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Evaluation Summary

Canada’s International Assistance in Ethiopia, 2013-14 to 2019-20

About the evaluation

¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ’s International Assistance Evaluation Division conducted an evaluation of Canadian development programming in Ethiopia for the period 2013-14 to 2019-20. The evaluation aimed to inform decision-making, promote learning and improve Canadian programming. Evaluation questions covered: adaptability, resilience, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Key findings

• A clear strategic direction contributed to the development of a coherent program approach, a strong alignment and responsiveness to needs and priorities of Ethiopia.
• Canada was largely responsive to evolving needs and priorities, but the evaluation identified a gap in the programming’s alignment with Ethiopia’s strong focus on climate change.
• Innovative approaches linked to smallholder farming and entrepreneurship remained small-scale due to weak private sector and poor investment climate.
• Promising early results linked to gender equality require additional focus on addressing social norms and underlying barriers through multi-faceted and multi-sectoral approaches.
• Programming has contributed to building resilience in Ethiopia, but complementarity and coordination between international assistance streams remain limited in the absence of a nexus approach.

Recommendations

1. Develop a multi-year strategic plan in line with departmental guidance.
2. Accompany Ethiopian efforts to build a green economy by replicating successful small-scale innovations and good practices.
3. Explore how to strengthen programming linked to the environment and climate action to better reflect Ethiopia’s vulnerability to climate change.
4. Explore how to better integrate a humanitarian, development and peace nexus perspective into programming, and contribute to on-going departmental efforts to apply a triple nexus approach.
5. Document best practices and lessons on the use of mechanisms for project-level adaptability (pseudo crisis modifiers) and develop guidance on how to apply in new or existing projects, when relevant and feasible.