GETTING IT RIGHT A GUIDE TO IMPROVE INCLUSION IN MULTI-STAKEHOLDER FORUMS

This guide explains how to operationalize inclusion of women, Indigenous Peoples and other under-represented groups in multi-stakeholder forums (MSFs).Around the world, MSFs have been promoted and adopted as decision making, consultation and dialogue platforms to bring together diverse constituencies to share ideas and formulate decisions in a more open and equitable. Research finds that MSFs organizers believed that their forums foster equity simply by inviting more under-represented actors to the table; however, they spend less effort in addressing the power inequalities among participants and the quality of the participation and representation of historically under-represented groups.Getting it right focuses on the inclusion of women and Indigenous Peoples in natural resource management and governance contexts. In particular, we analyzed how these actors participate and/or are represented in spaces such as forest user group committees, co-management groups or forest commodity roundtable meetings. Our hope is that presenting cases of women and Indigenous Peoples provides insights into how different dimensions of social differentiation intersect in practice, pushing us to look at these different scales and inform us about other under-represented groups.Getting it right provides several tools that are designed to operationalize inclusion at specific trigger points where we believe action is most effective. Our goal with this guide is to present ideas, not solutions; the challenges to inclusion are complex, and unique to every MSF.


INTRODUCTION
What is this guide for? Who does this guide focus on? How was this guide created? Framing the guide using a rights-based approach

REFLECTIONS
What we learned about inclusion Next steps

MAKING IT WORK
How to organize an inclusive MSF Supporting and training women leaders and women's groups Training, preparation and capacity development Making an impact

THE TOOLS
Tool to Mobilize the structures Tool to Unpack the capacities INDEX • A multi-stakeholder forum (MSF) is a "purposefully organized interactive process that brings together a range of stakeholders to participate in dialogue and/or decision making and/or implementation of actions seeking to address a problem they hold in common or to achieve a goal for their common benefit" (Sarmiento Barletti et al. 2020b, 2).
• Gender refers to relations based on biological sex within society, as well as how such relations are constructed, contested and internalized (Nightingale 2011). In this guide, we address women's gendered experiences in MSFs, both as individuals and as a group.
• Inclusion is "the process of improving the terms of participation in society, particularly for people who are disadvantaged, through enhancing opportunities, access to resources, voice and respect for rights" (UN 2016, 17). In the context of MSFs, inclusion means ensuring that no institutional frameworks, cultural norms or forms of identity unfairly influence decision-making processes nor exclude people from engaging actively and participating effectively in any decision that affects them.
• Indigenous Peoples 1 have international recognition that grounds their claims for spaces of representation in diverse public decision forums, from local to global scales (UNPFII 2020

KEY TERMS/GLOSSARY
• Under-represented groups include sub-groups that historically have not had equitable influence in decision making in a specific context. These may include women, Indigenous Peoples, the poor, the elderly, young people, Afro-descendants, pastoralists, LGBTI people, people with disabilities, lowercaste peoples, religious minorities and others. It is important to consider that there are different degrees of under-representation, ranging from outright exclusion to token representation.
• Success factors include those enabling conditions, characteristics, activities, attitudes or events that promote the inclusion of women and other under-represented people and their ideas, values, knowledge and priorities in MSFs in a meaningful way, including decision-making processes and activities.
• A rights-based approach draws on the principle that all individuals are born with rights to dignity, freedom, equality, security and decent standards of living (Shankor 2014). A rights-based approach puts people and under-represented groups at the center of development efforts, positioning them as active agents in processes affecting their lives (Broberg and Sano 2018). In doing so, rightsbased approaches rearrange the roles of states from development partners to accountable and transparent duty-bearers; and of citizens from passive beneficiaries to empowered rights-holders (Hamm 2001;Molyneux and Lazar 2003;Nelson and Dorsey 2018).
• Rights-holders and duty-bearers have responsibilities for supporting and promoting the fulfillment of their rights and the rights of others in a rights-based approach. Rights-holders need to work to promote, defend and fulfill their claims to rights and freedoms. Duty-bearers are those individuals, groups and organizations responsible for upholding and enabling the realization of rights; they have an obligation to fulfill, protect and respect the rights of others (Sen 2004;Broberg and Sano 2018). All human beings are rights-holders, and people can be both rightsholders and duty-bearers, depending on the context, issues and relationships at play.
• Capacities include the abilities, awareness and motivations of rights-holders to assume their rights. This also includes the capacities of the duty-bearers to work to fulfill the rights of the rights-holders.
• Structures include social structures as well as political, economic and institutional processes that determine the enabling/constraining environment that allows duty-bearers to fulfill their obligations, as well as processes that determine the representation of rights-holders and the recognition and redistribution of rights and benefits.
• Theory of Change (TOC) is a structured process for identifying goals and then creating strategies to meet those goals.

INTRODUCTION
This guide explains how to operationalize the inclusion of women, Indigenous Peoples and other under-represented groups in multistakeholder forums (MSFs). MSFs have been promoted and adopted as decision making, consultation and dialogue platforms around the world at all scales, from global climate change negotiations to local forest use decisions (Hart et al. 2014;Sarmiento Barletti et al. 2020b). MSFs can take various forms: as meetings, conferences, congresses and summits. They can also have different names: platforms, processes, partnerships, sector working groups and networks. MSFs may meet one time or multiple times. In general, MSFs aspire to bring together diverse constituencies to share ideas and opinions, formulate decisions in a more open and equitable way and promote more inclusive and horizontal dialogue than conventional decision-making and coordination spaces (Kusters et al. 2018).
Research finds that MSF organizers and proponents believed that their forums foster equity simply by inviting more under-represented actors to the table; however, they spend less

WHAT IS THIS GUIDE FOR?
effort in addressing the power inequalities among participants and the quality of the participation and representation of historically under-represented groups (Sarmiento Barletti et al. 2020b). Perhaps unsurprisingly, women and groups such as Indigenous Peoples and local communities are frequently either under-represented, excluded or lack influence on the important processes and outcomes of MSFs. Ineffective representation means that their opinions, values and knowledge are not included in decision making, and they may not benefit from the decisions made by MSFs. Their participation may be used to legitimize outcomes or agreements that conflict with their priorities, and they may even be harmed, as inequalities persist. On the other hand, MSFs present unique opportunities to leverage the influence of under-represented people and effect changes in broader arenas. This is a key challenge if we are to harness the potential for more equitable processes and outcomes. How can we improve the inclusion and impact of women, Indigenous Peoples and other under-represented groups in MSFs?
Getting it right addresses this challenge by providing several tools that are designed to operationalize inclusion at specific trigger points where we believe action is most effective.
Getting it right addresses this challenge by providing several tools that are designed to operationalize inclusion at specific trigger points where we believe action is most effective. This guide is aimed at the organizers, implementers, participants and funders of MSFs at subnational and national levels (the approaches may also apply at local and global levels). This guide is also aimed at members of under-represented groups, and provides them with knowledge and the means to hold MSF practitioners and conveners accountable as they seek to assert their rights and improve their influence in MSFs. We know that actors and organizations are often involved in various forums at different levels, and individuals often play various roles in the same MSF. This guide is intended to equip those actors with tools to effect change in their diverse roles. Our goal with this guide is to present ideas, not solutions; the challenges to inclusion are complex and unique to every MSF.

Goals
Goals of MSFs may include any mix of the following: identifying goals, creating plans, making strategies, formulating policies, exchanging information, strengthening networks, consulting with stakeholders.

Temporal scale
The duration of MSFs can vary, from one-off, ad-hoc meetings to multi-meeting engagements over several years. While some inclusion strategies take time, there are many things that even a one-off meeting can do to support inclusion.

Governance scale
MSFs may engage stakeholders at the local, subnational, national, regional or global level. Some MSFs are structured to include stakeholders in a multi-level structure.

Phases
In general, MSFs have several phases of operation -design, planning, implementation, evaluation. There are opportunities at each of these phases to address inclusion.
There are many groups and individuals who often do not have equal voice or influence in the decision-making mechanisms and consultation processes of MSFs. These may include women, Indigenous Peoples, the economically poor, the elderly, young people, Afro-descendants, pastoralists, transgendered people, people with disabilities, disadvantaged caste groups and rural populations. These different identities also intersect, e.g. a low-caste woman or an Afro-descendant Indigenous man. Identities are complex and unique for everyone. Every MSF, depending on its goals and stakeholders, will have a unique set of challenges for inclusion that reflect the contexts in which they are organized.
Getting it right focuses on the inclusion of women and Indigenous Peoples in natural resource management and governance contexts. In particular, we analyzed how these actors participate and/or are represented in spaces such as forest user group committees, co-management groups or forest commodity roundtable meetings.

WHO DOES THIS GUIDE FOCUS ON?
Out of all possible under-represented groups, we chose women and Indigenous Peoples because the challenges that they face represent many of the difficulties of achieving equitable inclusion in MSFs. While other actors will have their own unique challenges, they may also share similar barriers to and opportunities for inclusion. We also feel that examining the inclusion of women

Travel and access
Governments may not recognize rights, and Indigenous Peoples may not know them.

Rights not recognized, not known or not enforced
Indigenous Peoples often have different norms and processes for decision making and discussion. There can be stigmatization when other groups expect Indigenous Peoples to behave in a certain way. Lack of local language translation can result in significant barriers.

Cross-cultural differences
Scientific biases often sideline Indigenous knowledge, knowledge systems and perspectives.

Resistance to Indigenous knowledge
Indigenous Peoples may not be included in official delegations or guaranteed a seat at the table, and there may be no guidelines or policies for involving them or recognizing their rights.

HOW WAS THIS GUIDE CREATED?
We chose to draw on multiple contexts and lessons learned by practitioners from across the globe to create this guide. We started by reviewing 155 scholarly articles 2 about a range of natural resource management multi-stakeholder initiatives around the world, including MSFs. These included community forestry groups, co-management projects, payments for environmental services initiatives and others.
We identified success factors, that is, those enabling conditions, characteristics, activities, attitudes or events that promote the inclusion of women and other under-represented Figure 1. Learning from diverse experiences to build tools that promote inclusion.
people and their ideas, values, knowledge and priorities in MSFs in a meaningful way, including decision-making processes and activities.
We synthesized these success factors into groupings to help identify key actions that could trigger positive change. These findings informed a semi-structured questionnaire that we used to interview 61 local, national and global practitioners across Latin America, Africa and Asia to learn from their experiences with MSFs and elicit what type of tool would be most useful to them ( Figure 1). Based on our findings we designed the tools in this guide.
Review 155 articles about a range of multi-stakeholder initiatives

FRAMING THE GUIDE USING A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH
Getting it right uses a rights-based approach, which draws on the principle that all individuals are born with rights to dignity, freedom, equality, security and decent standards of living (Shankor 2014). These human rights are universal; they cannot be taken away, and they do not have to be bought, earned or inherited (UNFPA 2010). These fundamental individual rights also include a right to associate and form groups that are also rights-holding entities.
A rights-based approach is derived in part from a large body of international and national frameworks that support human rights, ranging from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948) Figure 2. Responsibilities of rights-holders and duty-bearers in multi-stakeholder forums.

Processes and institutional arrangements
Policy, institutions and legal structures (types and levels) Active presence of state and non-state actors at different levels

Awareness of responsibilities and obligations
Ability and realized obligation to protect, respect and safeguard rights Alliances and spaces for dialogue, disagreement, consensus and change Emphasis on social/reflexive learning -allow innovation Accessible and secure (not violent/conflictive)

Key concepts in a rights-based approach: Rights-holders and duty-bearers
A rights-based approach is based on the relationships and responsibilities of rights-holders and duty-bearers. All human beings are rights-holders. Rights-holders need to work to promote, defend and fulfill their claims to rights and freedoms. The individuals and groups responsible for upholding and enabling the realization of rights are duty-bearers. Dutybearers have an obligation to fulfill, protect and respect the rights of others (Sen 2004;Broberg and Sano 2018). We are all rights-holders and duty-bearers, depending on the context, issues and relationships at play. Figure 2 outlines the responsibilities of rights-holders and duty-bearers in MSFs to advance the empowerment and inclusion of women, Indigenous Peoples and other historically under-represented people.
In the context of an MSF, duty-bearers may include the designers, organizers and implementers of MSFs as well as government authorities, NGOs and donors. Stakeholders in MSFs are rights-holders, and there is a growing movement to reframe them as such (Ooft 2008;Rantala et al. 2013). Under many national legal frameworks, there may also be legal weight to arguments that MSFs have a duty to include underrepresented groups and individuals. In this way, addressing inequalities is not just an add-on to fulfill a requirement, but rather the obligation of acknowledging the rights of under-represented groups. Figure 3 illustrates related goals, organized by time scale and by the levels of control and influence of the MSF. This highlights some of the challenges, along with processes that can strengthen rights recognition and realization, as well as highlighting spaces that allow for collective action and capacity building.
This guide proposes that processes of transformation that lead to more equitable outcomes require working with both rights-holders and duty-bearers within MSFs.

What this guide may produce for a multi-stakeholder forum
There are different benefits or products that the organizers and designers of an MSF might gain from this guide: • reflections on how to organize an MSF, with a structured process for organizers to consider concrete goals and actions that improve inclusion when beginning the planning process for an MSF • tools to monitor the process, through a framework for taking stock of the actions regularly taken • guidance on how to reflect on progress, with questions to encourage discussion and promote organizational and self-reflective learning • input for a roadmap to change that can guide the actions of an MSF towards its goals.

The challenge for women in MSFs
Many community presidents and leaders put women down because they think that women should not participate in these multi-stakeholder spaces. This means there is no social support that guarantees the participation of women in decision-making processes.
-Environmental NGO, Peru I haven't come across many forums where women were given the leadership position. Women are there, they are present, nobody says that they can't come, but I haven't seen many where women were given positions as decision makers or leaders. But in the few forums where they were given leadership roles, they performed excellently and were examples.

-Swapna Sarangi, Foundation for Ecological Security, India
Are we making women the architects and artisans of their own futures?
-Alain Frechette, Rights and Resources Initiative The approaches outlined in this guide can inform the development of a roadmap for change by facilitating the development of strategies and mechanisms to assess whether goals are in line with expectations.

ROADMAP FOR CHANGE
This tool uses the success factors as a framework for analyzing opportunities for enhancing capacities and identifying existing gaps in an MSF.

TOOL TO UNPACK THE CAPACITIES
If the MSF is in the design phase, this guide can inform the identification of goals and strategies to create a theory of change.

THEORY OF CHANGE
This tool examines the institutional arrangements and structures that can promote or constrain inclusion in MSFs and suggests mechanisms for strategic goal-setting as well as monitoring actions to catalyze change.

GOALS
Each of these processes can be started independently, or they can be used together in a connected and iterative way. It is also possible to revisit them whenever needed.

2
MSF designers and implementers can improve inclusion in the practical ways that they organize the MSF, such as creating structures that provide more opportunities for participation and leadership, providing well-trained equity-sensitive facilitators, conducting proceedings in the local language(s), providing friendly and culturally appropriate explanations for technical terms, and implementing self-monitoring to make sure that people are being meaningfully included and reflexive learning is being promoted. Mobility is frequently a barrier, in terms of access to resources and social norms permitting travel. Therefore, crucial support for participants is necessary, such as providing culturally appropriate accommodations for childcare, making the meeting space safe and secure and providing sufficient money to travel safely and in a culturally appropriate way. It also includes addressing the constraining social norms that often keep people from participating, such as prohibitions against speaking, traveling or joining mixed gender groups.
Influence means more than just making sure women or Indigenous Peoples are present. Influence means better representation, increased membership, guaranteed speaking time, the power to set the agenda and seats in leadership or on the executive committee. This also includes representation among the speakers, panels, experts and moderators. Government, NGO and donor pressure is effective. Furthermore, those institutions are in turn more effective at inclusion when they have women and Indigenous Peoples in their own top ranks.
The theory of change (TOC) is a structured process of identifying goals and then strategies to meet those goals (Belcher and Hughes 2020; Belcher et al. 2020). The TOC is often used to identify causal pathways linking an MSF and intended results (outputs, outcomes and impacts) -in this case, what is needed to happen to enhance gender equality and social inclusion. We drew on our findings to develop a TOC by synthesizing the experiences of MSFs that we reviewed. In the TOC we identified five action arenas that promote inclusion. For each of these action arenas, goals can be identified. Enhanced capacities contribute to empowerment through increased awareness and access to information and training. Capacity development creates a feedback loop of participation and confidence: as participants gain skills, they gain confidence, and they participate more, thus building more confidence in their own abilities.

Introducing the theory of change
Social networks, organizations, coalitions and public trust build the capacity, experience and social capital that promote the inclusion of women and Indigenous Peoples in decision making. Supporting women's and Indigenous organizations, and investing in the strengthening of these networks and groups, promotes empowerment and inclusion in decision making and helps to build alliances, and networks that improve the ability to negotiate.
Having a clear path to impact motivates participation and provides a reason for stakeholders to participate in the MSF. The desired impacts of the MSF will vary, but they should be linked to tangible outcomes in policy, governance, livelihoods, resource management, human rights and other areas of development. Empowerment, strengthening collective action and capacity building may also be goals. Importantly, the MSF and local organizations must have genuine legitimacy and accountability to create an impact.

ON IMPACT
Action arenas can be organized into a theory of change that identifies the level of influence that an MSF has over the action arena. This can show where an MSF has the most control, and where it needs to develop strategies with others in order to works towards larger shared goals. See Figure 4 for an example of how these action arenas have been organized into a theory of change.   Action arenas are places where it is possible to catalyze change and where goals can be realized. Action arenas also interact with and strengthen each other. For instance, enhancing capacity in speaking skills will have a positive impact on efforts to improve stakeholders' influence.

LONG-TERM GOALS
We also created two tools to operationalize inclusion within the theory of change. Figure 4 also shows how the tools (described in the following section) serve to catalyze these changes. In the next section we present a step-by-step description of how the tools can be applied to an MSF.

Through our literature review and interviews, we identified success factors that contribute to the meaningful inclusion of women and Indigenous Peoples in MSFs, and the constraints that inhibit their inclusion.
When seen through a rights-based lens, these success factors can be organized into two action arenas: capacities and structures. The capacities include the abilities, awareness and motivations of rights-holders to assume their rights. It also includes the capacities of the dutybearers to work to fulfill the rights of the rights-holders. The second arena includes the legal, civil, political, social and economic structures that either promote or inhibit inclusion.
We believe that these action arenas are the trigger points where both duty-bearers and rights-holders can take specific steps to improve inclusion. We developed two tools that focus on these action arenas. In this section, we describe the tools, explain how to use them and provide examples of how each can be used to improve inclusion. Figure 5 provides an overview of the tools and how they relate to each other. In the last section of this guide, we present lessons learned, examples and success stories from practitioners in the field.
The tool named Mobilize the structures examines the institutional arrangements and structures that can promote or constrain inclusion in an MSF, and suggests mechanisms for strategic goal-setting and monitoring actions to catalyze change. The tool named Unpack the capacities uses the success factors as a framework for analyzing opportunities for enhancing capacities and identifying existing gaps in an MSF. These tools can be applied at any time, as there is potential for improvement at any phase of an MSF. However, the tools may present the greatest opportunities for impact when launched in the initial design phase of an MSF.
These tools provide mechanisms for MSF organizers and implementers to improve meaningful inclusion. Each invites These tools can be applied at any time, as there is potential for improvement at any phase of an MSF. However, the tools may present the greatest opportunities for impact when launched in the initial design phase of an MSF.

Who should use these tools?
For the tools to be effectively implemented, key MSF stakeholders (both rights-holders and duty-bearers) should be represented during the process, whether the MSF is in the design or implementation phase. If the MSF has an executive committee, the involvement of those committee members is highly valuable. It may be useful to designate a sub-committee or create sub-groups and put them in charge of applying the tools and doing the follow-up monitoring. It is important that there are one or more champions of these tools, so that there is follow-up and follow-through.

MOBILIZE THE STRUCTURES
For each opportunity or gap, create an action to address it.
Assign: who, when and how will they do it?

Make an action plan:
Review progress regularly with stakeholders.
Adjust goals and actions as needed.

Monitor:
Set inclusion goals with your stakeholders.
Define and implement specific actions with your stakeholders.
Analyze structures hindering inclusion.

Analyze the structures:
Review progress regularly with stakeholders.
Adjust the actions as needed.

Monitor:
Review the success factors for ideas.
Make a list of constraints and success factors with your stakeholders.
Analyze the capacity opportunities and gaps: Figure 5. How the tools work.
its users to reflect on two important questions: How are we doing? and, Are we getting it right? The tools work best when used as a framework for discussion and decision making, ideally in a group setting.
The tools can be adapted and applied in several ways. For instance, Mobilize the structures can act as a goal-setting exercise that can be helpful before the analysis of the opportunities and constraints that Unpack the capacities provides. However, the tools can also be used independently and/or simultaneously; it is not necessary to use them both, or use them in order. In fact, we recommend an iterative or cyclical application of the tools -where the methods are revisited, adjusted and adapted repeatedly-(see Figure 5). This approach recognizes that the context will be constantly changing, as will the aspirations of the MSF; and engaging in deliberate and iterative group learning provides a mechanism for adaptation to the dynamic nature of multi-stakeholder engagement in a natural resource context. Short-term MSFs -that meet once or only a few times-may not have as many cycles, but the approach may still be useful.

MOBILIZE THE STRUCTURES
The Mobilize the structures tool aims to support MSFs in setting gender and social inclusion goals. Photo: A mapping workshop in Nakhon, Kassena Nankana District -Ghana, by Axel Fassio/CIFOR.
Mobilize the structures assesses the enabling environment and context conditions that motivate or hinder inclusion, identifies strategies for change and presents a starting point to monitor progress. It provides a framework for collective goal-setting and identifying strategies, as well as guidance on monitoring. This tool can also serve to help prepare a roadmap for change.
This tool is divided in three stages, each with multiple steps. The following pages take you through these in detail.
The purposes of this tool, Mobilize the structures, is to support MSFs in setting gender and social inclusion goals. These goals must be embedded in social structures as well as the political, economic and institutional processes that determine the enabling/constraining environment that allows duty-bearers to fulfill their obligations; they must also be embedded in the processes that determine representation of rights-holders, and recognition and redistribution of rights and benefits.
Identify the rights-holders and duty-bearers in the issue your MSF engages with: Who are the key rights-holders? Where are they lacking capacities to participate effectively? Who are the duty-bearers? Where do they lack capacities to fulfill their obligations? (adapted from UNFPA 2010).
Review progress regularly before, during and after the MSF with stakeholders. Monitoring should be assigned to a specific person or committee who will be responsible for carrying out the monitoring activities, discussing and sharing results and feeding back into MSF planning. Monitoring should answer basic questions to understand whether progress is being made. You may refer to the tool How are we doing? 3 , a participatory reflective monitoring tool developed by CIFOR. You can also check other monitoring tools shared in this document (see page 39).

Set inclusion goals with your stakeholders.
We identified five goal areas where the capacities of rights-holders and duty-bearers can be strengthened (see Figure 4). Analyze the structures challenging or contributing to inclusion. See Figure 2 for a description of capacities and structures and related responsibilities of rights-holders and duty-bearers. For each of the categories, discuss with relation to your MSF or issue.
Adjust the goals and strategies as needed. Schedule a session with the executive committee, key rights-holders and other stakeholders to discuss the results of the monitoring. This activity should clearly include and be guided by rights-holders. Discussion can start with a simple question: What can we learn from these results? Then, revisit the goals and strategies to see what needs to be adjusted.

Define specific strategies with your stakeholders.
For each of the above goal areas, MSF participants set the goals, identify strategies and monitor progress. See Table 1 for an example. Start first by defining the questions that you want to answer, and then figure out the best information to collect to answer those questions.
Get your stakeholders involved in the process; they can help define the monitoring questions and then collect the information. You could set up a monitoring sub-committee.
Disseminate the results of the monitoring through information channels to make the process transparent and get feedback.
Monitoring should provide a mechanism to detect unintended consequences of the process, such as gender-based violence and other potential negative outcomes. It is important to keep an eye out for possible conflicts so that they can be addressed quickly.
There are many interactive monitoring tools to make it engaging and visual (see page 39). Ask your stakeholders for suggestions too.

ON IMPACT
Four local women's organizations will be highlighted, and representatives from them will be moderating general discussions.
The MSF will produce two gender-focused recommendations, the national government has agreed to hear our recommendations, and recommendations will be shared with all candidates running for representative office.
At least 50% of the MSF's executive committee will be women.
Three preparation workshops will be provided to all participants to develop their speaking skills.
Free childcare will be provided to all participants every day of the MSF. These are meant to be starting points for discussion. Not all of these success factors may be applicable, and additional success factors can be added by stakeholders. It might be useful to identify and focus on a smaller number of success factors that are most essential (e.g. three to four) per action arena. Different success factors could be applied in the future as progress is made.
We found that while the success factors for women and Indigenous Peoples had some overlap, in general they present different areas of focus.
Reviewing both groups could help inform possibly overlooked success factors for both women and Indigenous Peoples. In some instances, the success factors might also conflict -for instance, when cultural norms for Indigenous women constrain their participation-which would be important areas for discussion and resolution.
Assess your MSF for each of the success factors. The next step is to discuss each success factor, and collectively define specific criteria to determine whether or not a success factor is being achieved, and, based on those criteria, where the MSF stands. This will not be a simple process, and it may require lengthy discussion. However, this discussion is a valuable group learning opportunity, and it is useful to take notes for sharing with others.
One assessment tool is the stoplight approach, where the following colors are assigned to each success factor: No, little to no progress, not in place Somewhat, some progress, not fully in place Yes, implemented, in place Analyze the capacity opportunities and gaps 1 STEP 1 STEP 2

A foundational strategy of a rights-based approach is to increase the capacity of rights-holders and duty-bearers.
This tool, Unpack the capacities, provides a structured way to assess an MSF for capacity opportunities and gaps, and build strategies to address them.
This tool should be also used in a group format, including key stakeholders, MSF organizers or a specific group designated for these activities.
The tool is divided into three stages. The following pages go through the steps in detail. There are provisions for extra household support for women, including providing childcare in a culturally appropriate manner There are self-monitoring systems and learning approaches to improve governance and oversight, including monitoring gender at the local (e.g. community), regional and national levels (e.g. sectorial policies, government and NGO interventions) Trained, equity-sensitive external staff or researchers observe, facilitate and support learning through discussionprovoking questioning of group practices and assumptions The decision-making space is an accessible and safe social environment, and safety and security concerns to travel around traveling to and participating in the event are taken seriously The decision-making space is made conducive to participation, with a tone of collaboration, cooperation, trust, respect and reciprocity, and conflicts are strategically addressed The local language is used and when not possible, interpretation and translation of materials are available

Conflicts are managed through identification of commonalities and lack of confrontational interactions
Poor or lower-caste women are actively included and represented, and education gaps, such as literacy, are recognized and addressed

Improving influence N/A
There is pressure (gender policies, guidelines, provisions, quotas) from the government, donors and NGOs to include women Women's roles and knowledge on natural resources are recognized, valued and incorporated Women are involved in the decision making on important and strategic issues All members can contribute to agenda items; women are involved in creating the meeting agenda and gender issues are included and addressed on meeting agendas All members are involved in decision making with real decision-making power Women and poor people are actively invited to participate in discussions before decisions are made There are opportunities to informally connect with fellow stakeholders, by walking to meetings, talking with friends and gaining information Women are equitably represented on executive committees, and their presence is mandatory for approval of important procedural changes and plans Women are equitably represented among the speakers, panels, experts and moderators There is a nested governance structure that increases the total number of leadership positions and opens more opportunities and spaces for women at all levels (including executive committees, sub-committees and specific groups), ensuring that women are able to gain confidence, leadership and facilitation skills to take on leadership positions. These structures also promote multi-directional information sharing and learning

Enhancing capacities N/A
People are empowered through awareness and knowledge of their rights during training and workshops, and there is an emphasis on equity and rights There are capacity-building activities that strengthen technical skills, knowledge and confidence There is capacity building that strengthens leadership and governance Recognizing that higher levels of women's education increases their confidence; education and literacy programs are supported and included in the process when possible

Strengthening collective action N/A
There are explicit strategies by stakeholders to bring participants to a common sense of purpose and mission and bring shared understanding as a group Social networks within the community and externally are strengthened; they develop trust and reciprocity, strengthen social capital, build skills and increase access to resources Women's organizations, networks, collective voices and social movements are strengthened and provided with the support needed for women to engage effectively, build experience in collective action, generate confidence, provide access to information, build alliances and ensure coordination and negotiation

Local institutions are democratic, participatory and inclusive, and decision making is bottom-up
Strong, visionary and pragmatic women leaders are present and are strengthened There is a purposeful emphasis on social learning, including reflection on processes and culture of decision making, in order to shift norms, behaviors and expectations A supportive environment for women in the household and community is created The role of women in agriculture and their knowledge on natural resources are recognized and addressed

Local organizations have genuine legitimacy and accountability
There are clear benefits and outcomes to participation

Organizing for inclusion N/A
There is a clear understanding of expectations and conditions from the beginning, regarding decision-making authority, fiscal matters and schedule There is acceptance of the value and legitimacy of Indigenous knowledge. There is successful navigating, coordinating and understanding of multiple knowledge systems: traditional practices, government regulations, and international scientific and management expectations

Workshops and information meetings are held in the local languages or translation is available
Decision-making procedures do not marginalize minority groups (e.g. voting by majority rule) Multi-tiered decision-making organization and nested governance structures are used to broaden participation, including use of working groups, sub-committees and planning tables

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Review progress regularly during the MSF with stakeholders, for instance, one month before an event and then one week after the same event. Discussion questions could include: How have we improved inclusion (or not)? What are the three most important lessons learned? What are our three main challenges to improve? How will we address them? You may also refer to the tool How are we doing? 3 , a participatory reflective monitoring tool developed by CIFOR and check other monitoring tools shared at the green box on the right.
Adjust the checklist as needed. Schedule a session with the executive committee and other stakeholders to discuss the results of the monitoring. Discussion can start with simple questions: What can we learn from these results? How are we doing? Then, revisit the goals and strategies to see what needs to be adjusted. These decisions should then be validated by rights-holders.

Gender Avenger Tally
This app is an interactive way to monitor in real time how much speaking time women and men and other groups get in meetings. https://www.genderavenger.com/tally Scorecards A visual way of seeing if you are meeting your goals is creating a type of report card or scorecard. https://www.seaf.com/womenseconomic-empowermentand-gender-equality/ gender-equality-scorecard/

Interactive surveys and polls
There are a wide range of interactive surveys and polls to collect information from stakeholders before, during and after the MSF. Try http://Mentimeter.com or a Whatsapp poll.

Stoplight
Keep it simple and visual by asking people to rate progress using the stoplight approach: green (yes, implemented, in place), yellow (somewhat, some progress, not fully in place), red (no, no progress, not in place).
Little consideration of women's views in meetings; when they speak, women's opinions are given little weight, or women are excluded from meetings or made to wait to speak  The key factors that have worked for us are a facilitation approach, scheduling meetings at appropriate times and venues, using women to mobilize fellow women, encouraging participation verbally in meetings, sometimes womenonly conferences, and using strategies that involve both women and men. In the field of preparation, we consider it very important that particular groups such as youth and women have sufficient knowledge of the political landscape, as well as of their rights.

-Suzane Irau, Land and Equity Movement Uganda (LEMU), Uganda
A lot of people don't like to speak in big groups. The way you host a meeting has been set up by the people in power the longest. Just inviting people into that space does not allow people to participate effectively.
-Natalie Elwell, World Resources Institute

In this section, we share a selection of practical examples, success stories and lessons learned, so that their experiences and insights can help inform other practitioners.
During our work, we interviewed 61 practitioners -in Africa, Asia, Latin America and at the global level -who are involved with MSFs and have seen what works (and fails) to improve inclusion.

HOW TO ORGANIZE AN INCLUSIVE MSF
Practitioners discussed various approaches to organizing MSFs to improve the inclusion and influence of women and Indigenous Peoples.
Structuring the MSF with several levels and nested decision making -i.e. with subgroups, such as working groups or subcommittees, feeding input to a larger group -has multiple benefits. This approach not only creates more opportunities for participation, it also creates more leadership positions, thus building leadership capacity. Smaller groups may be more comfortable spaces for participation. And these subgroups might choose to meet at the village level, making participation more accessible to those who are constrained by lack of mobility.
Practitioners told us that picking trained, gender-sensitive, culturally sensitive facilitators is a crucial success factor for inclusion. A good facilitator knows the culture and can address a lack of participation: "[At an] MSF at the sub-national level…the facilitator invited women during break time to converse using the local language, and they succeeded in obtaining input and voice from these women." -Lead at global development institution, Indonesia

Nested structures Facilitation
Whether to create separate groups for women or Indigenous Peoples depends on the context. In cultures where norms discourage women from speaking, separate groups can give room for women to share freely. This applies to supporting women's groups and networks. However, care must be taken that they do not become mechanisms for sidelining under-represented groups.

Participation in determining the agenda of the MSF is a crucial point of influence.
"…the presence of a group of women in the forum is essential, but does not guarantee the quality of their participation. The space must ensure a horizontal dialogue and an inclusive methodology so that these groups are part of the agenda-building process with their leaders." -Gender justice program lead, international NGO, Cuba.

Creating requirements for women or
Indigenous Peoples in membership -e.g. a required minimum such as 30% -has generated results in many contexts. In circumstances where representation is poor, quotas can create the necessary wedge to start the process of change and establish role models for younger participants. However, there is the counter-argument that achieving quotas creates the illusion that the gender problem has been solved, and sometimes undermines efforts towards equality.
Making provisions for childcare -in a culturally acceptable way -is one of the most effective ways to improve women's participation. Not only does childcare free up women to participate, but it also sends the message that their participation is important: "The limitations of our reality do not allow us to pay a nursery to take care of our children. -Economist, global development institution In India, there is mandated representation in village councils through quotas. It had substantial impact in the longer term; when researchers returned to these villages and interviewed adolescent girls, their educational attainment and aspirations had improved.
-Beaman et al. 2012 Just because we invite the same number of women and men, gender issues will not be resolved immediately. There is also the issue of guaranteeing balance and justice.
-Focal point for Indigenous Peoples, global land rights network

SUPPORTING AND TRAINING WOMEN LEADERS AND WOMEN'S GROUPS
Multiple practitioners emphasize the importance of investing long term in the development of women leaders: even with just one or two dynamic women leaders, the environment can change. Working with men to encourage them to become allies is equally important.

TRAINING, PREPARATION AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
Training, preparation and capacity development are crucial to develop skills and knowledge, enhance empowerment and give confidence to women, Indigenous Peoples and other under-represented groups, so they can participate effectively in MSFs. In Burkina Faso, integrating literacy classes into a natural resource management project with rural women helped bridge these gaps. Training the MSF organizers in gender, facilitation and inclusion is equally important.

One of the major challenges for gender and social inclusion is insufficient skills and expertise presence in MSFs and other programs for development. This is a reason why gender and social inclusion are just touched upon but not progressively worked on, and thus, there
have not yet been positive changes. Proper skills and expertise in gender and social inclusion help to raise the issues effectively in MSFs and other development programs.
- The level of influence remains marginal…We need stronger networks, greater linkages, to get women elected in politics, to get women their rights, to get women world recognition.

-Alain Frechette, Rights and Resources Initiative
It is important to create strategies so that agendas that place women's rights at the center reach the political and institutional debate.
-Gender justice program lead, international NGO, Cuba

Making an impact
I was elected vice president of my community when I was 23 years old, and I was very afraid to speak. There are a whole series of stereotypes inside the minds of many women, and they think that they cannot reach important positions either because they are not capable or because they have children. It is important that women lose their fear so that is why we support and train them. If they do not overcome this barrier, it will be difficult to achieve their objectives. -

Leader of federation of Indigenous Peoples, Ecuador
In the rural regions of Mexico, there is the [village council]. One person leads the institution and in recent years, women have taken up the position and have inspired many others. It is important that these women's husbands show solidarity and support them so that they can continue to hold these important positions. -

Leader of network of rural forest holders, Mexico
The Forest Forums bring together various stakeholders such as the timber companies, representatives of leaders, the politicians and local chiefs. Before we bring communities in these forums, we identify various community-based organizations at the community level and build their capacity, to create awareness on the rights of communities and also the rights and responsibilities of other interest groups in natural resources. This is important, because you are bringing them to face more elite people. They need to know the issues that they will be presenting in the forum, such as on law enforcement and reporting, so that they have confidence.

-Albert Katako, Civic Response, Ghana
In Laos, we were able to support the first ever Women in Agriculture forum at the national level. It resulted in a code of conduct and recognition of women's role in agriculture within the government. And on the producer side, this led to women-led producer groups, including organic certified farmers' markets managed by women farmers with support from the public and private sector (and their husbands).

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT INCLUSION NEXT STEPS
We discovered that the success factors to promote inclusion for women and Indigenous Peoples are not the same. We found that a rights-based discussion is more frequently applied to Indigenous Peoples, and reflections on individual, internalized constraints are more frequently brought up with regard to women. It may benefit both groups to apply the lessons learned and success factors from one group to the other, potentially identifying 'blindspots' and previously unrecognized issues.
We chose to focus on women and Indigenous Peoples to develop tools to improve inclusion. However, the experiences of all under-represented groups are unique, and MSFs would benefit from a better understanding of the treatment of groups, such as pastoralists, Afro-descendants and lower-caste groups, among others.
In some instances, the success factors for women and Indigenous Peoples can even be in conflict, as when the customs and practices of an Indigenous group constrain the effective participation of women, such as prohibitions on speaking in front of men, or travel outside of the community. Navigating this complex path to improve inclusion for both groups likely requires a process of reflection and discussion to find solutions.
We hope that the publication of this guide will lead to its application in various MSFs, and we invite those MSFs to share their experiences with us so that we can learn from them and improve this guide.    This research is also supported in part by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (CRP-FTA). This collaborative program aims to enhance the management and use of forests, agroforestry and tree genetic resources across the landscape, from forests to farms. CIFOR leads CRP-FTA in partnership with Bioversity International, CATIE, CIRAD, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
This work has been carried out under the CGIAR GENDER Platform, which is grateful for the support of CGIAR Trust Fund Contributors. www.cgiar.org/funders The CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) leads action-oriented research to equip decision makers with the evidence required to develop food and agricultural policies that better serve the interests of poor producers and consumers, both men and women. PIM combines the resources of CGIAR centers and numerous international, regional, and national partners. The program is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). www.pim.cgiar.org

This research is supported in part by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). The Rights and Resources
Initiative is a global coalition of more than 200 organizations dedicated to advancing the forestland and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and rural women. Members capitalize on each other's strengths, expertise and geographic reach to achieve solutions more effectively and efficiently. RRI leverages the power of its global coalition to amplify the voices of local peoples, and proactively engage governments, multilateral institutions and private sector actors to adopt institutional and market reforms that support the realization of rights. By advancing a strategic understanding of the global threats and opportunities resulting from insecure land and resource rights, RRI develops and promotes rights-based approaches to business and development, and catalyzes effective solutions to scale rural tenure reform and enhance sustainable governance. RRI is coordinated by the Rights and Resources Group, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.rightsandresources.org

This guide explains how to operationalize inclusion of women, Indigenous Peoples and other under-represented groups in multistake-holder forums (MSFs).
MSFs have been promoted to bring together diverse constituencies to share ideas and opinions and to formulate decisions in a more open and equitable way about wide-ranging issues and scales, from global climate change negotiations to local forest use decisions, but in practice evidence shows that women and Indigenous Peoples are often frequently either under-represented or lack influence in multi-stakeholder initiatives. Getting it right addresses this challenge by providing several tools that are designed to operationalize inclusion at specific trigger points where action is most effective.