Evaluation of Sida Workplan for Human Rights for people with disabilities
In 2009 Sida adopted a work plan for human rights for persons with disabilities as a result of a letter of appropriation for 2009. The task according to the letter of appropriation was for Sida to present “a plan that sets out how the organization intends to guarantee that the observance of human rights for persons with disabilities is incorporated into Sida’s internal work and bilateral development cooperation.”
The purpose of the evaluation was to map the implementation of the work plan “Human rights for persons with disabilities” and the extent to which its goals and sub-goals have been achieved. Furthermore, to recommend how the work on human rights with disabilities should be continued considering existing resources and priorities. The assignment had both a summative and a formative element.
Summative evaluation: The summative part aimed to map the results of Sida’s achievements with the work plan “Human rights for persons with disabilities” (implemented activities, results, sustainability, lessons learnt), covering the years 2010- 2013. The focus was on monitoring achieved results, assessing them and their sustainability.
Formative evaluation: The formative part aimed to enhance performance with a view to the future. Key issues here included suggestions as to how Sida can work with human rights for persons with disabilities in the future within existing resources and priorities.
The overall conclusion is that it is difficult attribute the work- and decision processes regarding human rights of persons with disabilities to the work plan. The evaluation shows that there is a limited awareness of the existence of the plan and its objectives. Many attribute the work done to a few committed employees and local initiatives. The operational responsibility for implementing the plan was never transferred to the relevant departments; it stayed instead within the working group. A lot needs to be done to fully mainstream persons with disabilities into Sida’s work and reach the work plan’s objectives. As the evaluation shows, there are a number of documents, dialogue guides, Human Rights Base Approach (HRBA) briefs, policies and strategies that emphasize the importance of mainstreaming disability. Therefore, no new work plan is needed in order to complete what has been started; instead the personnel need help to understand why, how and when to use the material.