Impact Study on Austrian Development Cooperation’s (ADC) Engagement from 2010-2020
The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) on its draft policy document on food security and sustainable rural development, which focuses on five strategic areas: 1)sustainable management of natural resources and equal access to land, 2) food and nutrition security sustainable development of the rural economy, 3) education, capacity development and empowerment, 4) rural governance - inclusive participation and advocacy; consider the promotion of agricultural cooperatives relevant, especially in terms of sustainable development of the rural economy and in advocacy.
Taking this into account, the impact study of ADC’s engagement on agricultural cooperatives from 2010-2020, commissioned by the Austrian Development Agency’s (ADA) evaluation unit, will be used mainly for learning inside ADA and among NGOs and private sector working in this field, as well as to assess the effectiveness and impact of the instruments, together with the impact of applied strategies and approaches.
Furthermore, the study will assess the effectiveness at outcome and impact levels of ADA funded or implemented interventions i.e., in terms of livelihood improvements, through income generation and job creation. Additionally, it will explore causes, interdependencies, and trade-offs and long-term effect of the mentioned engagement.
The engagement of ADC has been based on direct and indirect support to agricultural cooperatives, in order to enable smallholder farmers. Direct support has been awarded in three countries: Armenia, Georgia and Burkina Faso. Indirect support has been awarded in Kosovo and Ethiopia, plus the three past mentioned countries. Though the focus of this impact study will be placed in Armenia and Georgia.
The findings will be used on planning, decision-making and steering of ADC engagement in food security and sustainable rural development. The assignment will take place between January-November 2021, where Nordic Consulting Group – Denmark’s partner Carsten Schwensen will act as Team Leader.
Danida: Pre-appraisal of the Palestine Bilateral Programme 2021-2025
This assignment was awarded to Nordic Consulting Group, where NCG’s partner Jakob Kirkemann Boesen was part of the team of consultants, with Hans Henrik Madsen as Team Leader.
The objective of the pre-appraisal is to assess the quality and the feasibility of the proposed bilateral projects, which are seven: Municipality Development Programme (MDP) IV, Reform, and development of market chains and producers’ organisations II, Support to the Danish House in Palestine (DHIP), Support to West Bank Protection Consortium (WBPC), Green Jobs and Sustainable Income Opportunities for Palestinian Female and Male Youth in the Agri-food Sector, Core support to Independent comm. for Human Rights (ICHR) incl. twinning with DIHR. As well as quality assurance of these, and the identification of synergies with other Danish supported programmes, and donor complementarity.
The pre-appraisal should also identify the overall linkages of the projects to the Strategic Framework and their relevance for Palestinian development and needs. The final product will therefore reflect overall recommendations as well as specific project recommendations.
Danida: Study on the evaluation and prospects of support to civil society in Mali
The study takes departure in the current political and highly volatile security and humanitarian situation in Mali, and the possible role that civil society can play on the fight against corruption and nepotism, as well as its role in monitoring, documenting and denouncing cases of human rights violations. The study of civil society includes: Identification of interventions already initiated and their prospects for continuation; identification of lessons learned from support to Malian civil society by Danish, European and other donors. Analysis of current and future needed capacity of Malian CSOs in the current unstable context; further, identification of the most relevant themes in view of the experience of FAMOC (Drivers of Change Support Fund - Fonds d'Appui aux Moteurs du Changement), a Danish fund aimed at strengthening and supporting civil society in Mali; identification and analysis of opportunities and key themes of interventions, taking into consideration i) inclusion of women and youth ii) good governance iii) a Human Rights Based Approach iv) sustainable impact balanced between national coverage and specific and measurable local impacts in the intervention areas v) the potential for cooperation with other donors, in particular EU vi) relevance and commitment of national and local authorities to the interventions vii) innovative aspects of the approach.
The study of civil society included analysis of current context, a comprehensive analysis of current donor support, identifications of lessons learned, analysis of capacities of CSOs, as well as identifying and defining possible intervention areas for the future 5-10 years.
A detailed study with recommendations and conclusions was submitted to the Embassy in Mali in May 2021. The assignment comprised one international and one national consultant.
Evaluation and Synthesis Study of DRC-Danida Strategic Partnership Agreement 2018-2021
Due to the difference that has been present among the monitoring data, evidence and results obtained throughout the countries covered by the SPA, and the lack of a clear analysis of whether the funds were used strategically, which could allow to draw conclusions on a global level; the evaluation draws upon an intention to collect, explore and analyse and draw conclusions during 2021 to reflect programmatic results, as well as implementation and result tracking processes.
The Humanitarian Lot is the main subject of this evaluation, which covers approximately 20 countries in Asia, Middle East, North and West Africa.
The SPA 2018-2021 is the programmatic foundation for the partnership governing Danida’s funding for DRC regional and country programmes under Danida’s Humanitarian Lot, as well as funding to the central organisation’s pursuit of key strategic and policy themes.
DANEP Review: Fight against discrimination, hate crimes and hate speech
During this review, the progress and results of the project were assessed, taking into account a mid-term review carried by the Council of Europe (CoE) reported on April, 2020. The current review was also aimed to provide recommendations on the future of DANEP on anti-discrimination agendas, as well as CoE's future anti-discrimination engagement both within and beyond DANEP. As well as the assesment of the reporting, monitoring and meeting set-up of the project, possible adjustments in the current phase, next phase or beyond DANEP. Focus was in particular capacity building, as the review assessed the institutional anchoring as a basis for lasting change of practices. Finally, it was assessed if the project was still aligned to the priorities of DANEP.
The DANEP Strategy framework 2017-2021 of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has as its main aims 1) promoting human rights and democracy, 2) strengthening sustainable and inclusive economic growth; and takes place in the neighboring countries of Georgia and Ukraine.