2012.01 Evaluation of the Danish Region of Origin Initiative in Afghanistan

Over the last decade, Denmark has provided substantial development support to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, with the main purposes of contributing to national, regional and global security as well as to poverty reduction.

Total disbursement of Danish development support to Afghanistan over the period 2001-2012 amounts to approximately DKK 3.8 billion, and the support has mainly been concentrated within four thematic areas: (1) State-building, (2) Livelihoods, (3) Education, and (4) Regions of Origin Initiative (ROI) support. In Denmark, as well as in the donor community in general, there is a wish to learn from the experiences with different types of support to Afghanistan implemented through the last decade. Therefore, Eval has commissioned the execution of two evaluations and one evaluation study that together cover the four main thematic areas of Danish support to Afghanistan.

The present evaluation covers the Danish support channelled through the Regions of Origin Initiative (ROI) – a special initiative for support to countries affected by large-scale displacement, which was approved by the Danish Government in 2003. The main objective of the ROI is to support refugees and internally displaced people as close to their home as possible, as this is assumed to make it easier for them to return home while at the same time reducing political problems in the host countries.

The evaluation has been carried out as a focused, “learning evaluation, i.e. with primary focus on assessing most recent programme interventions in view of the existing strategies, policies and approaches being applied. The main purpose of the evaluation has been to assess and document the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of Danish ROI support to Afghanistan and generate lessons learned and recommendations. The evaluation has assessed the ROI support provided within different areas of operation (legal assistance, shelter, water supply and rural development), and implemented through different structures (National Government, UN Organisations, NGOs).

The evaluation of ROI in Afghanistan includes results and lessons learned relevant for current and future Danida ROI support, not only in Afghanistan, but also in other fragile states where Danida is providing ROI support. Likewise, it is expected that the evaluation will be useful also to the Government in Afghanistan and other development and humanitarian partners.

• Download summary in Danish (PDF)

Download Annexes (PDF):

• Annex E: Feedback from participants at the debriefing 
• Annex F: Consultant itinerary 
• Annex G: Methodology 
• Annex H: Evaluation matrix 
• Annex I: Interview guides 
• Annex J: The policy context 
• Annex K: The Afghan context 
• Annex L: Direct and indirect costs definitions 
• Annex M: Danish support for Afghanistan 
• Annex N: Annotaded bibliography