Evaluation
Economic development cooperation is regularly evaluated by external reviewers. Since 2017, 183 projects have been evaluated; 84% of them were found to be effective.
Evaluations reveal what works and what does not. They allow SECO to learn from past activities and use the feedback to improve the effectiveness of future projects.
Results of external evaluations 2017-23
Evaluation policy and process
SECO’s evaluation policy describes how to conduct evaluations, draft a report and subsequently use the evaluations. To preserve the impartiality of project appraisal, SECO carries out internal, external and independent project and portfolio evaluations. The international criteria of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) form the basis for this.
SECO project supervisors also evaluate their projects internally. Since 2017, more than 302 projects have been reviewed internally. This serves above all the purpose of institutional learning.
In order to support SECO staff and external consultancy firms in conducting evaluations, SECO has established guidelines. These specify the principles, the different categories, the criteria (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability) and the main stages in the process.
Evaluation programme
An evaluation programme regularly lists the evaluations scheduled in SECO operational sectors and the portfolio evaluations commissioned by the external evaluation committee. The programme covers a period of two years.
Evaluation committee
The committee comprises five members, representing political, academic, business and international circles as well as civil society. Regular exchange increases the transparency, impartiality and credibility of evaluations and improves the way results and lessons learnt are used to shape future projects. The committee proposes independent evaluations, comments on the results, oversees implementation of its recommendations and approves reporting.