Evaluation of Irish Aid’s Sierra Leone Strategy Paper, 2011-2013

Ireland’s partnership approach, flexibility and whole-of-government approach is a clear comparative advantage for adapting and succeeding in a complex space.

This independent evaluation found that the choices made by Irish Aid were relevant and justifiable.

Notably, the evaluation finds that the Country Strategy and its policy work was particularly effective in relation to highlighting the issues of nutrition and gender, bringing these issues to the centre stage of the development agenda in Sierra Leone.By helping ensure that nutrition and gender did not become ‘aid orphans’, the strategy met both a fragile states principle and Ireland’s global policy priorities.

The evaluation also finds that Irish Aid made clear contributions in the areas of human rights and livelihoods, and that Ireland’s partnership approach, flexibility and whole-of-government approach is a clear comparative advantage for adapting and succeeding in a complex space.

Overall, eight of 30 programme targets were achieved or exceeded; a further eleven programme targets were partially met and mostly on track for completion by 2014. The remaining indicators did not lend themselves to quantitative measurement.

However, whereas the Country Strategy comprehensively reflected policy priorities and made significant contributions in a number of areas, the evaluation finds that the strategy lacked the cohesion to be able to achieve little more than the sum of its parts. 

Evaluation of Irish Aid’s Sierra Leone Strategy Paper, 2011-2013

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