This evaluation had two overarching objectives. Firstly, it aimed to provide the relevant external cooperation services of the European Union (EU) and the broader public with an independent assessment of the EU's past and current cooperation with the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal from 2014 to 2021. Secondly, it sought to identify key lessons and produce recommendations to inform responsible decision-makers, particularly in the European External Action Service and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, on how to improve the EU’s current and future strategies, programmes, and actions.
Its specific objectives were as follows:

• To measure how the combination of different interventions and modalities contributed to the expected objectives of the Multi-Indicative Programme (MIP) 2014-2020 at the country level, taking into consideration policy dialogue and financial assistance (including budget support);
• To assess the extent to which budget support in Nepal achieved its expected results in the education sector. This included evaluating how sectoral budget support enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, strategies, spending actions, and administrative capacities in the education sector;
• To evaluate how EU external actions have supported and continue to support Nepal’s overarching priorities under the 2021-2027 MIP, particularly implementing the federalism reform and graduating from the status of least developed countries; and,
• To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the evaluated sectors and the EU’s support as a response to the pandemic.

The evaluation focussed on the areas of i) sustainable rural development (incl. nutrition); ii) education (incl. technical and vocational education and training)); iii) federalism reform, strengthening democracy, decentralisation; as well as cross-cutting issues related to gender equality, climate change, and human rights.
The evaluation identified conclusions, lessons learned, and examples of good practices regarding the achievement of the EU’s support to Nepal. It also provided a set of targeted and practical forward-looking recommendations for the improvement of the programming, assistance, and implementation of current and future EU interventions in Nepal under the new multi-annual financial period 2021-2027.