GADN

What GADN does

GADN (Gender and Development Network) is a UK-registered charity (number 1140272) founded in 2014 that operates as a membership-based convening platform for gender equality and women's rights advocacy. Its members comprise UK-based non-governmental organisations — including ActionAid UK, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Plan International UK, WaterAid, Womankind Worldwide, CARE International UK, Amnesty International UK, Save the Children, and the Overseas Development Institute — alongside a large cohort of individual consultants and academics. GADN's product surface consists of six interconnected offerings: a network platform, a public resources library of briefings and policy responses, thematic working groups (Economic Justice, Humanitarian, Programmes, Violence Against Women and Girls, Women's Participation and Leadership), a Women of Colour-only safe space, a searchable Consultants Database, and the REFRAME project on feminist macroeconomic alternatives supported by a Global Database of Feminists Working on Macroeconomic Issues. The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees drawn predominantly from member NGOs and the academy, and operates a small secretariat (11-50 FTE) led by Directors Jessica Woodroffe and Ellie Fujioka (job share), Head of Policy Yamina Ouldali, and Network Coordinator Sinéad Armitage.

GADN's business model is non-commercial: revenue is generated through annual membership subscriptions tiered by organisational size (£140 / £360 / £725) and individual fees (£40 / £20 concessions), recurring core grants from approximately six member NGOs, project-specific foundation grants (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wellsprings Philanthropic Foundation, GW Cadbury Charitable Trust, Bretton Woods Project, FEMNET), and donations. Critically, GADN explicitly declines UK Government and official donor funding to preserve its independence in holding government to account — a positioning codified in its Strategy 2026-2028. Distribution is direct-to-member via the network itself, supplemented by quarterly member meetings, thematic working groups, webinars, weekly email updates, and policy publications that double as engagement and influence surfaces. Operationally, GADN is hosted at ActionAid UK premises (33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0BJ), with a secondary contact address on Easton Street.

Commercially the entity is non-investable in the traditional sense (no equity, no funding rounds, no M&A signal); the relevant analysis is governance, programmatic durability, and funder concentration risk. Strategic priorities visible in the dataset include feminist economic alternatives (REFRAME), UK aid accountability including opposition to aid cuts, race and decolonisation, G7/W7 engagement (co-chair of W7 in 2021 alongside GAPS), and emerging AI governance advocacy. International footprint is asserted but not operated directly; influence flows via partnerships with FEMNET, Nawi Afrifem, AWID, CREA, GATJ, Debt Justice, UN Women, and the Care International UK / ActionAid UK W7 co-hosts.

Name

GADN

Legal name

Gender and Development Network

Website

https://gadnetwork.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GADN is a UK-registered charity operating a membership network of British NGOs and individual experts that convenes, resources, and advocates on gender equality and women's rights internationally, with flagship work on feminist macroeconomic alternatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: GADN generates revenue through annual membership fees from UK-based civil society organizations and individual consultants. Organizations pay based on size (small: £140, medium: £360, large: £725) and individuals pay £40 (standard) or £20 (concessions).
2. Member Core Grants: Core funding received from member organizations including ActionAid UK, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Plan International UK, WaterAid, and Womankind Worldwide.
3. Foundation Grants: Project-specific and core funding from private foundations including William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wellsprings Philanthropic Foundation, GW Cadbury Charitable Trust, Bretton Woods Project, and FEMNET.
4. Donations: GADN accepts donations from individuals and organizations to support their work on gender equality and women's rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GADN is a UK-registered charity (registration number 1140272) that operates as a network of UK-based NGOs and experts working collectively on gender equality advocacy, policy research, and development cooperation. The organization coordinates working groups, maintains resource databases, and runs policy projects to advance gender-responsive policy and practice in international development.

Product overview

GADN operates as a coalition/network platform rather than a traditional software product company. Its core offering consists of a collaborative network infrastructure connecting UK-based NGOs and experts with global feminist movements. The platform comprises several interconnected services: the main Network Platform for coordination and advocacy, a Resources Hub for publications and policy materials, Working Groups and a Women of Colour Forum for peer learning and joint advocacy, a Consultants Database for expertise matching, the REFRAME project for feminist macroeconomic advocacy, and a Global Database of feminist economists. These offerings work together to advance gender equality through collective action, knowledge sharing, and policy influence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• REFRAME (Feminist Reframing of Macro-level Economics): GADN's major project on macro-level economics that promotes feminist economic alternatives by working with allies to support global feminist movements and influence international decision-makers.

Products and services

• NGO Network Coordination

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully influenced UN High Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment to recognize macro-level economic policies impact on gender equality
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN works closely with FEMNET on feminist macroeconomic advocacy and joint events. The organizations collaborated on FEMNET workshop in July 2018 on feminist advocacy on macro-level economics. FEMNET Executive Director Dinah Musindarwezo is quoted as a key partner.
• Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomics CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN collaborates with Nawi Afrifem Collective on the REFRAME project for feminist reframing of macro-level economics. Crystal Simeoni, Director of Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective, is quoted on the value of partnership built around mutual respect and accountability.
• Women 7 (W7)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN participates in Women 7 (W7) civil society group working alongside Civil Society 7 (C7) to influence G7 communiques and propose alternative policies. In 2021, GADN co-chaired W7 with Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS).
• Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN develops joint advocacy with AWID, particularly through the GEM project on gender equality and macroeconomics. AWID produces alternative economic proposals that GADN references in its work.
• Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGAPS is a sister network on gender, peace and security. GADN co-chaired W7 with GAPS in 2021, collaborating with civil society across G7 countries and Global South.
• Bond (UK NGO network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN works with Bond, the UK NGO network, as a sister network in the international development sector. Alex Farley of Bond participated in GADN members meeting on aid cuts.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN has influenced UN Women policy discussions on macroeconomic policy and women's economic empowerment. UN Women speakers participate in GADN member meetings and events.
• Care International UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDorothy Sang of Care International UK participated as panel speaker at GADN members meeting on feminist solidarity. Care International is co-host of W7 summit with GADN and ActionAid UK.
• ActionAid UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN is hosted at ActionAid UK premises. ActionAid provides core grant funding and co-hosted W7 summit with GADN and Care International UK. Girish Minon, former CEO, provided endorsement of GADN's work.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World BankminorOthersGADN holds UK government to account for its influence on these institutions through its seat on their Boards. GADN challenges decisions these institutions take on macroeconomic policy that affect gender equality.
• Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN collaborates with GATJ on advocating for global minimum corporate tax rate and tax justice issues affecting women globally.
• Debt Justice UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGADN works with Debt Justice on debt cancellation advocacy that impacts governments' ability to fund gender equality programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bond: The UK network for international development NGOs, convening over 400 member organizations. GADN is described as a 'sister network' to Bond within the UK international development sector, with overlapping membership and joint member meetings on aid cuts — directly comparable membership-based advocacy platform.
• FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network): Pan-African feminist network working on women's rights and gender equality. FEMNET is a core GADN partner on feminist macroeconomic advocacy (joint workshop on macro-level economics in 2018) and is featured in GADN's database of feminist macroeconomists — a directly comparable regional feminist network.
• Womankind Worldwide: UK-based feminist organization working on women's rights internationally, and a GADN member organization providing core grant funding. Operates in the same thematic space (gender equality, women's rights in international development) and overlaps with GADN at the convening and advocacy layer.
• Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID): Global feminist membership organization supporting women's rights movements. AWID is explicitly named as a strategic co-development partner on GADN's REFRAME/GEM project and produces the alternative economic proposals GADN references — a directly comparable feminist network organization.
• Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective: African feminist collective focused on macroeconomic policy from a gender justice lens. Nawi Afrifem is a core GADN partner on the REFRAME project for feminist reframing of macro-level economics, with joint publications and shared advocacy — comparable as a feminist macroeconomics network peer.
• Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS): UK-based network of NGOs working on gender, peace and security. GAPS is GADN's sister network on a related thematic axis (peace/security vs. broader gender equality/development) and GADN co-chaired W7 with GAPS in 2021, making it the closest structural and operational peer.

Broad incumbents

• Women Deliver: Global advocacy organization focused on gender equality and the rights and wellbeing of girls and women. Women Deliver operates a broader, larger-scale advocacy and convening platform than GADN and is comparable as a high-profile feminist advocacy peer in the international development space.
• International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF): Global federation working on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). IPPF is a recurring participant in GADN convenings (e.g., joint SRHR members' meeting with Fòs Feminista and Ipas speakers) and is comparable as a large global SRHR/gender advocacy organization.

Regional players

• International Women's Development Agency (IWDA): Australian feminist organization working on women's rights in the Asia-Pacific. Comparable to GADN as a single-country headquartered feminist NGO network engaged in international development, but operating regionally rather than from the UK/global North hub.

Others

• Women7 (W7): Civil society engagement group working alongside the G7 on gender equality. W7 is the convening platform GADN co-chaired in 2021; comparable as a G7-track feminist advocacy coalition but distinct in being a process/output of networks like GADN rather than an operating NGO.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GAD_Network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GADN