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

¿Misión cumplida? Evaluación Programa ON-LAC
incurred a greater risk of decreased functionality. Mexico and Brazil enjoyed higher levels
of human development, per capita income and strength of democracy than at the turn of
the century. However, their HDI adjusted for inequality, unequal income distribution
patterns and unfavourable gender development levels are indications that work under
each of the Aims would still be justifiable. Both the ON-LAC region and the group of
contrast countries still have high levels of malnutrition, huge income gaps, flawed
democratic systems and wide gender inequality.
Over the last ten years, the positioning of Oxfam Novib was not really defined on the basis
of a needs assessment of target groups at country level. Country selection was instead
driven by the priority of reducing the number of countries and counterparts and the need
to focus on a limited number of thematic areas, with a view to augment impact with
steadily decreasing resources. A thematic approach was brought into the Programme in
2004, one year later followed by a merger of the departments of South and Central
America.
A vitally determinant factor in Oxfam Novib’s drive to concentrate resources was its view
on developing civil society with the participation of vibrant non-governmental
organisations. They were expected not only to play a role towards target groups, but also
to influence the formulation of public policies in a dialogue with national governments.
The drifting away from direct poverty interventions at local levels was strengthened by
the drive to forge alliances with (inter-)national NGOs on global issues such as trade,
environment and climate change.
The relevance of the Programme is investigated in more detail at the level of Aims,
counterparts and projects, in close connection with the other evaluation criteria. The
evaluation results have therefore been structured in accordance with the chosen
methodology. A breakdown of the counterparts and financing per Aim and country, within
both the ON-LAC Programme and the sample set for this evaluation, is presented in Table
1. In Bolivia and Brazil, selected Oxfam Novib counterparts have been operational on more
than one Aim (which explains the column totals not fully adding up). 8
Table 1: ON-LAC counterparts and project expenditure (2003 – 2009)
Aim 1 Aim 4 Aim 5 Total
Counterparts Amount Counterparts Amount Counterparts Amount Counterparts Amount
(Number) (Euro, ’000) (Number) (Euro, ’000) (Number) (Euro, ’000) (Number) (Euro, ’000)
Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC Sample ON-LAC * Sample ON-LAC
Continent 3 16 961 3,167 1 10 586 1,365 3 8 1,679 2,080 7 39 3.226 6,612
Amazonia -- -- -- 501 -- 2 36 0 3 0 266 0 0 803
Bolivia 5 19 6.648 9,085 4 16 3,717 4,946 4 9 2,384 2,705 10 21 12.749 16,736
Brazil 6 22 5.864 8,063 10 23 8,031 8,581 2 8 647 1,557 12 26 14.542 18,201
Colombia 0 0 0 0 2 4 735 903 3 4 428 246 3 5 1.163 1,149
Guatemala 4 13 1.634 3,129 6 16 2,401 3,652 2 13 718 1,720 11 20 4.753 8,501
Mexico 6 19 3.924 5,945 2 22 2,015 4,180 7 24 1,831 3,753 13 26 7.770 13,878
Central America -- 8 -- 916 -- 5 -- 588 0 3 0 237 0 0 1,741
Nicaragua 4 10 2.016 3,002 1 15 710 2,183 4 12 2,062 2,511 9 16 4.788 7,696
Peru 7 19 3.709 4,908 4 18 2,499 4,225 3 12 1,156 1,632 11 23 7.364 10,765
Urban -- 1 -- 100 1 19 511 2,265 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 511 2,365
Total 35 127 24.756 38,815 31 140 21,205 32,923 28 96 10,905 16,708 77 176 56.866 88,448
Source: Information ON-LAC Department (* NB: lower totals due to counterparts operating under several Aims).
8 The multiplicity of Aims has given rise to misgivings as to whether counterparts have been specifically
accountable for achieving project results for each Aim assigned to them.
6