Evaluations in international development

Iceland regards evaluations as a critical tool for learning, informed decision-making and enhanced accountability in international development cooperation. This is clearly reflected in Iceland’s official policy for development cooperation for 2019-2023, which places high importance on a results-based approach to development and using evaluations to keep track of and demonstrating results.

Iceland‘s Evaluation Policy 2024-2028 outlines evaluation principles and criteria, in accordance with OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria and quality standards for development evaluations.

The process for evaluations is transparent and shall be independent from programme management and policy making. Evaluations are initiated, prepared and managed by the Directorate for Internal  Affairs within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which reports directly to the Permanent Secretary of State. The cross-cutting priority issues of gender equality, human rights and environment are addressed in all evaluations.

Iceland participates in international collaboration for evaluations, within the venue of Nordic+, DAC and the COVID-19 Global Evaluation Coalition. Iceland‘s evaluations are published by the DAC Evaluation Resource Centre.