Publications

This independent evaluation studied the future ambition and possibilities of the Finnish water diplomacy. At the same time it looked at the past water sector cooperation to identify lessons that can be learned from processes where diplomatic objectives are intertwined with technical cooperation.

Strengthening multilateral cooperation is a key long-standing objective of Finland's foreign policy. Tackling cross-border challenges, many of which are still unknown, requires cooperation based on a rules-based approach and international law.

The evaluation presents the results for five Institutional Cooperation Instrument (ICI) projects implemented in four South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bhutan, India and Nepal) since 2011.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2250 Youth, Peace and Security, adopted in 2015, and the subsequent Resolutions 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) recognise the positive and active role of youth in preventing and resolving conflicts, building peace, and preventing violent extremism. Member States must take the needs and perspectives of youth into consideration and encourage young people to take part in decision-making and all stages of peace processes.

This independent evaluation assessed the transition process of Finnish-Vietnamese cooperation during 2008–2020. It strategically assessed the successes and weaknesses of transitioning and how Finland’s development cooperation has supported this transition towards more diverse and equal cooperation. Furthermore, the evaluation analyzed how have development cooperation and private sector instruments and actors achieved coherence and synergy. The report also highlights broader lessons from the transition of Finnish-Vietnamese cooperation for similar processes in Finland’s other partner countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and other ministries have jointly updated Finland’s Governmental Action Plan on China from 2010. The Action Plan on China 2021 provides an overall assessment of Finland’s relations and cooperation with China. The rapidly evolving international environment as well as need for relevant, up-to-date information within the government and other actors involved in cooperation with China have made it necessary to update the Action Plan. The Action Plan strengthens the consistent approach and policy line on China and does not entail any new policies.

On 27 May 2021, the Government adopted the Report on Development Policy across Parliamentary Terms. The aim was to form a shared overall view on development policy, widely supported by Finnish society.

This independent evaluation assessed the development policy and cooperation implemented during 2009-2021 by the Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It strategically examined development cooperation as a whole, the different impacts achieved as well as the sustainability of results through the various funding channels over the decade. The evaluation covered 11 countries under the Department, of which Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Ukraine were analyzed in more detail. The evaluation presents recommendations that can help improve development policy and cooperation in the region. The report also highlights broader lessons from this region for the Ministry in general.

The 2020 Annual Report on Evaluation showcases the spectrum of evaluation activities over the past year within the Development Evaluation Unit.

The Guideline supports effective implementation of the Finnish Development Policy and its cross-cutting objectives.

The Responsibility to Protect is the last available measure when a state fails to protect its population against extensive atrocity crimes. The principles were adopted at the UN Summit 15 years ago.

The evaluation examined how Finland's support has contributed to strengthening the economy, creating jobs and improving livelihoods in partner countries. It assessed how development policy objectives had been achieved, what were the strengths and weaknesses of the assistance provided, and proposed measures to strengthen development cooperation in this field.

The overall objective of the Project was to extend the electricity grid to rural and peri-urban areas with the aim of reducing poverty. The project has been financed partly by national funds from Honduras and external funding provided by Finland. This evaluation was expected to enable the MFA to assess: 1) Whether the Project was implemented in an appropriate and efficient way; 2) How well it achieved the targets and goals laid out in the Project plan; 3) How sustainable the outcomes of the Project are, including any long-term development impacts; 4) To provide the MFA with a set of lessons learned that can be used in further developing the PIF funding instrument, which has replaced the concessional credit –instrument. This evaluation is a part of a series of evaluations conducted on projects implemented with the terminated Concessional Credit instrument.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned an impact evaluation on environmental and natural resources projects in Zambia. The objective of the evaluation was to give an independent view on the impact and sustainability of the projects as well as to a general assessment on Finland’s support to environmental and natural resources sectors.

Ireland, Switzerland and Finland had a peer review of their evaluation functions as is encouraged by the OECD-DAC Network on Development Evaluation (EvalNET). The advantage of combining the peer reviews was that it allowed not only findings, conclusions, and recommendations related to each of them, but also cross-agency learning. The UNEG (UN Evaluation Groupin) norms, independence, credibility and utility, guided the peer review.

On 29 October 2020, the Government adopted the Government Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy and submitted it to Parliament. The report, being drawn up once during each government term, assesses Finland's foreign and security policy operating environment and defines the goals and priorities for Finland's actions within the next few years.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned an independent mid-term review on Learning Together project in Ukraine.

The Responsibility to Protect is a concept that underlines the responsibility of every state and the joint responsibility of international community to prevent, suppress and halt mass atrocity crimes.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs supports the development communications and global education projects of Finnish civil society organizations. The funding instrument was for the first time evaluated in summer 2020, with the purpose to assess how the development communications and global education support has achieved its goal of raising awareness of development issues in Finland, how the support has involved and activated citizens to work on development issues, and how this has contributed to the achievement of Finland's development policy objectives.

In 2020, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland commissioned a development policy related study on Africa’s connectivity. The authors of the current report are Ms. Eva Nilsson, PhD candidate at the Hanken School of Economics, Dr. Obert Hodzi at the University of Liverpool, Ms. Neema Komba, PhD candidate at the Hanken School of Economics, Professor Erkki Sutinen at the University of Turku, Dr. Mika Kautonen at Tampere University ,and Senior Researcher, Professor Liisa Laakso at the Nordic Africa Institute.

The purpose of the review was to assess the relevance and effectiveness of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in supporting the objectives of Finland’s international human rights and development policies. Special emphasis was placed on how INGOs tackle barriers to realization of human rights through advocacy, and in particular, to systemic challenges.

This independent evaluation assessed how Finland influences its multilateral partners and their operations in order to advance the international development agenda. The evaluation looked at the various influencing activities by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and their effectiveness and relevance. Furthermore, the evaluation proposes ways for the Ministry to further develop these activities. The evaluation covered 23 multilateral partners of the Ministry, eight of which were assessed in more depth: The World Bank Group, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, UN Women, IFAD, FAO and ITC. The evaluation, started in June 2019, is based on a framework designed to decipher the multilateral influencing activities by the Ministry as well as the related results. The findings draw on an extensive document review and 174 interviews. The evaluation team also visited the headquarters of the multilateral organisations in New York, Rome and Washington DC as well as country missions to Nepal and Kenya.

Finland’s Taxation for Development action programme 2020-2023 implements the Government Programme's objective of contributing to improvements in the taxation systems of developing countries.

Finland’s development cooperation with its long-term partner countries is planned and implemented under a Country Strategy approach, which in its present form was launched in 2012. The purpose of the country strategy evaluation launched in March 2019 was to assess the applicability and feasibility of the Country Strategy approach in fragile contexts, over the period 2012-current, given their specific challenges and requirements. The evaluation drew evidence from the experience of Country Strategies in four countries, namely Afghanistan, Myanmar, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Somalia and in one region, i.e. the Strategy for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian aid in response to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq was included, to draw wider findings and conclusions. Findings are expected to inform the next generation of Country Strategies.

The external final evaluation of MIDA FINNSOM IV assessed the effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the intervention, as well as generate recommendations for future similar programmes.

Theories of change and aggregate indicators constructed to support them are used to help those in charge of the strategic guidance and performance reporting related to development policy.

The Evaluation of the Training of Chemical Weapons Verification project was done in 2019. The training is provided by the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN). The evaluation found that in overall the training provided by VERIFIN is of the highest standard, incorporating excellent pedagogy, and highly appreciated by all who train with the organization.

The developmental evaluation of the Business with Impact - BEAM programme started in September 2015 and has continued through the whole the programme, until the end of 2019. The purpose of the BEAM programme is to assist Finnish companies and other actors in using innovations to address global development challenges, by converting such innovations into successful and sustainable business, both in Finland and developing countries. The developmental evaluation approach supports the programme management throughout the programme period, provides immediate feedback on the effectiveness of different approaches, and promotes strategic learning within the programme.

In 2019, the Department for Africa and the Middle East of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned two Finnish development policy studies on Africa. This study deals with megatrends in Africa. The authors are Professors Petri Pellikka and Mikael Mattlin from the University of Helsinki, Dr. Leena Vastapuu, from the Tampere Peace Research Institute and Dr. Emma Hakala, from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

In 2019, the Department for Africa and the Middle East of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned two Finnish development policy studies on Africa. This study deals with political and economic integration in Africa, and how Finland can support it. The author is researcher Eva Nilsson from the Hanken School of Economics.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned an independent Synthesis Evaluation of the forestry and mapping projects that were implemented in Lao PDR with financial support from Government of Finland.

This mid-term evaluation covers the Rural Village Water Resources Management Project (RVWRMP), Phase III (2016-2022), which is supported by the Government of Nepal, the European Union and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It is located in Nepal’s remote western provinces and consists of components for water and sanitation (WASH), livelihoods, energy, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and governance. According to the evaluation, the project results so far include important outcomes for water and sanitation and nutrition as well as modest ones for income, energy and governance.

The evaluation provides objective information to the MFA about the effectiveness and efficiency of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) support programme, the results in the water sector and the lessons learned from the MRC activities for the future participation of Finland in multilateral cooperation. The evaluation focused on the Finland-funded programmes: Information and Knowledge Management Programme (IKMP), Initiative for Sustainable Hydropower (ISH), Water Management Trust Fund (WMTF) and the Junior Riparian Professionals programme (JRP).

This strategic ‘Evaluation of Agriculture, Rural Development and Forest Sector Programmes in Africa’ supports the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in identifying relevant and effective approaches and instruments to support implementation of current programmes and planning of future cooperation in these sectors.

An external evaluation of the project was conducted in April - May 2019. It looked into the strategy, performance and attainment of the general development goals. The results of the evaluation will be taken into account in the planning of a possible second phase of the project. According to the evaluation, the project is highly relevant both for the strategic partnership between Finland and Mozambique, as well as for the sustainability and inclusiveness of the economic growth arising from the extractive industries and the development of democratic governance.

This evaluation supports the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) in developing its management of results-related information and knowledge in order to strengthen evidence-informed learning and decision-making at all levels and in all channels of its development policy and cooperation. It explores management and decision-making processes from the learning perspective: How the MFA is able to collect, utilise, learn and inform decisions through documented and tacitly held results information and knowledge.

The priority objectives of the final evaluation were to assess and analyse the impact of IPP II in the development of the start-up ecosystem and innovation policy in Vietnam and its value and merit in the perspective of the key stakeholders, as well as the role of IPP in supporting the transition from aid to trade between Finland and Vietnam.

Evaluation report presents the results of a final joint evaluation of two forestry projects in Vietnam that have been supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland: “Development of Management Information System for the Forestry Sector (FORMIS – Phase II)” and “People Participation in Improvement of Forest Governance and Poverty Alleviation in Vietnam (PFG)”. The evaluation was conducted from October 2018 through December 2018. Evaluation reports are available both in English and in Vietnamese.

Finland, Norway and Denmark are supporting the Inclusive Growth in Mozambique – Scaling-up Research and Capacity programme, which aims to strengthen Mozambican institutions’ capacity to produce high-quality development economics research and to support the use of research in decision-making and public discussion. According to the review, the programme has produced good results; it has led to high-quality and relevant research, developed Mozambican institutions, and trained young researchers.

The expected outcome of Agro-Business Induced Growth in the Amhara National regional State, Phase II (AgroBig II) is that value is added at various levels of selected agricultural value chains to increase incomes and create jobs for farming households and other value chain actors, with a particular emphasis on women and youth. Agriculture employs still around 80 % of work force and is thus highly important for food security as well as for borrowing and investments. The AgroBig II is implemented in eight woredas (i.e. districts) in Amhara region. The purpose of the mid-term review of AgroBig II was to provide an independent view of the implementation of AgroBig II and to analyse needs for revision. In addition, the MTR was expected to provide recommendations to improve the program implementation.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned an independent Final Evaluation on the achieved results of the Water and Sanitation Programme for Small Towns in Vietnam (WSPST I-III, 2004-2017), with a focus on the second and third phases, and the sustainability of the results. The evaluation was expected to provide lessons learned and best practices related to the planning and implementation of water sector programmes that might include similar construction intensive elements in other countries and/or the establishment of a similar funding mechanism.

The mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the first phase of Strengthening Health Security and Biosecurity in Tanzania was done in 2017.

Finland in the World Media is an annual review of the missions' assessments of what contents and news broke into foreign media and what Finland's strengths and weaknesses were covered in different countries' media in the course of the year.

The Development Evaluation Unit of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) commissioned an evaluation on forced displacement and development policy. The purpose of the evaluation was to increase awareness and knowledge of the concept of forced displacement and the links between humanitarian assistance and development objectives, and help to integrate these concepts into the practices in the MFA. The evaluation looked at how coherently Finland’s development policy and its targets relating to forced displacement have been implemented and how the coherence could be enhanced in development policy and cooperation.

Ulkoministeriö asetti lokakuussa 2018 työryhmän, jonka tehtävänä oli selvittää, miten Suomi voisi tehostaa työtään globaalin oppimisen kriisin ratkaisemisessa. Raportissaan kehitys- ja koulutusalan toimijoista koostuva työryhmä esittää, että Suomen tulee nostaa koulutus kehitysyhteistyön ja -politiikan painopisteeksi ja lisätä merkittävästi siihen kohdistuvaa rahoitusta. Työryhmä korostaa myös tarvetta vahvistaa alan suomalaistoimijoiden välisiä synergioita entistä tiiviimmällä yhteistyöllä ja joustavammilla toimintatavoilla.

The purpose of this review was to assess the evaluability of Finland’s Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) implementation and to inform the design of an upcoming evaluation on the implementa¬tion of a HRBA in Finland’s development policy and cooperation between 2012 and 2018. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) commissioned the review.

Development financier Finnfund has succeeded in investing more and more in the world’s poorest countries and most difficult sectors, while also maintaining its commercial viability. The most positive development impacts can be seen in the company’s investments in agriculture and forestry. This information comes from an independent assessment of the company’s activities.