Scaling Impact: A strategic shift in gender integration for LD4D

By Julie Koehler

Our approach to gender is evolving in an exciting new direction! Building on the foundational work of our Gender & Livestock Data Community of Practice (CoP), the LD4D Secretariat has developed a new strategy to integrate gender considerations more deeply across the entire network. This shift is designed to respond to the growing appetite for practical gender tools and to ensure our collective efforts drive tangible transformation in the livestock sector.

Responding to a growing need

For the last few years, the Gender CoP provided a space for livestock development practitioners to share insights on what works—and what doesn't—in gender integration. This dialogue was very useful while at the same time the Secretariat observed a strong interest among the broader LD4D membership to access these insights, coupled with a need for more structured pathways to apply them.

Recognizing this momentum, the Secretariat has made a strategic decision to evolve the CoP's function from its initial grassroots identity as a discussion forum for gender practitioners toward mainstreaming gender learning across all LD4D activities. This is a deliberate effort to scale the CoP's successes so that every LD4D member, regardless of their current expertise level, can benefit from these critical tools and insights.

From dialogue to actionable strategy

Over the past year, members may have noticed LD4D learning events reflecting this new direction, bringing together partners to show not just on what was achieved, but share practical tools with our network on how to apply gender-intentional approaches in their own contexts. So far, we’ve run successful learning sessions on "Reducing and Redistributing Women’s Unpaid Care Work in Livestock Systems: Evidence and Tools from Kenya & Ethiopia ” and on “Gender-Responsive Training for Frontline Animal Health Workers ”.  We have also been supporting an LD4D Solutions Group dedicated specifically to gender dimensions in economic modeling.

Moving forward, the Secretariat will guide this integration by:

• Developing targeted content: Ensuring that events and resources focus on challenges, solutions and leverage points for integrating gender across different livestock development contexts. 
• Embedding gender in solutions: Making gender analysis a core component of all relevant Solutions Groups, ensuring technical models are robust and equitable.
• Defining collective priorities: The Secretariat will work to identify high-impact "levers" for change, inviting the community to align their individual efforts around these shared strategic goals.

The vital role of community expertise

While the strategic framework is being driven by the Secretariat to ensure coherence and scale, the engine of this work remains the community itself. The expertise of our members is more critical than ever. We are calling on practitioners to continue sharing their innovations, tools, and their challenges.

Your real-world experiences will directly shape the priorities we champion. By contributing your knowledge to this broader effort, you help ensure that the LD4D’s strategic direction remains grounded in practical reality. We view this as a partnership: the Secretariat provides the structure and reach, while the community provides the content and real-world insights.

We expect to send out a call for a community validation process to take place at the beginning of December. Please stay tuned!

Julie Koehler is Head of Gender (Data in Livestock Development) at SEBI-Livestock. SEBI-Livestock hosts the LD4D Secretariat.