Publications

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has adopted a development policy investment strategy for 2025–2027. The aim of development policy investment is to mobilise private capital for responsible and financially sustainable business activities and investments that advance sustainable development in developing countries.

Evaluation reports on programme support to civil society organisations and foundations from the programme periods of 2014-2017, 2018-2021, 2022-2025.

The annual development evaluation report 2024 examines the impacts of organisational changes and development policy priorities in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on development evaluation. It also presents the results of the meta-analysis of the country programmes completed during 2024. The guest article focuses on the evaluation of Norway’s support for Ukraine in the context of crisis.

The CEULA project assesses the cumulative effects of five EU sustainability regulatory instruments on large Finnish firms and their global value chains. It addresses the following issues: the cumulative impacts of the regulations on Finnish firms, firm pr...

According to the mid-term evaluation of the Sustainable WASH for All (SUSWA) project - a joint project between Nepal, Finland and the EU - SUSWA has renovated old water supply schemes and built also new ones. The project has been successful in raising municipalities' capacities in the water and sanitation sector as a result of its close cooperation with municipalities. SUSWA started in the province of Karnali at the end of 2021 and operates in the country's most remote regions, supporting municipalities in providing water and sanitation services for municipal residents.

The mid-term review examined the performance and results of the Finland-Kenya programme against gender-based violence (GBV) in Kenya and gave recommendations for the future. Gender-based violence is a serious problem in Kenya, and it increased with the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the bilateral programme between Finland and Kenya is to prevent and reduce gender-based violence, particularly against women and children, and to improve the quality and availability of services for victims, especially at county level.

Finland's national Beijing 30 report presents the most important achievements and challenges in promoting gender equality in the past five years. The report also examines the future. A large number of authorities and civil society organisations have participated in the preparation of the report.

These guidelines are intended to help companies understand what dual-use items are and how the legislation concerning dual-use items is applied. The aim is to clarify the provisions and procedures for export companies that have the responsibility to familiarise themselves with the national and EU legislation governing the export of dual-use items.

The Action Plan describes the areas of cooperation jointly agreed between Finland and China.

The evaluation assessed the impact of the water sector programme in Kenya co-funded by Finland, Sweden and Kenya a few years after the programme ended. The programme was implemented in six Kenyan counties between 2014 and 2021 when power and responsibilities were devolved from the national government to county governments. The aim of the programme was to increase access to clean water, and improve sanitation and water resources management in rural areas of Kenya.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned an external final evaluation of the bilateral Finland-Ukraine Trust Fund (FUTF) managed by the Nordic environmental finance company Nefco and the Ukrainian Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving (SAEE).

How have the Country Programmes guided Finland's development cooperation with partner countries and delivered on intended results? How have they been adapted to evolving country contexts and changing conditions? And what is the value added of Country Programmes when compared to individual interventions?

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland commissioned an external mid-term evaluation of Finland’s support to Justice Rapid Response (JRR). JRR is an independent actor providing rapid professional expertise in the investigation, analysis and documentation of the most serious international crimes and serious human rights violations to States, international organizations and courts as well as civil society actors.

What works and where is there room for development in Finland's development policy and cooperation? What kind of results have been achieved and what can we learn from them? The Annual Report summarizes the results of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' centralized evaluations and reviews in 2023.

The evaluation commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs examines Finland's support for the education sector in Mozambique and the results achieved in cooperation. In 2014-2022, Finland supported education sector in Mozambique mainly through the Education Sector Support Fund (FASE). Finland has also funded COACH (Aprender mais), a World Bank pilot project implemented with the government to improve in-service teacher training and teaching materials. The report also examines the complementary impact of other programmes on the overall objectives of the country Strategy.

This evaluation focused on Finland’s initiatives on enhanced domestic resource mobilization (DRM). The aim is to help the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) enhance the effectiveness of its support in this area.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland commissioned an external mid-term evaluation of the Community-led Accelerated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project in Ethiopia, Phase IV (COWASH IV) in 2023.

The study presents the views of selected experts from Sub-Saharan Africa on the problems many countries in the region face with debt. The debt burden is a critical macroeconomic challenge in the region, as one third of SSA countries are classified either ...

This evaluation assessed the relevance and coherence of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland’s (MFA) climate finance in relation to international objectives and actors, identified results that have been delivered over the period 2016-2022 and made suggestions on how the Action Plan for Finland’s Public International Climate Finance could be enhanced going forward.

This independent evaluation examined how Finland has promoted global development in the education sector from 2019 to 2022 and what role it could play in the future. The evaluation analyzed how well multi-actor cooperation has succeeded and what the direction future actions should be.

This independent evaluation analysed how human rights and the so-called human rights-based approach (HRBA) has been implemented in Finland’s development policy and cooperation during 2019-2021. The evaluation assessed how human rights appear in the language used in various documents, how effectively the human rights-based approach has been implemented and its value. Lastly, the evaluation assessed its linkages with risk management.

External Review and Evaluation Services of Forestry Programmes in Tanzania (ERET) team was contracted for three years (2020-2023) to conduct annual reviews and Mid-Term Evaluations of three forestry programmes in Tanzania: Forestry and Value Chain Development Programme (FORVAC), Participatory Plantation Forestry Programme phase 2 (PFP2), and Tree Outgrowers Support Programme (TOSP). The synthesis report presents the main findings and recommendations from the previous ERET reviews and provides recommendations for the current programmes as well as for the possible future cooperation in the forestry sector in Tanzania.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Federal Ministry of Education of Ethiopia commissioned a Mid-term Review of the technical assistance related to General Education Quality Improvement Programme for Equity (GEQIP-E).

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland commissioned an external mid-term term review of the second phase of the land management project in Ethiopia (REILA II) in 2020.

This norm describes the meaning of misconduct in development cooperation and the procedure to be observed in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the event of suspected misconduct in development cooperation.

The Guidance Note provides practical information and guidance on the prevention and elimination of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. The Code of Conduct outlines key terminology and principles, Finland's international commitments, Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ expectations for partners, risk factors for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), and notifying suspicions.

Finnish Water Way – International Water Strategy Finland aims for responsible and equitable water security. The strategy extends to 2030 and builds on the key concept of the Finnish Water Way, a Finnish approach to sustainable water management based on close cross-sectoral collaboration.

The Finnish Water Way – International Water Strategy of Finland (2018-2030) is a joint guiding strategy of five ministries (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health) that stakeholders can also make use of in their activities. The strategy is built on three pillars (I Water for Sustainable Development, II Water for People and III Water for Peace) and their cross-cutting objectives.

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Its implementation is binding on all UN Member States. The principal aim of the Resolution and the nine additional resolutions is to enhance women’s role and decision-making power in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding and to improve women’s security.

How strategic policy level evaluations are used – or are they used? The review assessed the use and utility of different types of evaluations, meta-evaluations and reviews carried out in 2015-2022.

West Africa is a diverse, multilingual, and heavily populated region that is relatively unfamiliar in Finland. Its population is very young and there are diverse natural resources in the region. The effects of global warming and climate change are highly ...

The urgent need to defend against authoritarianism and to stand up for the values of liberal democracy is highlighted today by the increasing violations of human rights and the deterioration of security globally due to the Russian war on Ukraine.