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mobile telephones. The role of the UN and the Mediation Support Unit includes planning theplace of deployment of the individual expert and the preparation of the experts. Thispreparation includes providing background information on the process and making allnecessary information and documents available to the Mediation Expert in advance of hisarrival in the field.The principal operational role of the Standby Team is to provide expert advice to senior UNofficials or other partners, upon request. This is usually done by deploying the expert to thefield (although analysis and advice on specific questions is also remotely provided). Thissupport mechanism is designed to be flexible and agile and respond to the needs of therequesting entity. Although acting through the provision of expertise, the Standby Team also,at times, provides advice on procedural and agenda-setting issues and technical analysis ofparty positions including the identification of potential points of convergence as well aspossible gaps or stumbling blocks, drafting of peace agreement texts, leading workshops forparties on substantive or process issues and giving general technical assistance. The MSU isits global service provider (to the UN, regional organisations, member states, etc.) and is incharge of offering the Standby Team as a part of its mediation support services. In this way,the Standby Team is one of the key tools which allow the MSU to respond to a demand whenthere is a need and perceived value added to bring in relevant and specific expertise at theservice of a specific process.4
3 Purpose and Methodology of the EvaluationIn the fall of 2009, the NRC initiated discussions regarding an external evaluation of the MSUStandby Team. Terms of Reference were agreed upon between the NRC and the MSU andfinalised on 14 June 2010 after which a tender was placed on the ALNAP website. On 7 July2010, Dr Antje Herrberg, European Forum for International Mediation and Dialogue(MediatEUr), and Dr Oliver Wils (team leader), Berghof Peace Support (BPS), were asked toconduct the evaluation based upon a written proposal submitted on 6 July 2010.Objective of the EvaluationThe overall aim of our evaluation was to contribute to the improvement of mediation supportservices through a) taking stock of the (conceptual and organisational) lessons learned of thejoint MSU NRC SBT project and b) recommendations for enhancing its relevance,effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability (with respect to the provision and usage ofmediation support services as well as to the system of (joint) learning).We would like to emphasise that we conducted our evaluation study in a solution-orientedmanner to allow for the advancement of the practice of mediation support through the use ofthe Standby Team. In order to ensure the necessary confidentiality, we consider theevaluation in the first place as an internal learning paper. The results of the interviews wereused for the report but without referring to names and persons. Following the final version ofthe report, the NRC will initiate a discussion with the MSU on options for publications anddissemination strategies.Focal Areas of EvaluationThe evaluation team focused upon three main areas:Focus 1: Management and support of the SBT project including co-operation and coordinationbetween the NRC and the MSU/UNDPA.Focus 2: Outcome of the mediation support to a mediation effort provided by the members ofthe Standby Team when deployed to the field. Because we did not have the opportunity toengage with the main clients in the field, these are insights coming from the SBT (throughend-of-trip reports and interviews) or interviews with the UNDPA. These capture qualitativeperceptions.Focus 3: Conceptual development of the SBT project including reflection of practice and jointlearning.Methodology of EvaluationWe employed a three-pronged approach within this evaluation based upon the SG s Reporton Mediation outlined earlier; specifically 1) conceptual development of the SBT projectincluding reflection upon practice and joint learning, 2) lessons learned during deploymentsand 3) management and support of the SBT project including co-operation between theNRC/MSU. These three focal areas are placed within the OECD criteria of relevance,effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability as well as expanded criteria of cooperation/management.The evaluation made use of following approaches:Extensive desk research of background material provided by the NRC and theMSU including all end of mission reports of the SBT members, contractualdocuments, notes and memoranda and written communication and statistics aswell as management documents from the MSU.Structured interviews conducted with SBT members, NRC staff, MSU and DPAstaff (focal points and directors when and where relevant) and DPKO. Ourinterviews were guided by the questions presented in Annex 2.Informal discussions: In some cases, we considered unstructured qualitativeinterviews as instructive to better understand the overall context and perceptions5
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