EVALUATION: How has the first year of the Empowering Women Panel gone?

The Empowering Women Panel (EWP) was set up in March 2023. In Spring 2024, at the end of the first year, Sleeping Giants carried out an evaluation to learn what had worked well and what could be improved for the next year. This was completed with the help of an independent researcher.

What We Wanted to Achieve
At the start of the project, Sleeping Giants and the Scottish Government agreed Panel members should have a positive experience. Both groups also wanted to make sure they were able to take part in activities and share their views in ways that worked for each individual.   

Sleeping Giants and the Scottish Government also agreed three project outcomes. An outcome is just a different way of identifying what differences were made. These were:

1. Panel members have improved opportunities for accessible and positive participation.
This means individual Panel members have all the information and support they need to share their views, work with others and make decisions for themselves.
You can read more about the Panel’s views on participation in a previous blog here.

2. Panel members have increased capacity.
This means that Panel members have more knowledge and confidence, can take part fully in Panel work, and have their voices heard, so that they could help influence Scottish Government decisions.

3. The National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) are better able to provide advice and challenge to the First Minister because of the learning from - and partnership - with the Panel.
 
What We Did in Our First Year
The first year of the project has been very busy for everyone. Here are some of the activities that have taken place:

What Went Well
Members of the Empowering Women Panel were asked about their experience of being part of the Panel. This is what they said:

• 93% felt the Panel reflected their own concerns and goals
• 100% enjoyed being part of the Panel
• 100% felt that they were able to take part in a way that suited them

One Panel member said:
“I can’t think of a single thing I would change. The experience so far has been so interesting and has really made me think about the issues and struggles other people face. love the training the meet ups r great love it all🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻”
 
We also gathered information about whether the three project outcomes were achieved and what other differences the group. 

Outcome 1: Panel members have improved opportunities for accessible and positive participation.
At the end of Year One, Panel members felt they had more information and felt more involved than at the start. 

One Panel member said: “I’ve always felt supported, I’ve always felt that my voice has been heard even when I haven’t been about to attend meetings. I’ve still received all the information, emails, all the notes on everything. Everything that I could ever have wanted has been there and more…”

But there was still room for more meaningful participation to take place. The Panel wanted to spend more time with the (NACWG) so they could get to know the council better and strengthen their relationship, balancing the scales of power.
 
Outcome 2: Panel members have increased capacity.
Panel members said that they felt more knowledgeable and had more confidence after a year on the Panel.

One Panel member said: “It’s been wonderful because I’ve got to meet such a diversity of different women and learned about so many different opinions and things that I had never been open to before…”

But the group felt their ability to influence decisions did not change, so this outcome has only been partially achieved and will be something the Panel members work on more in Year Two.
 
Outcome 3: NACWG are better able to provide advice and challenge to the First Minister because of the learning from and partnership with the Panel.

Most NACWG members thought that the Advisory Council and Empowering Women Panel were able to share knowledge and understanding with other. They also thought that, by working together, everyone is able to do their jobs better and therefore make more of a difference.
 
What Could Go Better
Most comments and feedback from the Empowering Women Panel were positive but there is always room for improvement. Here are some of the suggestions they made for making Year Two even better.

1. Learning more about complicated topics, like intersectionality.

• NACWG members will come to our training sessions to help us do this.

2. Making sure younger Panel members have a stronger voice.

• ​We have a new mentor from the Young Women’s Movement who will support young Panel members.

 
3. Helping Panel members with a learning disability to better participate.

• We have a new mentor from People First Scotland who will support members with a learning disability.

 
4. Setting up a buddy system.

• We are setting up an informal system to ensure members of the Panel and NACWG get to know each other better, and that Panel members can support each other more easily.

 
5. Creating space for more discussion of the issues that really matter to members.

• We will have the chance to talk about some of these issues during our work in the second year, including care and childcare.

 
6. Continuing to build the relationship between the National Advisory Council and Panel members.

• We are creating more joint sessions to help build stronger relationships.

 
7. The accessibility of policy discussions.

• We will continue to remind the NACWG and Scottish Government officials that jargon and needlessly complicated language is unhelpful.

 
8. Review the approach to evaluation and monitoring

• Sleeping Giants will ensure that how they ask about progress is as simple and straightforward as possible.

 
9. Identify if and how the Panel is making a difference to decision-making

• It is hard to know for certain how the work of the Panel is influencing decision-making. We will work with the NACWG to find ways to show how lived experience is making a difference.

 

Members of the Panel shared lots of lovely quotes with us when we asked about their experience of being involved. Here are just a couple.

“I’ve really enjoyed being on the panel, it’s been a great experience for me.” 

“It’s wonderful that you’ve got a group of women that are willing to share their lived experience because I feel that is so much more powerful because you’re talking from a place of genuine knowledge and nobody is an expert in your life…”

“I have realised that I have more to say than I thought I did.”
 
If you would like to read the executive summary of the Empowering Women Panel Year One evaluation, you can find it here.

If you would like to view a 12-minute video about our work in Year One, you can find it here.