2025 Annual Report on Development Evaluation

The report synthesizes the key findings, results, and lessons from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ development evaluation activities in 2025. It emphasizes the role of evaluations in accountability, evidence‑based decision‑making, and organizational learning at a time of shrinking development resources and growing global uncertainty. A guest article explores the long‑term trajectory of Finland’s digital cooperation. Strategic evaluations and syntheses completed in 2025 show that Finland’s development cooperation builds on long‑term engagement, multilateral influence, and strong expertise in human rights and gender equality. Support for digital development has contributed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, economic growth, and good governance. A synthesis on the rights of women and girls confirms Finland’s added value in integrating gender equality across sectors. Finland also took part in two joint evaluations in 2025: the Nordic Trust Fund Evaluation and the Strategic Joint Evaluation of the International Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic. The AI‑assisted OpenEval tool, introduced in 2025, improves access to and use of evaluation knowledge and has attracted international interest.