Party Cooperation in a Results Perspective

Preface Democratic development is a priority in Swedish international development cooperation, and the Government's new policy on Democratic development and Human Rights highlights the role of the political parties in this process. Since 1995, the Government has funded collaboration between Swedish party affiliated organisations (PAOs) and their partner organisations in developing countries, the Western Balkan and Eastern Europe. The funds, with an annual budget that has gradually increased to currently SEK 75 million, are channelled through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The Swedish Government is also strongly committed to demonstrating results of the international development cooperation. However, information on the results and experiences of the PAO cooperation has so far been limited. The Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation (SADEV) therefore initiated an evaluation of this cooperation both to generate knowledge as well as to provide opportunities for dialogue and learning. SADEV is an autonomous government-funded agency that initiates, conducts and disseminates independent evaluations of Swedish international development cooperation. SADEV is guided by the overall objective of such cooperation, i.e. to create conditions for poor people to improve their living conditions. The evaluation confirms the central role of political parties in the democratisation process. It also shows that PAOs can make important contributions in this field. Results are found to be very mixed, however, and the evaluation identifies various problems. Our hope is that the observations made may contribute to the strengthening of the cooperation. SADEV is grateful to the representatives of the PAOs, partner organisations, Sida, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and others who have generously contributed to this evaluation by sharing information, opinions, ideas and experiences. PARTY COOPERATION IN A RESULTS PERSPECTIVE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii Executive Summary This report presents the findings and conclusions of an evaluation of the support to democracy through Swedish Party Affiliated Organisations (PAOs). The evaluation has been undertaken to increase knowledge about the results of the PAO cooperation (henceforth referred to as the Programme), to provide opportunities for dialogue and learning, and to improve future cooperation. It has been based on interviews in Sweden, a statistical review of all projects and on case studies in three countries: Ukraine, Uganda and Colombia. Projects have been assessed with respect to effectiveness and relevance. Focus has been on the last completed application period for PAOs, 2007-2008. The evaluation team (the Team) has consisted of three evaluators from SADEV and external experts on the three country studies. …