Our projects

The evaluation provided an assessment of the support delivered through Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs' (MFA) Institutional Cooperation Instrument (ICI) in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), Vietnam, Nepal, and Indonesia. By applying the OECD DAC criteria, the evaluation examined 12 ICI-funded projects, offering insights into both their individual achievements and challenges, as well as insights into the instrument as a whole.

The primary aim of the evaluation was to provide objective and impartial insights that would enhance accountability, promote learning, and support informed decision-making. It specifically focused on assessing the effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the projects under the ICI programme.

A key aspect of the evaluation was identifying valuable lessons learned that could guide future cooperation efforts and contribute to a broader evaluation of Finland’s development cooperation instruments. Beyond assessing individual projects, the evaluation also explored the efficiency of MFA Finland and ICI consultant support, examining how effectively these contributions facilitated successful project implementation. Additionally, it assessed the sustainability and long-term impact of capacity-building efforts, while addressing important policy considerations for the Government of Finland.

Key focus areas were:

• Project-Level Evaluation: All 12 projects were assessed using the OECD evaluation criteria. Within the scope of available resources, a select few projects received a more comprehensive review, ensuring representation from each of the key Finnish institutions involved in the projects.
• Programme-Level Evaluation: The evaluation explored the long-term sustainability and impact of capacity-building initiatives and other investments made through the ICI Asia programme.
• Formative Evaluation: The study also assessed how the MFA and ICI consultants could better support the implementation of ICI projects, with a focus on improving operational efficiency.
• Policy and Strategic Consideration: The evaluation addressed several broader policy aspects, such as: i) The effectiveness of the ICI Asia programme in leveraging market access and opportunities for Finnish actors, including the private sector; ii) The potential for Finnish private sector actors to access Public Investment Fund (PIF) resources or other funding sources beyond ICI funding; iii) The role of linkages between ICI projects and other Finnish entities, including universities and civil society organisations (CSOs), and the perceived benefits and challenges of such connections.

Regional Policy is one of the EU’s main investment policies. It targets all regions and cities in the European Union in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth, sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life. It is implemented through several specific Funds in financial cycles of seven years (programming periods), reflecting the EU’s multiannual financial framework.

This evaluation addressed the investments made through cooperation programmes under the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) goal, co-financed by the ERDF during the 2014-20 period. It assessed their rationale and the evidence of their effectiveness, efficiency and impact, as well as their coherence with other policies, their relevance and the EU added value. It identified factors that contributed to the success or failure of these investments under different socio-economic conditions, highlighted good practice, and examined their contribution to growth, sustainable development and job creation.

The evaluation analysed the effects of investments on integrated regional development between neighbouring border regions (land and maritime) and transnational areas, the challenges and barriers to cooperation, and how these were addressed. This was carried out through the identification of theories of change (ToC) relevant to clusters of ETC programmes.

1) Providing technical support to the relevant authorities to accompany the process of revising the national decentralisation strategy, including financial decentralisation.

2) Providing technical support to strengthen spatial planning tools and the capacity of local authorities, particularly with regard to climate action,

3) Technical support for revising the budget timetables of the central government on the one hand and the local authorities on the other, in order to ensure the coherence of these two interdependent planning tools. This will involve strengthening communication and information sharing between central and local players.

The European Union sent an exploratory mission to assess the usefulness, advisability and feasibility of an EU EOM for the upcoming presidential election in Gabon.

The purpose of the Exploratory Mission was to collect factual information concerning this election process, in line with the criteria contained in the Commission Communication on Electoral Assistance and Observation [COM(2000)191]

The experts did in particular:

• Assess the pre-election situation in the light of international standards for democratic elections and national legislation. The assessment will cover: (i) Political situation, (ii) legal and electoral framework, (iii) election administration, (iv) voter registration, (v) party and candidate registration, (vi) human rights and fundamental freedoms, (vii) potential for electoral violence, (viii) traditional and online media, as well as social media, (ix) security aspects, (x) logistics and operational matters, (xi) use of electoral ICT and (xii) any other relevant issues relating to the elections and possible deployment of an EU EOM.
• Assess, when relevant, the state of implementation of recommendations of previous EU election missions (both EU EOMs and EEMs).
• Make necessary preliminary logistics related enquiries and provide advice on how to organise the operational component of a possible EU EOM.
• Assess the security situation in the country, in particular in connection with the possible deployment of an EU EOM.
• Advise on the composition, number and length of stay of the Core Team members and long and short-term observers of the EU EOM.
• Draft tentative specifications and Terms of Reference of a possible EU EOM and related estimated costs and budget breakdown.
• Assess the relevance of providing support to domestic observer organisations.
• Acquire updated information on EU election support (both EU and Member States) and other major partners (Canada, Norway and Switzerland) and possible other major actors plans in this field, including in the area of electoral assistance.
• Liaise closely with domestic and international election observation organisations that may be present on the ground regarding the preparation of elections.
• Prepare a number of specific reports as outlined in section 'VI. Output' of these ToR.

Purpose 1

• Carried out independent monitoring of ongoing EUTF priority projects in Somalia in order to: Carried out visits to project sites (spot checks), especially on problematic EUTF-funded priority projects
• Verified and monitored if programme activities were being implemented in line with the approved framework (logframe) in terms of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability; verified data provided by the implementing partners
• Monitored whether EU visibility was ensured by the projects in accordance with the contractual obligations
• Verified and monitored if cross-cutting issues such as gender, the environment, and special needs were being taken into account during project implementation
• Established whether beneficiaries and targeted populations were satisfied with the results and services provided, including numbers of beneficiaries, preferably sex- and age-disaggregated (where relevant)

Purpose 2

• Provided recommendations on all aspects of project implementation and progress in order for the EU to better understand the various aspects affecting project implementation and delivery and adopt remedial measures. More specifically, the purpose was:
• Identified challenges and remedial measures, e.g. logframe revisions and activity adjustments
• Verified compliance with EU procurement procedures and, where relevant, carried out technical audits to reduce fraudulent cases
• Provided sector-wide linkages, achievements, lessons learned, and recommendations to inform future programmes

Purpose 3

• Carried out specific monitoring of how thematic issues were being addressed at project level and upon request by the EU Delegation

This consultancy aimed to comprehensively assess the quality of education provision in Somalia, evaluate education policies, and examine the government’s capacity at both national and federal levels to provide, regulate, and monitor education services. The project focused on gathering insights into the key challenges affecting enrollment growth and student learning outcomes in primary and secondary schools, as well as how schools are financed and managed. The project included two primary components of data collection:

1) A School Survey across 700 randomly selected schools, including interviews with principals and teachers, assessments of students and teachers, and live classroom observations

2)

A Survey of Public Officials, targeting 200 public officials at the national and federal levels to gather information on government capacity, bureaucratic processes, and education policies

The consultancy provided a robust analysis of factors affecting the education system, focusing on:

• Assessing the barriers that prevent growth in primary and secondary school enrollments and student learning improvements
• Profiling public and private education providers and analyzing the roles they play in delivering education services
• Identifying factors that influence variations in student learning outcomes, providing a data-driven understanding of the issues
• Understanding how schools are financed, their resource allocation, and spending efficiency
• Investigating the role of community committees in education service delivery, governance, and decision-making at the school level.

Collected data supportted World Bank in providing policy recommendations and actions aimed at increasing enrollment rates and improving student learning outcomes.

The purpose of this contract was to support the work of the EUD in enhancing the capacity of CSOs working in Rwanda to act as actors of development.

The specific objective of this contract was to implement a set of actions to support, among others, information sessions on calls for proposals, meetings with CSOs, mapping of CSOs, consultations, outreach and awareness raising activities, studies, seminars, trainings, publications, visibility of projects, exchanges of best practices, as well as enhancing the visibility of the in Civil Society –Human Rights instruments and impact.

Over the 23-month implementation period, the assignment provided flexible and demand-driven support to the EUD, including the planning and organisation of events, coordination with CSOs and service providers, production of audiovisual and communication materials, and support to activities promoting EU engagement with civil society in Rwanda.

The main objectives of the contract were to:

• Enhance the capacity of CSOs and relevant civil society actors through workshops, consultations, coordination meetings and networking opportunities;
• Support CSOs and media actors in strengthening their understanding of key topics, including ethical journalism, disinformation and foreign information manipulation;
• Support the EUD in engaging with civil society actors, including CSOs working on disability inclusion and human rights and development priorities;
• Increase awareness of EU support to civil society in Rwanda and improve the visibility of EU-funded projects and their impact;
• Produce communication and visibility materials showcasing tangible results of EU support, including audiovisual content featuring beneficiaries of EU-supported initiatives;
• Contribute to better public understanding of EU-Rwanda development cooperation and its contribution to civil society, creative industries and inclusive development.

The overall objective of this assignment was to contribute to improving the electoral and democratic framework of Kenya during the inter-election period and raising awareness and understanding of the EU EOM recommendations and technical issues related to their implementation. In general, an EFM supports the consolidation of democracy, institution-building and democratic elections in Kenya in the context of the implementation of the 2022 EU EOM recommendations.

The specific objectives of the Mission included:

• Assess the state of play of the implementation of the recommendations of the 2022 EU EOM to Kenya;
• Assess any electoral reforms adopted since the last EOM or which are under consideration (e.g. draft legislation) or planned and the degree to which these reflect EOM recommendations and their alignment with international standards for democratic elections;
• Identify which EOM recommendations are most relevant to the prevailing country situation and the current phase of the electoral cycle;
• Generate additional impetus for – or contribute to ongoing debates on – electoral reform;
• Identify areas of agreement and disagreement on EU EOM recommendations among the stakeholders and any political, technical, financial obstacles to electoral reform;
• Propose actions to overcome obstacles to electoral reform, including measures to develop support for and national ownership of the recommendations;
• If helpful and requested, assist the EU Delegation, EEAS and INTPA in their assessment on whether ongoing cooperation and conflict prevention projects are addressing the recommendations made by EU EOMs. Based on a brief overview of existing programmes, provide needed information to support identification of potential additional election/democracy support action that could contribute to strengthening the implementation of the recommendations and/or to the overall improvement of the electoral framework;
• Contribute to analysis by the EU Delegation, EEAS and INTPA with information to originate any other possible EU actions that could contribute to strengthening the implementation of the recommendations and/or to the overall improvement of the electoral framework;
• Prepare/update with EU Delegation a follow-up plan to EU EOM recommendations.

This end term evaluation (ETE) of the SG+ Project follows two specific objectives of learning and accountability. It is therefore both summative and formative with a general purpose to identify the project achievements and challenges of implementation and generate learnings for future programming and next phases of similar interventions. The accountability purpose is to provide an overall assessment of the performance achieved by the intervention.

The ETE covers the whole the implementation period, hence from December 2020 to December 2024, building and complementing on the findings of the mid-term Review and Result Oriented Monitoring ROM review. It covers all communities in Uganda where regions in activities took place, notably, Kampala, Mbarara and Wakiso. It is worth noting that field visits will take place in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono. Thematically, the ETE covers all Project intervention areas and outcomes within intervention areas, and it involves stakeholders from ENABEL and the PSFU, the Project management unit, the steering committee, the EU Sustainable Business for Uganda Platform (SB4U), the Curriculum developers and soft skills trainers, the National Information Technology Authority and companies hosting graduates.

The Corporate Emergency Evaluation (CEE) of WFP’s Response in Yemen mandated by the Office of Evaluation (OEV) served the dual objectives of accountability and learning. It provided accountability for results to WFP stakeholders, and generated evidence on WFP's performance in Yemen specifically to inform WFP's future engagement in the country and share good practices to promote broader learning on WFP's response to complex and protracted crisis.

The evaluation covered WFP strategies and interventions in Yemen between January 2019 and September 2024. While the main units of analysis of the evaluation were the ICSPs 2019-2022 and 2023-2025,the evaluation also assessed WFP's work in Yemen that was not explicitly captured in the ICSPs.

The evaluation assessed WFP contributions to CSP strategic outcomes, establishing plausible causal relations between the outputs of WFP activities, the implementation process, the operational environment, and changes observed at the outcome level, including any unintended consequences.

It will also focus on adherence to humanitarian principles, gender equality and wider equity considerations, protection and accountability to affected people.