Independent evaluations are an essential part of the Commission's decision making process. They are required under the Financial Regulation and carried out according to evaluation standards in the framework of the Better Regulation.
According to the Humanitarian Aid Regulation, the Commission must ‘regularly assess humanitarian aid operations financed by the Community in order to establish whether they have achieved their objectives and to produce guidelines for improving the effectiveness of subsequent operations’ (Art. 18). Furthermore, the Commission is obliged to report every three years to the European Parliament and to the Council on the operations financed (Art.20).
For Civil Protection, specific requirements for interim and ex-post evaluation are provided in the Decision on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Art. 34).
Evaluations are carried out by independent experts who assess the activities of the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO). Their conclusions and recommendations feed into ECHO's strategic planning, programming, communication policy, and the budgetary cycle.
These evaluations have been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Evaluations (23)
RSS
The evaluation finds DG ECHO’s Greening Policy highly relevant and effective in raising environmental ambition in humanitarian aid. Implementation remains uneven due to capacity, leadership and monitoring gaps. Recommendations focus on stronger support, capacity-building and accountability.
The evaluation assessed the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance, EU added value, and sustainability of the European Commission’s humanitarian aid.
Combined evaluation covering the period of 2019-2023 of 2 key components: the EU’s humanitarian interventions in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (SAIO) region and DG ECHO’s WASH policy.
This combined evaluation provides an independent assessment of two components of DG ECHO's humanitarian aid, over the period 2019-2023:
- EU's humanitarian interventions in Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria)
- DG ECHO’s partnership with UNICEF
Findings from the evaluation confirm an overwhelmingly positive assessment of DG ECHO's external communication performance. ECHO is undoubtedly a very strong communicator, recognised as one of the best-in-class both inside and outside the Commission.
The evaluation assessed the effectiveness, relevance, efficiency, coherence, and EU added value of the UCPM, identified lessons, and provided strategic and operational recommendations.
This is the evaluation of DG ECHO’s partnership with IOM (2018-2022). The evaluation used evidence from document review, project data, social media analysis, an online survey, interviews, and remote field missions.
This evaluation examines the European Union’s humanitarian response to the Venezuelan regional crisis (2017–2021) and DG ECHO’s partnership with UNHCR.
This report presents findings, conclusions and recommendations from a thematic evaluation of logistics activities funded by ECHO for the period of 2018-2022; and of the Mobility Package within the Emergency Support Instrument activation, 2020-2022.
This combined, independent evaluation of DG ECHO’s epidemic response and WHO partnership found effective outbreak control but weak policy alignment and unclear strategy. It calls for stronger coordination and expanded tools.
This combined evaluation covered ECHO’s response to Sudden Onset Disasters, 2016-2020, and ECHO’s partnership with the IFRC. It drew evidence from desk research, data analysis, interviews with stakeholders and beneficiaries, and field missions.
This report presented the evaluation of EU humanitarian disaster preparedness from 2015 to 2020, covering targeted and mainstreamed actions, based on data from four countries and a global eSurvey.
The purpose of this assignment was twofold: to assesses the EU’s humanitarian interventions in five Sahel countries ‒ Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria (Part A); and to assess the EU’s humanitarian interventions globally, in the fields of food assistance and nutrition (Part B).
This combined evaluation assesses the European Union’s humanitarian interventions in the Horn of Africa and DG ECHO’s partnership with the ICRC, drawing on extensive research and field evidence. It finds that EU actions were largely relevant, coherent, and added value, while highlighting mixed resul
This evaluation established a retrospective assessment of the ESSN-2, presenting the evolution of the programme compared to its first phase of implementation and assessing the extent to which it has achieved its objectives.
Recommendations on Yemen include revitalising Nexus, better highlighting needs of longer-term displaced, strengthening field presence and advocacy, and clarifying some guidelines and sectoral approaches.
The 2014-2020 EU Aid Volunteers Initiative showed modest capacity gains after a slow start. Limited integration, heavy administration, and security constraints reduced impact; recommendations called for clearer goals and better coordination.
The evaluation’s purpose is two-fold. Firstly, it aims at providing an assessment of DG ECHO’s strategy/approach. Secondly, the strategic recommendations resulting from this evaluation should help shape the EU's future approach to this crisis.
This study aimed to provide DG ECHO with an independent external evaluation of the results of the Prevention and Preparedness Projects financed by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) budget during 2014-2020.
This report evaluates the implementation of the 2013 DG ECHO Gender policy, covering globally funded gender-related activities from 2014 to 2018 across three intervention forms: mainstreaming, targeted actions, and capacity building.
The overall purpose of the evaluation was to provide an external, impartial and independent evidence-based assessment of performance of the DG ECHO's portfolio of funded actions in Syria.
The evaluation found that DG ECHO was rapid and effective, and overall performed very well. DG ECHO demonstrated system-wide leadership in strategic thinking and coordination.
This combined, independent evaluation focuses on DG ECHO’s humanitarian interventions in Iraq and its humanitarian protection interventions globally from 2014 to 2018; it includes a case study on child protection and education.