Institutional Self-Assessment Tool
of gender-based violence policies and practices
The GenderSAFE Institutional Self-Assessment Tool is an interactive process designed to help higher education and research institutions assess, enhance, and monitor their response to gender-based violence.
It focuses on seven key areas known as Impact Drivers and uses a six-stage maturity model to track progress:
Starting point > Project > Inception > Growth > Integration > Institutionalisation.
Upon completion, the tool generates a narrative feedback report with a spider chart that supports internal learning, strategic planning and institutional development. The assessment can be repeated over time to help track progress and inform policy cycles.
In the future, and depending on the volume of responses, the tool may offer benchmarking features that will allow analysis of anonymous aggregated data to identify similarities and differences across Institutions (e.g. by size, type, or country),
Comparative results are always presented in anonymised and aggregated form. No institution’s data will ever be visible to another respondent or third party.
Why use the Institutional Self-Assessment Tool?
This tool offers a structured and reflective way for institutions to assess their current practices, policies, and support systems related to gender-based violence. It allows institutions to:
- Identify areas of strength and gaps across multiple dimensions of gender-based violence policies.
- Understand their level of institutional development across six progressive stages.
- Receive tailored recommendations for improvement and future action.
- Raise awareness internally and stimulate structured dialogue.
How does it work?
1. Complete the self-assessment
Answer a series of reflective questions covering 7 key Impact Drivers and their indicators
2. Discuss internally
The tool is designed for collaborative completion,
allowing to pause, save progress, and return
later, at any time.
3. Receive a report
Upon completion,receive a detailed report including
a spider graph summarising performance across the
seven Impact Drivers, a description of your
institution’s maturity level for each area, and tailored
recommendations.
4. Monitor your institution’s progress
Track your institution’s advancement towards
change by repeating the assessment
periodically (ideally every 12-18 months).
The tool is hosted on a user-friendly online platform. No account is required. Users simply enter an email to receive the welcome message and access the self-assessment.
What to expect upon completion?
Upon completing the self-assessment, your institution will receive a detailed report that includes:
- A spider graph summarising performance across the seven Impact Drivers.
- Narrative outputs describing your institution’s maturity level for each area.
- Tailored recommendations to support institutional learning and development.
Terms of Use and Data Protection
Before completing the assessment, your consent will be required for the collection of your organisation’s data for the purposes of generating your institutional feedback report. Personal data (e.g. names and emails) are used solely for administrative coordination and are not included in any analysis. You have the right to:
- Request access to your data,
- Correct or delete your data,
- Or withdraw your organisation’s participation at any time by contacting gender@yellowwindow.com.
For more information please read the Terms of Use file and Data Protection file before filling the assessment.
If you have more questions, please visit our Frequent Asked Questions page.