Synthesis report of a joint evaluation programme

Following a proposal made by Sweden at a meeting of the EC Humanitarian Aid Committee (HAC) in May 2003, a group of representatives of donor organisations agreed to undertake a collaborative evaluation process focussing on the theme of and the collaborative response, and when does the need for assistance end? These critical issues are discussed in detail in the report and recommendations on how to deal with them are presented. The views and interpretations expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the organisations commissioning this study. A summary version (23 pages) of this report is also available. 3 Preface In May 2003, representatives of four donor organisations, the Danish and Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), agreed to undertake a collabora-tive evaluation process focussing on the theme of support to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The objective of the process was to 'to draw out key, system-wide lessons and thereby improve the provision of humanitarian assistance and protection to IDPs in the future'. An informal grouping 'the IDP Evaluation Group' was formed to steer the process, chaired by the Head of the Evaluation Department of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By the autumn of 2003 the initial grouping had expanded to also include representatives the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Development Cooperation Ireland (DCI), OCHA, UNHCR and WFP. The approach adopted for planning and managing this collabora-tive exercise has been deliberately light and informal. This has meant it could be finalised within a relatively short timescale , and has facilitated donor participation. Despite some weaknesses this collaborative approach has proved popular with all the participating agencies. It could serve as a useful model for future evaluations if applied with more rigour and discipline. The model has the following positive attributes: It encourages a broader perspective beyond the programming of a single donor. It is very much in alignment with the Good Humanitarian Donorship initiative that aims to increase the accountability and consistency of donors within the functioning of the wider humanitarian system. And it has the potential to push forward policy debates, which could be truly evidence-based. This synthesis is based on 17 reports covering operations in ten Colombia) contain the largest IDP populations in the world. Seven critical issues are identified: …