Evaluation of the 11th European Development Fund
2017
EC, Multi country
This strategic performance review of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) was part of a suite of ten evaluations being simultaneously undertaken of each of the EC’s External Financing Instruments (EFI). The 11th EDF is the largest of the EU’s instruments for development cooperation and amounts to €30.5 billion for the period 2014-2020. The EDF targets African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partner countries governed by the Cotonou Agreement, as well as the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the EU member states.
The evaluation took place when much of the 11th EDF was yet to be committed and as such the pitch of the evaluation was very much at the instrument level. The aim of the review was to provide the EU with an independent assessment of the EDF and synergies with other EFIs, as well as to inform the programming and implementation of the current EDF and next generation of EFIs. As well as high-level interviews, an EFI-wide survey and an extensive mapping exercise of past evaluations, indicative programming documents, internal reports, and other relevant documentation, the evaluation has also conducted eight country case studies (Aruba, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, New Caledonia, Timor Leste and Zambia). Specific areas of focus within the evaluation were on the governance, management and institutional structures of the EDF; the complementarity of the EDF with other EFIs and political/policy processes; the regional and intra-ACP dimensions; and a separate line of work on whether the EDF can accommodate the specific needs and characteristics of the OCTs. Following a 12-week Open Public Consultation of all ten EFI MTRs in February 2017 the final report was published in June 2017.