). It provides the framework in which equality legislation and other equality measures, such as positive action, can be placed strategically. Positive action aims to complement legislation on equal treatment by contributing to the elimination of inequalities in practice. 5.The setting-up of a positive action programme allows an organisation to put right the effects of past discrimination. Local authorities are in a good position to utilise equal treatment and positive action to maximum benefit.

In the Tallaght and PAUL Partnerships in Ireland, for example, equal opportunities policies were implemented through a positive action programme. Because this process took place within a mainstreaming framework, the experience more readily influenced future policies and decisions of key policy makers and practitioners.

The European context

Mainstreaming at European level has been spearheaded through the work of European Commission Action Programmes on Equal Opportunities, while priority has been given to mainstreaming by the Council of Ministers in recent summits. The view that equal opportunities should be mainstreamed throughout Community policies is influencing many European policy areas. These include the implementation of European Union Structural Funds where equality is included in the criteria relating to their allocation. In the planned reform of the Structural Funds, even greater emphasis will be placed on equal opportunities in the design of programmes, in implementation, and in monitoring and evaluation. All organisations seeking support from the Structural Funds will need to demonstrate how their projects contribute to improved equality for women and men. Chwarae Teg, an initiative in Wales which is designed to expand women's role in the workforce, is currently undertaking a project to examine how equality issues can be more fully integrated into the Structural Funds. A mainstreaming framework will also assist local authorities systematically and comprehensively to assess the impact of any future changes in the regional allocation of resources under the Structural Funds. Objective 6 of the European Regional Development Fund concerns the development of regions with an extremely low population.

More men than women live in the Swedish regions that are eligible for Objective 6 funding because of low population densities. The programming documents agreed by the Swedish authorities and the European Commission therefore emphasise the necessity to keep women (and young people) in these regions. They also mention, on numerous occasions, the importance attributed to participation by women. There are various operations specifically targeted at women (positive action). Other measures make provision for women employed in the public sector who are at risk of losing their jobs, to receive European Social Fund assistance to set up businesses in the private sector. The five programme documents that concern converting regions affected by industrial decline also mention the principle of equal opportunities. Certain (positive action) measures are also targeted specifically, or more particularly, at women.

Networks to assist mainstreaming

The EOC GB also promotes networking between organisations involved in gender mainstreaming. One example of such a network is The Fair Play Initiative. This is a joint EOC (GB) and Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) initiative which originated in Wales (as Chwarae Teg). It now also covers England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Fair Play initiative has also been transferred to Belgium. Fair Play aims to enable the full participation of women in the economy and is based on the partnership approach to breaking down barriers. It would be helpful to establish networking among the EU Member States on the issue of mainstreaming and to establish European/international databases.

Transforming the way organisations think and act

Rather than simply adding an equality dimension at the margins, or as an afterthought, mainstreaming transforms the way that decisions are made, in the interests of equality. It does so because it enables resources to be targeted more directly on the needs of diverse groups within the local community. It also allows organisations to respond effectively to changes in these needs.The mainstreaming framework emphasises the necessity for a fuller understanding of how current resource allocation by local government has the potential to discriminate. Challenging the existing situation through mainstreaming can help local authorities to develop a more innovative use of resources and encourages more equal outcomes. It allows information and understanding about equality issues to be shared across the organisation and policy development to take full account of the skills and capacities which exist in local communities.

Identifying and influencing partners

Local authorities need to find the right partners to take policies forward. Mainstreaming helps to identify these partners and also assists them in moving forward together to achieve equality objectives. The role of local government in the process will depend on how effectively equality good practices are shared between the partners. The local authority may have a key role to play in transferring good equality practices across the partnership and in the diffusion of good practice beyond this.

Meeting the criteria for accessing financial and other resources from external sources

It is standard practice for the regulations governing the use of the Structural Funds to contain incentives for the promotion of equal opportunities (see the European context, above). Many other funders are seeking assurance from local government (or the lead partner in funding arrangements) that bids will meet equal opportunities' requirements and standards.

3 Mainstreaming: elements and stages

This chapter introduces the mainstreaming framework. It emphasises that local authorities which are mainstreaming have a common experience of adopting a set of elements that form part of a process. Within this process, there are clearly identifiable stages at which local authorities can take stock, check progress, and proceed with mainstreaming as appropriate. Four elements have been identified. These involve:

developing a strategic approach and establishing structures at Corporate and Directorate Level;
developing a mainstreaming policy including a strategy statement and development plan;
implementing mainstreaming;
monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the process.

The process

The figure below sets out the key elements in the process of developing mainstreaming. It shows how local authorities can check their progress before proceeding to the next stage. The various stages involve:

securing agreement to mainstream equality at corporate level, committing financial and other resources to support mainstreaming, and agreeing the structures for mainstreaming throughout the organisation;
developing and agreeing the corporate policies with clear statements, targets, performance indicators, action plans and timescales, and allocating responsibilities;
implementing mainstreaming and ensuring that monitoring and evaluation systems are in place;
· evaluating the progress of the mainstreaming process including its impact on clients;
reviewing corporate policy objectives;
publishing the results from the mainstreaming process.

Other activities are required throughout the process so that mainstreaming is continuously supported. These activities include:

ensuring that officers and members, including both front-line staff and senior management, receive training;
providing expert equality advice and support;
consulting both internally and externally with the local authority's service delivery partners and clients;
encouraging ownership and participation (again, with both internal staff and the local community);
monitoring of performance.

Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven provide more information on approaches to mainstreaming.

Other factors to be taken account of when establishing mainstreaming as a corporate strategy

Within the context of local government, mainstreaming requires:

a determination to pursue equality of opportunity and outcome through all policy development including service delivery, economic and social regeneration activities, recruitment and employment;
an understanding of how inequality arises and a commitment to scrutinise all policy proposals and decisions to identify the potential for discrimination;
a commitment to take action in all aspects of policy implementation to promote equal opportunities in the relevant area and to redress any inequality and/or differential impact;
a recognition that the needs of diverse groups differ and that services should be appropriate to meet these diverse needs;
an effective and on-going mechanism to gather and analyse data about needs, to monitor and evaluate all services and activities, and to review mainstreaming policy;
a comprehensive and embedded structure of decision-making that is robust in terms of political and officer structures, and the management of those structures;
responsibility for specific aspects of the mainstreaming process to be agreed.

4 The establishment of mainstreaming as a corporate strategy

The next two chapters deal with the first two elements involved in mainstreaming, i.e. the development of a strategic approach and the development of a mainstreaming policy. The development of a strategic approach should take place at both a corporate level and a directorate level.

The development of a strategic approach involves:

securing the support of elected members to mainstream equal opportunities;
securing the support of trade unions to mainstream equal opportunities;
securing corporate agreement to mainstream equal opportunities;
defining corporate values and objectives;
identifying needs through the gathering and analysis of data;
identifying needs through internal and external consultation;
developing an understanding of discrimination and inequality;
demonstrating the benefits of mainstreaming; · establishing corporate structures internally and organisational linkages externally;
consideration of the staffing implications.

Securing the support of elected members to mainstream equal opportunities

If mainstreaming is to be adopted successfully by local authorities, it is essential that the support and commitment of elected members is obtained. Indeed, in some authorities elected members drive the process of mainstreaming forward.

In Flintshire, there is an equal opportunities task group which involves elected members as well as officers and co-opted representatives. In Swansea, there is a Member Working Group on equal opportunities which links into the Policy and Resources Committee.

Securing the support of trade unions to mainstream equal opportunities

Trade union support for, and involvement in, mainstreaming is crucial if the process is to be effective.

In Ireland, trade unions are represented on the Boards of the local area based partnerships. The case study of Modena in Italy demonstrated the value of trade union involvement in a wider partnership with the local administration and the private sector.

Securing corporate agreement to mainstream equal opportunities

The European Commission has undertaken a number of important steps to ensure that gender equality is integrated into its policy-making and other activities.

Mainstreaming is an objective which runs throughout the 4th medium-term Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1996-2000). The European Commission's own commitment to mainstreaming was confirmed in a Commission Communication (COM(96)/ 67) in February 1996. Two internal working groups have been established: a 10.Commissioners Group, chaired by the President, Jacques Santer, and an inter-service staff Group chaired at Deputy Director level. An officer responsible for equality has been appointed in each of the twenty-three Directorates-General. A number of key topics have been chosen for promoting/mainstreaming equal opportunities; these include employment and social security.

The national governments of Britain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden have also sought to integrate gender equality into policy-making and other activities.

In Britain, the new Labour Government has established a Cabinet Sub-Committee which will examine new economic and social legislative proposals from a gender viewpoint. The responsibility for work on mainstreaming has been given to the Women's Unit in the Department of Social Security. It will have responsibility for the Policy Appraisal Guidelines which are circulated throughout Government Departments and provide guidance on assessing new proposals from the point of view of gender, race and disability. The Government has also established the position of Minister for Women with both a mainstreaming role and the responsibility to identify and take forward work in a number of priority areas including the machinery by which the Government consults with women at grassroots level. In Ireland, a number of central government policies and initiatives implemented in the 1990s have involved a broader application of gender equality principles within the policy making process. These include the establishment of a Government Department with specific responsibility for Equality and Law Reform in 1992; new legislation designed to cover discrimination in employment on nine different grounds and discrimination in the provision of services; a decision that women (and men) should make up at least 40 per cent all new appointees to State Boards; and a requirement that the gender impact of each new policy proposal sent to Cabinet must be identified. In Italy, a Ministry of Equal Opportunities was established in 1996, with a remit to develop, manage and co-ordinate equal opportunities initiatives. The Ministry represents the government at a national level on equal opportunities issues and also ensures that national and local initiatives involving other Ministries are co-ordinated. In addition, a national plan to implement the Beijing platform for action was approved by the Italian government and Parliament in 1997. In Sweden, equal opportunities has been driven by legislation. The current thrust of equal opportunities activity (at all levels) is to integrate equality into everyday activities, and thus to adopt a mainstreaming approach. Legislation, such as the 1992 Act Concerning Equality between Men and Women, has also been enacted, while the government also assesses progress against various goals for equal opportunities and has developed national action plans which include quantitative and time-specified goals for the achievement of equality.

At local level, the case study authorities provided various examples of why mainstreaming has been introduced at corporate level:

Hounslow took the decision to mainstream equal opportunities in service delivery almost ten years ago. It did so because of its commitment to the authority's primary purpose which was seen as providing appropriate services for all local residents.

Swansea and Bristol were able to demonstrate more recent decisions to mainstream:

The recent reorganisation of local government provided an opportunity for Swansea to look afresh at the development and implementation of equal opportunities. Equal opportunities was identified as a corporate policy issue, and a policy embracing both employment and service delivery is now in place. This will enable the authority to mainstream equality. The policy embraces all target groups and recognises double discrimination as an issue. 11.In Bristol, the Equalities and Community Development Unit is part of the Policy Co-ordinator and Chief Executive's Department and was formed following local government re-organisation (one of the former authorities concerned had previously had separate units for women, etc). An Integrated Equalities Policy has been developed by the Unit.

Assuming that there is a commitment to mainstream equality, local authorities will be in a better position to secure corporate agreement for the policy if the following issues are addressed:

Has mainstreaming been defined and explained?
Has the case for mainstreaming been made?
Does the case for mainstreaming refer to evidence (quantitative and qualitative data) about the needs of the local community and does this indicate how these are currently being met by the local authority and its key partners?
How does mainstreaming relate to other priorities, e.g. the authority's anti-poverty strategy or its strategies on regeneration or improvement of the environment, etc? Have the links between mainstreaming and these other priorities been made effectively?
How does mainstreaming relate to other corporate approaches, e.g. concerning best value or managing diversity?
What are the objectives of mainstreaming?
What other catalysts are there for mainstreaming equal opportunities, e.g. legislation, contract compliance, incentives for acquiring financial resources, etc?
Have you identified the local "champions" who can help to implement mainstreaming, e.g. key officers, elected members, trade unions, other external champions? Have they been briefed? Who are the key external partners in the provision of public services and/or regeneration?
Have you examined the arguments for mainstreaming being good for local government business, e.g. that it helps to provide services for the community, to establish links with other initiatives and to achieve corporate strategies and the aims of the authority's equal opportunities policy?
Are the benefits of mainstreaming spelt out?
Are the costs of mainstreaming (and not mainstreaming) spelt out?
Does the local authority have the resources to support mainstreaming?
What are the operational implications? What is the relationship between generic and specialist equality support?
How will mainstreaming be promoted internally (training, recruitment) and externally (publicity, corporate image)?

Defining corporate values and objectives

Local authorities emphasise that mainstreaming equal opportunities needs to be part of the corporate agenda within each local authority and should be clearly identified as a policy objective. This enables mainstreaming to function across the organisation - for example, in cross-departmental working groups - as well as throughout individual service departments.

Bristol identified 10 Core Values: Democracy, Empowerment, Equity, Equality, Quality, Environment, Internationalism, Public Service, Economy, Community Leadership

Glasgow identified 6 Core Values: Equity, Equality, Inclusion, Visibility, Shared Responsibility and Partnership.

Identifying needs through the gathering and analysis of data

It is good practice to ensure that data are collected with equal opportunities in mind and that they are capable of analysis on the basis of gender. This was highlighted in the case study organisations. Local authorities recognised that it was necessary to network extensively with other organisations to share data and to promote an understanding of diverse needs and concerns. Small scale surveys of community need, undertaken locally, are a valuable means of improving the quality of data collected.

In Sweden, all employers with ten or more employees are obliged to produce an annual plan for equality promotion at the workplace. This forms the basis for their equal opportunities measures. Employers are also obliged to carry out an annual survey of wage differentials at the workplace. The statistics produced for these plans function as "equal opportunity indicators" at the level of the firm. At national level, the formulation of equality indicators is facilitated by the requirement to produce gender disaggregated data.

Identifying needs through internal and external consultation

The process of consultation is a key element in mainstreaming. External consultation will also be an essential part of the new best value approach. It is necessary initially to consult on the needs of individuals and groups. Moreover, there should be consultation on policy priorities and content on an ongoing basis. Consultation helps both to verify data and to monitor the changing needs of the community and the views that are held on current service delivery or regeneration activities. It is useful at the start of the process to review the mechanisms that exist for consultation and to consider alternative approaches, in particular to ensure that all parts of society have the opportunity to participate in the process.

Hounslow has produced a set of guidelines called Going Public. The questions asked include:

What is up for negotiation?
Clearing the way (Seeking Agreement)
Who do you want to consult?
What are the best ways to consult people?
What information will people need in order to contribute?
What will happen to people's contributions?
What resources do you need?
Do you have a plan of action and timescale?
Do the relevant people agree with your plan?
Any further action?

In Bristol, formal and informal consultation is undertaken at the outset to identify the key issues (housing is an example); Bristol follows this up by establishing where hard data exist to verify or support the findings of the consultation.

One possibility is to establish reference groups of community and professional interests to ensure that specific equal opportunities issues are being properly addressed. It is also an example of good practice to establish links with community or voluntary groups, and for local authorities, trade unions and employer organisations to act in partnership.

In Ireland, the local area based partnerships involve three sectors -community/ voluntary organisations, statutory agencies and traditional social partners - acting together at the local level. This structure offers the potential to build commitment, ensure consultation and representation in decision-making.

The consultation process needs to take explicit account of relevant partnerships with agencies external to the local authority. Staff responsible for identifying external partners and developing working relationships need to be conscious of any differences between the partner organisations in approaches towards equality and in the progress made towards this goal. A mainstreaming strategy needs to build in the opportunity to transfer equal opportunity good practices between partner organisations.

In Bristol, a number of forums have been established to facilitate consultation, including a women's forum (also race, disability and lesbian, gay and bisexual forums). The forums represent partnership in action. The forums work closely with the authority and can facilitate linkages with the community. One of the projects funded under the Jämkom initiative which is being carried out in Sweden focused on city planning. Two questions were posed: how do existing built areas affect the daily lives of women and men in gender specific ways? what can be done to improve mainstreaming in city planning in the future? A "mental-map" method was used to establish how certain reference groups perceived their living environment. Special maps and questionnaires were developed for this exercise to ensure that they suited the needs of particular groups and stalls were set up at different times of the day to ensure maximum access to the process for different reference groups.

Developing an understanding of discrimination and inequality

It is necessary to collect evidence to indicate any inequalities in the way that services are currently delivered and to promote understanding of how these inequalities arise. In the case study authorities, the allocation of resources, and the extent of representation and participation in decision-making, varied between women and men. This approach can transform the level of understanding about the nature of inequality and what can, and should be, done to develop mainstreaming.

The projects in Sweden employed the "3R" method to initiate and implement mainstreaming. 3R stands for representation, resources and "realia". Representation and resources are quantitative elements, which seek to evaluate the extent to which women are involved in decision-making and whether there is an imbalance in resources (not only money, but also time and space) which are allocated to projects which benefit men and women respectively. Realia is a more qualitative element which examines how services are delivered and how problem and target groups are defined. 3R emphasises how the existing system of resource allocation leads to differential outcomes.

Many local authorities refer to "building the commitment" to mainstreaming, both internally and externally. This requires education and training for corporate and departmental mainstreaming activities on a continuous basis. If mainstreaming is to be successful, it is also essential to identify the catalysts and "champions" of the process. Local authorities can promote mainstreaming by making use of equality legislation and other relevant legislation such as that concerned with family policy and child protection; by emphasising corporate and departmental objectives; by undertaking positive action initiatives; by referring to national and local audit requirements; or by outlining the interests of trade unions and the expectations of internal and external partners etc. The "champions" of the process are local politicians and/or local authority officers who are committed to mainstreaming.

Demonstrating the benefits of mainstreaming

The case study research highlighted how the case for mainstreaming needs to be made continually. Chapter 2 provides a summary of the main reasons for mainstreaming in local government. This summary can be used as a check list for local authorities.

Establishing the corporate structures internally and organisational linkages externally

If equal opportunities are fully mainstreamed, they become part of the core business of the corporate decision making structure at both elected member and officer level. The research emphasised that where member and officer working groups on mainstreaming were established (either as separate or as combined entities), these needed to have full and equal representation on the key corporate committees. It is also important that these committees are advised by specialist equality teams and units.

In Bristol, clear structures have been established to ensure that the specific needs of groups targeted under the Integrated Equalities Policy are identified and discussed in Committee. A Corporate Committee has been established for equalities and community development whilst there are separate sub-committees for women (and also for race and disability).

In Swansea, equal opportunities in employment matters is the responsibility of the Personnel Department, whilst the Corporate Strategies Unit (in the Chief Executive's Department) handles service delivery aspects. Working Groups (members and officers) have also been established which link directly into the Policy and Resources Committee.

Engaging the main external partners in the delivery of public services, as part of the corporate structure, is essential for mainstreaming in local government:

In Glasgow, the authority is committed to community consultation and participation and its Equality Committee actively engages with representative bodies.

in Glasgow by establishing regular and effective channels of communication and opportunities for involvement with policy and service planning. Equally important, the authority's influence over its local partners and contractors means that it can require them to ensure equality in their internal operation and service delivery. These requirements are set out in Glasgow's draft integrated equality policy.

Task Teams in Flintshire ensure a partnership approach. The task teams are involved in analysing and understanding needs, and in applying values in order to define what needs to be done and to set objectives. The task teams play an important role in the consultation and decision-making process and ensure that a wide range of viewpoints are taken into account. These teams have a direct link into the Policy Committee. Membership of the task teams includes elected members, officers, voluntary organisations, trade unions, town and community councils and "Business in the Community" 1

Considering staffing implications

The recruitment and employment of local authority staff, at all levels, is recognised as an important activity through which mainstreaming can be achieved. Good practice in this area involves the use of equality recruitment practices; a review of selection procedures; job descriptions which detail equal opportunities requirements; ensuring that the composition of interview panels meets equality objectives; and initial equality training. This is generally standard practice in local government in Britain. The assumption is that if local authorities have a higher quality and more diverse workforce, then the quality of the services they provide will be improved. Mainstreaming will also enable local authorities to maximise the talents of individuals which encourages innovation and increases commitment and efficiency. Local authorities involved in the research also emphasised the need to undertake staff audits to establish how many women are employed, both corporately and within individual departments, and in what positions. These audits should also seek to indicate what work has been done to identify the barriers to women reaching key positions. Local authorities in which women are employed at director level and as chairs of committees demonstrate the positive impact that achieving equality can have through improved decision-making. They also provide a clear message to a wider audience about the importance that local government attaches to equality.

The work in Ireland revealed a "Model of Best Practice" drawn up for the Dublin Corporation as part of the "Quality through Equality" project. The aim of the Model is to assist the organisation to move towards the elimination of discrimination in its employment policies and practices, systems and structures, and also to address the effects of past discrimination.

1 A British organisation which seeks to increase the quality and extent of business activity in the community.

5 The development of a mainstreaming policy

This chapter examines the second element involved in establishing a mainstreaming strategy. This involves the defining of a mainstreaming strategy statement and the preparation of a mainstreaming development plan, including proposals for monitoring, evaluation and review.

Defining a mainstreaming strategy statement

Local authorities which are mainstreaming equality have prepared statements which reflect their own political priorities. These have the following features in common:

a commitment to mainstreaming equal opportunities;
an indication of the aspects of equality and target groups which are included;
a description of the local authority's approach to equality.

Glasgow's draft policy statement makes a commitment to challenge discrimination, to promote and implement equality measures, to progress social justice and to strive to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by virtue of negative attitudes to race, gender, physical, mental and/or sensory impairments, age or sexuality (The figure overleaf provides more detail).

Bristol's Integrated Equalities Policy contains the following items:

The Equalities Statement

Core Values

The aims of the Integrated Equalities Policy

Who are we talking to

How we will create progress

Monitoring, Training, Consultation and Participation

Tendering for Council Services

Trade Unions

Positive Images and Language

Employment

Service Delivery

The Policy Statements cover: Background, Definitions, Legislation, Access to Employment, Access to information and consultation, Consultation, Service Delivery, Resources

A Policy for Stopping Harassment in the Workplace

A Glossary of preferred terms, language and definitions

Example: Draft Integrated Equality Policy

The policy's stated aims are to challenge discrimination, to promote and implement equality measures, to progress social justice and to strive to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by virtue of negative attitudes to race, gender, physical, mental and/or sensory impairments, age or sexuality.

Scarce resources can only be targeted effectively, and quality services be provided if they are sensitive, flexible and responsive to the needs of those traditionally excluded from the planning and decision making processes and advocates the establishment of a feedback system from users.

Equality has to be progressed through regular audits, action and implementation plans which are specific, measurable and realistic and which clearly identify timescales. Existing good practice should be built upon and the commitment of all voluntary, community and statutory actors achieved. The Council has established a policy monitoring system which will provide the framework for reporting and mainstream monitoring. It is essential that all data collected is broken down by gender, race, disability and, where appropriate, sexuality. Tangible and measurable outcomes will be used such as:

increased take-up of services by previously excluded groups
workforce which more accurately reflects the city's population
increased involvement in consultations
increased satisfaction by those excluded groups

The policy is designed to assist the Council in the achievement of the following principles:

equity
equality
inclusion
visibility
shared responsibility
partnership

The Council is committed to community consultation and participation and the Council's Equality Committee will actively engage with representative bodies in Glasgow by establishing regular and effective channels of communication and opportunities for involvement within policy and service planning. Equally importantly, the influence of the Council over its local partners and contractors needs to be exploited in order to require such organisations to ensure equality in their internal operation and service delivery.

The organisational culture of the Council should ensure a non-discriminatory environment.

Awareness raising and training on equality issues among members and officers is crucial and the Equality Committee is to establish an annual programme of seminars and training in partnership with the Personnel Committee.

This is a very comprehensive Integrated Equality Policy which recognises the importance of internal adjustments as well as interactions with the community in terms of involvement in service planning and influencing local partners.

(Glasgow City Council, draft integrated equality policy)

Preparing a mainstreaming development plan

The preparation of local authority mainstreaming development plans involves the following steps:

establishing links with other strategic objectives;
retaining specialist support teams;
making reference to equality legislation and the relationship between equal treatment, positive action and mainstreaming;
reviewing other local authority activities;
developing an action plan;
providing support and allocating responsibility for the implementation of mainstreaming.

Establishing links with other strategic objectives

These include other corporate objectives, such as an anti-poverty strategy and best value. It also involves adopting policies to counter multiple discrimination as part of mainstreaming.

Retaining specialist support teams

Research in the case study authorities showed that there is a strong argument for specialist support teams to be retained. Specialist support teams have the detailed knowledge and expertise of different sources of discrimination which will enable them to provide the necessary back-up for the mainstreaming process and to respond to other equality issues. They will also be able to ensure that the arguments for mainstreaming can be updated on the basis of firm evidence.

Making reference to equality legislation and the relationship between equal treatment, positive action and mainstreaming

The research illustrated that mainstreaming, equality legislation and other equality measures, such as positive action, complement each other. Various examples of how the links between them might be maximised appeared in mainstreaming development plans.

The Urban Times Project in Modena, Italy, seeks to make public services more accessible, provide better information more readily and create new partnerships to promote co-operation between key agencies. The focus of the project is to make bureaucracy more accessible through reviewing opening times and procedures and improving access to a wide range of services so that target groups can benefit. Urban Times, which was started by women, was initially a positive action measure. Its findings have since been mainstreamed as it is now a main programme, with the result that other groups in the population are now benefiting.

Reviewing other local authority activities

Mainstreaming in local government has implications for the whole of the policy process. Local authority departments which are mainstreaming commonly take steps to review all their activities. This involves examining the process of:

data gathering, analysis and interpretation;
consultation;
decision-making;
allocation of responsibilities;
implementation;
monitoring and evaluation;
policy review and dissemination.

Developing an action plan

This should contain the following elements:

objectives which are quantifiable;
targets which are time bound;
indicators, or standards, which are identifiable;
systems for monitoring and evaluation;
an indication of who will be responsible for progressing specific pieces of action.

Providing support for the implementation of mainstreaming

Finally, local authorities should ensure the provision of support for the implementation of mainstreaming through:

the identification of support structures involving both members and officers;
establishing training and both internal and external consultation;
specialist equality advice to support work with individual target groups.

6 The implementation of a mainstreaming strategy

This chapter examines the third element, the implementation of a mainstreaming strategy. The case study research demonstrated that establishing a mainstreaming approach in service delivery is a long-term process requiring the involvement of front-line staff as well as managers.

There are two stages in the implementation of a mainstreaming strategy:

the initial implementation which involves the carrying out of departmental audits and the development of service plans; and
· a subsequent follow-up to establish performance against an agreed set of criteria and to outline what further action is required.

This chapter examines the responsibilities of departments in implementing mainstreaming. It focuses on three aspects: departmental audits, service planning and service delivery.

Departmental audits

One of the first steps is to identify the current baseline by carrying out an equal opportunities audit. The aim is to assess what progress in equal opportunities has been made; to identify what action is planned; and to indicate where improvements are needed. Although the responsibility for carrying out the audit rests with each department, mainstreaming will have ensured that there is corporate commitment and support, so that advice and assistance can be sought from either corporate units or from specialist equal opportunities staff. Moreover, a full service audit will almost certainly be required for best value; local authorities should therefore seek to ensure that the audit will cover both purposes. As mainstreaming involves, in the longer term, a transformation of the approach to equal opportunities, it is good practice to undertake a review at all stages of the policy process. This enables consideration of:

whether data are being collected;
whether the data are relevant to the local community and are sufficient to enable equalities monitoring across all target groups;
whether the data are being analysed to an adequate degree, for example by gender and ethnicity;
whether direct or indirect discrimination has been identified;
whether consultation is sufficiently comprehensive and effective;
how the decisions have been made and whether those who will be affected have been able to make an input into the process;
whether resources have been allocated, and support systems put in place, to help implement these decisions;
whether monitoring and evaluation systems are in place and whether indicators have been identified;
whether there are structures for evaluation, reporting, policy review, feedback into policy, and wider dissemination.

A wide ranging review of the policy process would also recommend changes in the organisation of member and officer committees and of units and teams, and would advise on how best to put management and reporting systems in place.

In Hounslow methods used to review the Planning and Transport's Reception and Information Service included three questionnaires:

one for clients visiting and using reception (which included monitoring information and was translated into 4 Asian languages);
one for 'Duty Officers' working with reception staff;
one for community groups to ascertain the views of non-users.

In Bristol, the local authority implements an equalities audit using a detailed proforma. This contains three sections, covering departmental specific themes, corporate themes and departmental structures. A copy of the proforma appears on page 21.

In Swansea, a pilot project was funded to investigate the extent to which black and ethnic minority women are accessing and using public services provided by the local authority and by other statutory and voluntary organisations. Full details are provided on page 22.

Service planning

Local authorities need to consider how decisions are made about each service. This involves examining to whom services are delivered and how they are delivered. In Britain, it is likely that local authorities will be required to produce a service plan for best value requirements.

Good practice in service planning includes the development of guidelines for departments on how to target, plan and assess their services effectively. Perth and Kinross have developed a mainstreaming tool in the form of a Guide to Service Planning:

Service planning is part of the strategic planning process. The following stages are involved:

· The Corporate Plan outlines corporate objectives and values which cut across departments;
The Service Plan details services provided, as well as programmes and projects designed to achieve strategic and departmental objectives;
Section/Operational Unit Plans detail objectives and activities of sections or units within the Department;
Individual Plans show how each employee will deliver the content of the Service Plan and the Actions required.

Service delivery

If local authority service delivery is to be improved, detailed programmes on how service delivery should be implemented are required. There also needs to be training of staff involved in service delivery and corporate support for their work. The performance of employees on this aspect could be measured by appraisal systems.

A comprehensive example of mainstreaming equal opportunities in service delivery is provided by Hounslow which has over ten years experience of developing its STEPS (Strategic Equality Plans in Service Delivery) model. The model was developed because of the authority's commitment to its primary purpose which was seen as providing appropriate services for all local residents. The model assumes a bottom up approach in which the service review is led by front-line staff, users (clients) and non-users (potential clients).

The STEPS guide consists of a model and a series of checklists and guides. The checklists include The Steps Process, Identifying problems around equal opportunities, Consultation Guide, Equalities Monitoring Guide, Equalities Statements. The different stages in the STEPS process are described below:

Identify a service
Build a Team
Define the service
Equalities issues in the service
Draw up a plan of action
Working on the plan of action
Analyse all data
Draw up recommendations
Negotiation
Implementation
Evaluation
Report back

Example: Equality Audit

This local authority is implementing an equalities audit, the content of which is set out below.

Pro-forma for auditing and developing a work programme for corporate equalities work

Department:

Covering period from/to:

Contact officer:

Telephone:

Section A : Departmental Specific Themes

The information required under each departmental theme (age, disability, lesbian/gay/bisexual, race, women, stopping harassment) is:

Action currently being undertaken (date)

Action planned for (date)

Outcome required

Timescale

Lead officer

Section B : Corporate Themes

For each Corporate theme (which reflect the work priorities of the Equalities and Community Development Unit and Corporate Equalities Working Group) departments are required to indicate the:

Departmental contribution (What is it? What actions are to be taken?)

Outcomes required

Lead officers

Timescale

Departmental Structures

Departments are required to state whether they have any of the following, and to provide details:

Departmental working group on equalities

Designated equalities officer

Black workers/women's group or other equalities group

Specific training around equalities

Targeted equalities policies which are service specific, e.g. race and housing

The equalities audit process is an important starting point in mainstreaming equality, as it will provide the local authority with a baseline position from which to determine its current position and priorities. The audit will be supported through consultation with relevant sub-committees and forums representing particular groups (women, race, disabled, sexual orientation).

(Bristol)

Example: Data gathering

A pilot project was funded to investigate the extent to which black and ethnic minority women are accessing and using public services provided by the local authority and by other statutory and voluntary organisations. In funding the project it was hoped that the results would be used as the basis for a development programme for ethnic minority women in the area.

The aims and objectives of the project were to:

identify barriers which black and ethnic minority women face in using and accessing mainstream service provision;
consult a range of service providers about the usage of services by black and ethnic minority women to determine the current situation;
prepare a report on the basis of information provided by ethnic minority women and the service providers and make recommendations for future action.

The research showed a very low level of awareness and low take-up amongst black and ethnic minority women in the area of the range of public services provided. It was also found that the majority of service providers have given little direct attention to the need to reach out to this community, although many are keen to do so.

This research is important to the achievement of mainstreaming because it highlights current inequalities in the delivery of public services to particular groups, and shows the need for alternative approaches to service planning and delivery. In this particular example the research revealed that black and ethnic minority women experienced problems in accessing public services, in particular:

difficulty in communicating the availability or nature of the service because of language, illiteracy or accessibility of information, or an understanding of the concept of the service provided;
cultural and religious differences that inhibit use of mainstream services (for instance, mixed sex swimming);
low expectations, lack of confidence and fear of racial prejudice inhibiting use of services and also reinforcing dependency;
language barriers limiting use of education and training opportunities that might overcome other barriers.

Problems in the delivery of services were also identified:

little or no monitoring or planning of services by the providers;
no planned development programme to meet the needs and assist integration of the people from ethnic minority communities;
generally low awareness of the cultural, religious and linguistic differences that may inhibit use of services or may require specific programmes.

The research is important because it provides a benchmark against which the local authority (and others in the statutory and voluntary sectors) can measure progress in reaching this target group, in particular relative to the specific recommendations for action made in the report.

(Swansea)

7 Monitoring, evaluation and policy review of the strategy

This chapter examines the fourth element in the process, the monitoring, evaluation and policy review of mainstreaming. The chapter covers the initial questions that need to be considered, how to negotiate changes to the strategy, and how to sustain progress over time. It should be recognised that monitoring and evaluation can be a time-consuming process that may appear burdensome for local authority staff; however, through mainstreaming, the necessary tasks should be spread between a larger number of individuals. Moreover, monitoring and evaluation will be essential requirements once best value has been introduced; local authorities should therefore be able to carry out the work to cover both requirements.

Initial questions

Robust systems of monitoring and evaluation need to be built into the implementation of mainstreaming. The main requirements are to establish a system of:

self evaluation that allows each local authority to measure the progress of activities within mainstreaming;
evaluation with measurable equality performance indicators so that the impact on service delivery, regeneration activities, and beneficiary groups can be assessed.

The use of standards, in conjunction with an accrediting body, is one example of measuring progress at service department level.

The overriding principle in equalities monitoring is the explicit commitment to act on the findings. Winning support and interest early on in this process is a key requirement.

Hounslow lists questions that are useful to ask elected members, the community, front-line staff and managers. These questions help to identify the priorities and secure support for the services to be monitored.

More generally, the case study research identified the following key questions:

Is the service meeting the needs of all the authority's communities? Are all target group needs being met? Does the take up of services reflect the needs of the local community?
Is the service being developed in the light of the skills and capacities of all the authority's communities? What are the barriers to full use being made of these resources?
How many clients are being reached, and what is the level of customer satisfaction? Which potential clients are not using the service and why not? (This is necessary since quantitative and qualitative information is required to monitor equality outcomes).
What is the timetable for monitoring? Does it provide a snapshot, or is it a continuous process?
How reliable are the data that have been collected?
What resources are required for monitoring and are sufficient resources available?
Are equality data being collected on a consistent and comparable basis?

Hounslow is currently testing a Guide that helps local authorities to decide its priorities for monitoring and to win support and interest in the process.

A checklist for monitoring, used by Hounslow, is as follows:

Stage One: Determine and specify the service to be monitored;
Stage Two: Identify the resources needed to carry out the monitoring process;
Stage Three: Identify the Lead Officer, secure research expertise if necessary;
Stage Four: Establish the framework for monitoring;
Stage Five: Period of monitoring;
Stage Six: Collations of data;
Stage Seven: Analysis and interpretation;
Stage Eight: Preparation of report - with action plan, target setting and costs identified of both savings and growth;
Stage Nine: Member/Officer Agreement on report and recommendations;
Stage Ten: Implementation;
Stage Eleven: Review - including follow-up monitoring

Negotiating change to the strategy

The results of the monitoring and evaluation exercise should be discussed with relevant senior staff and members and recommendations arising from this process should be agreed. It may be necessary as a result to renegotiate contracts with outside contractors.

Sustaining progress over time

Mainstreaming is a long-term process and the particular emphasis of monitoring will be dependent on what stage has been reached in the process. In the early stages, monitoring will focus on internal dissemination and understanding, whereas at a later stage, it will concentrate on outputs and outcomes. In addition to establishing a monitoring and evaluation system for mainstreaming, local government should measure progress over time. This measurement needs to include both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of how the local authority is integrating mainstreaming and what progress is being made within local authority departments. These assessments should be judged against the initial plans for mainstreaming, and should entail at least an annual review of what has been achieved and the implications of this review for the next period of implementation.

The following examples are relevant:

In Britain, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has developed guidelines (Racial Equality Means Business: A Standard for Racial Equality for Employees) for benchmarking equal opportunities progress. Swansea has adapted these guidelines as follows:

An equalities audit has been developed which can be used as a benchmark to identify the point at which a department is at any moment in time, and to assist in determining targets and priorities for action. The audit provides a number of measures across a range of service delivery and employment activities.

The Areas covered by the equalities audit are:

Service delivery and customer care
Policy and planning
Community development
Employment (recruitment and selection)
Employment (developing and retaining employees)
Marketing and corporate image

Appendix A : Checklist - Equalities audit/ action plan

Appendix B : Services Outlet Audit

The measures are allocated across five levels, with level 1 being the starting point and level 5 the most advanced. The eventual aim is for each department to achieve level 5 in all areas (by the 24.millennium), although the immediate target is for level 2 to be implemented by 1997/98.

This audit is important to the achievement of mainstreaming because it provides a practical tool which can be used by all departments to assist them in putting the Council's Equal Opportunities Policy into practice. The local authority has also set time-bound objectives for achievement of progress.

Hounslow is in the process of developing a standard for STEPS which sets out two levels of achievement:

MINIMUM STANDARD

BEST PRACTICE

The proposed categories of mainstreaming are:

Meeting Diverse Needs

Understanding the needs

Planning for quality and equality

Communication

Getting the message across

Communicating person to person

Confidentiality

User involvement

Showing a commitment

Involving the community

Building staff confidence

Equalities environment

Physical access

Welcoming

To provide a safe environment for visitors

Customer care

Employment

Sustaining a productive workplace

Ensuring equal opportunities

Safeguarding health and safety

Conclusion

This framework is intended as a guide for local authorities on how to establish mainstreaming as a corporate strategy. It has endeavoured to explain why local authorities should want to mainstream by making clear that mainstreaming offers many advantages to them. It has also outlined what is required at each stage of the process if mainstreaming is to be implemented successfully. Mainstreaming equal opportunities is not an easy process; nor can it be achieved overnight. If the policy is to be effective, it requires the sustained support of everyone involved in local government including those responsible for the development of strategy, managers of departments, front-line staff, elected members, trade union officials and external partners.

There are costs associated with mainstreaming for staff training, consultation and data collection. However, many of these are also associated with the introduction of other modern approaches to local government in Britain, such as best value and Investors in People. Thus the costs can be shared and are far outweighed by the benefits in terms of meeting the diverse needs of the community.

Once the mainstreaming process has begun, it must be sustained, and improved, by regular evaluation and review.

Contact List

Frank Spencer

Acting Chief Executive and Head of Policy

Equal Opportunities

Commission

Overseas House

Quay Street

Manchester

M3 3HN

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 161 833 9244

Fax: +44 (0) 161 835 1657

Morag Alexander

Director

Equal Opportunities Commission for Scotland

Stock Exchange House

7 Nelson Mandela Place

Glasgow

G2 1QW

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 141 248 5833

Fax: +44 (0) 141 248 5834

Val Feld

Director

Equal Opportunities Commission for Wales

Caerwys House

Windsor Lane

Cardiff

CF1 1LB

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1222 343552

Fax: +44 (0) 1222 641079

Irene Kingston

Assistant Director, Information

Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland

Chamber of Commerce House

22 Great Victoria Street

Belfast

BT2 7BA

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1232 242752

Fax: +44 (0) 1232 331047

Colin Hann

Head of Communications and Corporate Strategy

Commission for Racial Equality

10-12 Allington Street

London

SW1E 5EH

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 171 932 5423

Fax: +44 (0) 171 630 7605

Bernadette O'Shea

Corporate Policy and Performance Manager

London Borough of Hounslow

Civic Centre

Lampton Road

Hounslow

Middlesex

TW3 4DN

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 181 862 5037

Fax: +44 (0) 181 862 6088

Equalities and Community Development Unit

Room 221

Bristol City Council

The Council House

College Green

Bristol

BS1 5TR

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 117 922 2342

Fax: +44 (0) 117 922 2392

Wendy Yates

Director of Management Services

City and County of Swansea

County Hall

Oystermouth Road

Swansea

SA1 3SN

Wales

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 636 604

Fax: +44 (0) 1792 636 890

Ann Hamilton

Principle Policy Officer

Corporate Policy and Development

Chief Executive's Department

Glasgow City Council

City Chambers

Glasgow

G2 1DU

Scotland

Tel: +44 (0) 141 287 5861

Fax: +44 (0) 141 287 5997

Director of Human Resources

Perth & Kinross Council

PO 77

11 Tay Street

Perth

Scotland

PH1 5LQ

Tel: +44 (0) 1738 475 415

Fax: +44 (0) 1738 475 410

Personnel Unit

Flintshire County Council

County Hall

Mold

CH7 6NB

Wales

Tel: +44 (0) 1352 752121

Fax: +44 (0) 1352 700152

Mandy Wright

Head of Employment Advice and Equalities

The Local Government Management Board

Layden House

78-86 Turnmill Street

London

EC1M 5QU

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 171 296 6730

Fax: +44 (0) 171 296 6600

Barbara Lindsay

COSLA

Rosebery House

9 Haymarket Terrace

Edinburgh

EH12 5XZ

Scotland

Tel: +44 (0) 131 474 9256

Fax: +44 (0) 131 474 9292

Welsh Local Government Association

10-11 Raleigh Walk

Atlantic Wharf

Cardiff

CF1 5LN

Wales

Tel: +44 (0) 1222 468 600

Fax: +44 (0) 1222 468 601

Local Government Service Group

UNISON

1 Mabledon Place

London

WC1H 9AJ

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 171 388 2366

Fax: +44 (0) 171 388 6692

Yvonne Williams

Women's Unit

DSS

6th Floor

The Adelphi

1-11 John Adam Street

London

WC2N 6HT

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 171 712 2046

Fax: +44 (0) 171 712 2424

Anne Havnor

Unit for Equal Opportunities and FamilyPolicy

DGV

European Commission

rue de la Loi 200

B1049 Brussels

Belgium

Tel: 00 322 295 9962

Fax: 00 322 296 3562

Marie Jouffe

Co-ordinator of Technical Assistance Office

ANIMA

rue Montoyer 47

B1000 Brussels

Belgium

Tel: 00 322 509 1534/5

Fax: 00 322 509 1544

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSION

Challenging inequalities between women and men

Wales

Equal Opportunities Commission

Windsor House

Windsor Lane

Cardiff CF1 3DE

Telephone: +44 1222 343552

Fax: +44 1222 641079

England

Equal Opportunities Commission

Overseas House

Quay Street

Manchester M3 3HN

Telephone: +44 161 833 9244

Fax: +44 161 835 1657

Scotland

Equal Opportunities Commission

Stock Exchange House

7 Nelson Mandela Place

Glasgow G2 1QW

Telephone: +44 141 248 5833

Fax: +44 141 248 5834