¿MISION CUMPLIDA? EVALUACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA DE ... - Novib

¿Misión cumplida? Evaluación Programa ON-LAC
Executive Summary
The evaluation of the Oxfam Novib Programme in Latin America (ON-LAC), conducted by
the Foundation Rural Development Consult (CDR) between September and December
2010, focused on the results of the cooperation between the agency and its counterparts in
the area of food security and income generation (Aim 1), democratisation and
participation (Aim 4) and gender-based violence and women’s rights (Aim 5). 1 The
evaluation followed Oxfam Novib’s decision in 2009 to stop supporting non-governmental
development organisations in Latin America. Its purpose was to analyse the contribution
of the ON-LAC Programme in terms of the strategic results defined for the period, the
outcomes achieved by counterpart organisations (part of them in a network), their overall
strengths, as well as their interactions with Oxfam Novib as the sponsoring agency. The
work covered the countries Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and
Brazil, where Dutch public resources had mostly been deployed. The objectives of the
Programme evaluation were two-fold:
1. To report on the results (intended and unintended) achieved by Oxfam Novib’s
LAC strategy in the period 2003-2009 (accountability).
2. To provide input for organisational learning of Oxfam Novib/Oxfam International
and counterparts, specifically on ON’s contribution to the results achieved and
lessons that can be drawn from ON’s strategy in Latin America.
The Oxfam Novib regional strategy for the period 2003-09 has been hugely significant. For
decades it has been targeting structural changes in living conditions and socio-political
contexts to favour the impoverished and marginal segments in Latin American society.
Oxfam Novib’s choice to work closely with organisations constituted by and acting on
behalf of those categories has been vital for bringing the Programme into practice.
Cooperation with non-governmental organisations has been a hallmark of the agency’s
intervention strategy, all the more so since Novib chose to align its policies with those of
its partners in Oxfam International. 2 The established rights-based approach, serving as the
foundation for the pillars of the various Aims, has been providing overall guidance for
cooperation with its partners worldwide.
Oxfam Novib’s approach features several characteristics on which the agency has
distinguished itself over a much longer period than the one spanned by this evaluation.
The gender focus was brought into Novib’s policies approximately three decades ago, by
stimulating the creation of organisations in defence of women’s rights, autonomy and
empowerment. It later evolved into a strategy for gender mainstreaming that included
cross-cutting tools for analysis and action. Second, the objective of bringing the agency’s
counterparts into national and regional networks was pursued from the 1990s onwards,
accompanied by global advocacy, campaigns and programmes during the last decade. The
networking and strategic alliance approach shifted into higher gear when, during the
Programme period, environmental and climate concerns were incorporated into the
overall Oxfam Novib strategy.
1 In policy documents, Aim 1 is titled as the Right to a Sustainable Livelihood. Projects under Aim 1 in the area
of microfinance were not included in the evaluation. Nor were projects relating to ethnic and cultural identity
under Aim 5. Aims 2 (Basic social services) and 3 (Security), with scant activity during the period, were a priori
excluded.
2 The agency correspondingly changed its name in 2006.
3