Transitional justice – a technical note

Purpose and use

The evaluation covers Sida’s core support to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) from 2022-2025. Primary users are Sida, the WILPF International Board and International Secretariat. Other users are the Embassy of Sweden in Amman and other Swedish Embassies; WILPF members, partners and networks; academics, policymakers, and other funders.

Conclusion
Sida’s support was relevant at the start of the evaluation and WILPF’s feminist approach to peace has remained relevant over time despite challenges created by a deteriorating context. The support complements Sida’s support to the Women, Peace and Security sector and the support of others funding WILPF projects and programmes. The deteriorating context makes progress towards results difficult, but some progress is noted. WILPF’s decision-making processes are slowed by the Constitution and its commitment to feminist principles, which the International Secretariat is working with the International Board to address. Despite diminishing funding, the potential for sustainability of results exists.

Recommendation
The primary recommendation is that Sida should continue to support WILPF.

The main purpose of the evaluation was to promote learning and inform the continued development of future capacity development programmes (ITP), as well as a general approach to capacity development as a method for supporting effective and inclusive institutions. The objective was to assess the relevance and effectiveness of five ITPs, to identify what works well and less well. Conclusions: The evaluation concludes that ITP design and methods were generally relevant. All the five ITPs promoted locally driven change, most promoted systemic solutions and a long-term approach, and a majority were adaptive. Less attention was paid to understanding local power relations. Intended outputs were achieved to a great extent although the results of change initiatives were mixed. The most prominent outcome was the forging local partnerships. Key enabling factors included local adaptation, participant engagement, and multi-stakeholder involvement. The key barriers were Covid-19, funding constraints, and lack of leadership buy-in. Recommendations: The evaluation recommends that ITPs should focus more on organisations, target decision-makers, promote more regional exchange, have longer programme rounds, and that measures should be taken to ensure that change initiatives are completed and learning is passed on. It also recommends to invest in alumni networks, build synergies with other projects, and improve M&E systems.