Monitoring, evaluation and oversight of development cooperation

The purpose of the monitoring, evaluation and oversight of development cooperation is to ensure an appropriate use of the grants and to produce information on the effectiveness of their use. It is important to ensure that the quality criteria set for development cooperation are met and that risk management has been implemented systematically.

The monitoring, evaluation and oversight of development cooperation are among the central official duties of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, but it is also important to give feedback to the recipient organisations and to receive feedback from them. Open dialogue strengthens mutual learning and creates a framework for continuous development. The continuous evaluation of activities is supported by evaluations of development cooperation, which help to understand what functions well in development policy and development cooperation and why.

Recipients of discretionary government grants report to the Foreign Service on the use of the funding and the results of the activities both during and after the cooperation. Officials in the Ministry and the missions abroad follow the progress, the use of funds, the risks involved and the reliability of reporting through active dialogue, participation in the work of the organisations’ boards of directors and steering groups, and field visits. The Ministry also commissions external audits and evaluations to inspect and monitor the use of funds and performance.

Development cooperation is often implemented by an external organisation, which is responsible for managing the risks of development cooperation. In this work, it adheres to its own oversight and risk management procedures or those of UN development organisations or development finance institutions, for example. The Ministry is responsible for ensuring that these procedures are in line with the obligations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in compliance with international obligations.