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Working paper

Evidence for Aid: Report from a Conference
Swedish development aid must be evidence-based. Initiatives that work and deliver results should be promoted, whilst others should be phased out. This is a central part of the Government’s reform of development aid. But how does one...
Published 2 July 2026 – Read more
News

EBA Evaluates a Major Swedish Investment in Liberia
How do investments in rural roads affect people’s lives in the long term? In cooperation with the research institute AidData, the Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) is conducting a geospatial impact evaluation of the Liberia Swedish...
Published 7 April 2026 – Read more
Aktuellt

Expert perspectives on evidence in development cooperation
Clear priorities, locally based initiatives, institutions that enable long-term development and effective evaluation are key factors in development aid. These were some of the key factors highlighted at a conference on evidence-based...
Published 24 February 2026 – Read more
Seminar

Employment in Africa – How has Sida Contributed?
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing workforce. The need for more jobs and increased earning is urgent at the same time as the labour market is facing major structural challenges – a large informal sector,...
Published 20 February 2026 – Read more
News

Overview of Diaspora Philanthropy in Sweden
EBA and Delmi are now jointly producing a knowledge overview that will explore how different diaspora groups in Sweden work with aid and development in their countries of origin. What, for example, do the challenges and forms of...
Published 17 February 2026 – Read more
News

Watch the seminar on livelihood opportunities for refugees
When humanitarian aid decreases, refugees need to find ways to support themselves. At the same time, they face resistance in the form of international and national systems. What can and must be done? What is the role of aid, and how are...
Published 27 January 2026 – Read more
Seminar

How Can Refugees Cater for Themselves?
The global number of forced displaced people is record high – over 120 million. Many of them are refugees who end up in camps in neighbouring countries, without much alternatives. A majority remain stranded for years or even decades....
Published 13 January 2026 – Read more
Seminar

Highlighting new Swedish global health research
The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) invites you to a seminar highlighting new research that sheds light on some of today’s global health challenges. Drawing on four recent dissertations, the seminar explores how evidence-based...
Published 11 December 2025 – Read more
Webinar

EBA contributes knowledge at COP30
Together with international partners, EBA shares lessons learned from various climate actions in the so-called evidence pavilion at the global summit COP30. Both physical and digital sessions will discuss issues such as climate...
Published 10 November 2025 – Read more
News

A new study on Sweden’s influence in the EU’s new aid budget is now underway
The EU is currently negotiating its next long-term budget for 2028–2034. The international section, Global Europe, is expected to cover a total of €200 billion – plus €100 billion for Ukraine. For Sweden, this is a crucial opportunity to influence the direction of EU aid and development cooperation over the coming decade.
Published 13 October 2025 – Read more
Webinar

Land Rights and Climate Resilience
Land use rights are key to how individuals and societies may shape their livelihoods as well as adapt to climate change. The more people are dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, the more this is the case. The webinar presents the EBA study: ‘Land Tenure and Climate Resilience: Household Level Evidence from Kenya’. It investigates how differences in land tenure systems, strength of land rights and perceived tenure security influence what strategies people chose to tackle climate change. Do people opt for adaptive, political or coercive strategies when seeking improved resilience?
Published 25 September 2025 – Read more
Seminar

Conflict, Democracy, and Peace: Exploring What Works
In the quest for peace and the struggle for democracy, recent research might offer new insights. At this seminar, we will launch a new EBA-report “What Are They Fighting For? An Issue-based Approach to the Analysis and Resolution of Civil War” and also introduce three new dissertations in peace and conflict research. By bringing these themes together, we’ll look at what they can teach us about practical paths toward lasting peace.
Published 24 September 2025 – Read more
Report

Land Tenure and Climate Resilience: Household Level Evidence from Kenya
How does land ownership affect the strategies people use to manage climate-related threats? Kathleen Klaus and Emma Elfversson examines how various dimensions of land ownership – ownership systems, the strength and scope of formal rights, and individuals' perceived security of ownership – influence climate adaptation, collective organizing, or potentially violent strategies to defend or reclaim land.
Published 12 August 2025 – Read more
Underlagsrapport

What is most effective – core funding or earmarked funding?
Global challenges and tightened aid spending reinforce the importance of effective development financing. EBA and the German Institute for Development Evaluation, DEval have compiled what we know about the effectiveness of core funding and earmarked funding to multilateral organisations. The review indicates that core funding is more effective than earmarked funding, as it gives greater autonomy and enables strategic and long-term planning. But there are still some evidence gaps.
Published 24 June 2025 – Read more
Rapport

What Are They Fighting For?
A new EBA report by researchers Johan Brosché, Sebastian Raattamaa and Kate Lonergan shows that peace agreements that miss the core issues of the conflict are at risk of failing quickly. By analysing over 250 peace agreements and a brand new data set, the authors have gained insights into how peace negotiations and treaties should be designed to achieve more sustainable outcomes.
Published 23 June 2025 – Read more
News

New studie about relations between Swedish development and security policy
In the reform agenda, the government states that development cooperation is one of the most important foreign policy tools for pursuing and safeguarding Swedish interests and meeting the challenges that we and the world face. In a new study, the EBA will examine the relationship between Sweden's security and development policies in order to identify synergies, overlapping or coherent objectives, and areas where there may be conflicting objectives or risks. The study will also shed light on how Sweden prioritises these issues today, as well as how other countries work with security and development policy.
Published 12 June 2025 – Read more
News

Coming soon: an anthology on migration and aid
The government's strategy on development cooperation and migration implies new tasks for aid programmes. Together with the Delegation for Migration Studies and the European Migration Network Sweden, EBA is now producing an anthology in which researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway describe experiences from their countries in supporting return migration. The anthology, which is expected to be published in spring 2026, will also include a synthesis of what this implies for Sweden.
Published 3 June 2025 – Read more
News

New Anthology on China as an aid actor
China’s influence in the global context is growing, while Western aid actors are cutting back on their assistance. EBA is now starting work on an anthology on China as an aid actor and its importance for Sweden and Swedish aid. The anthology is expected to be finalised in early 2026.
Published 25 April 2025 – Read more
Webinar

Tackling poverty and discrimination in Bangladesh
Despite notable socio-economic development in Bangladesh, extreme poverty remains widespread among ethnic and religious minority groups. What dynamics contribute to minorities’ poverty and exclusion and how should they be countered? How...
Published 9 April 2025 – Read more
Webinar

Watch the webinar on Investments for increased longevity
Watch the webinar on how smart investments in health can significantly improve health and life expectancy in low- and middle-income countries by 2050. Angela Chang, Justina Seyi-Olajide and Jesper Sundewall will present A roadmap to halving premature death by 2050 – with findings, recommendations and uptake of The Lancet Commission on investing in health 3.0.
Published 26 March 2025 – Read more
Webbseminarium

Investments for increased longevity
Sign up for this relevant, timely webinar on how smart investments in health can significantly improve health and life expectancy in low- and middle-income countries by 2050.
Published 6 March 2025 – Read more
News

Full house as EBA, Sida and World Bank discuss poverty
Global poverty reduction has slowed to a near standstill over the past five years, and the outlook is bleak. At a packed seminar, representatives from the World Bank, Sida and the EBA discussed the current state of poverty reduction, aid and development.
Published 6 March 2025 – Read more
News

New study will assess the relevance of Swedish reform co-operation for EU accession
Support for EU accession has long been the overarching objective of Swedish development co-operation in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus. In addition, the Swedish government has decided to prioritise assistance to countries in Sweden's neighbourhood in the coming years. But what relevance does Sweden's reform co-operation have in enabling countries to join the EU?
Published 21 February 2025 – Read more
News

Government appoints Lars Niklasson as new EBA member
From 20 December 2024, Lars Niklasson will be a member of the EBA. With solid research and evaluation expertise and knowledge of development policy in the EU and Sweden, as well as of conditions in Africa, he broadens the EBA's overall knowledge base.
Published 9 January 2025 – Read more
Rapport

How are civil society organisations affected by the backlash against sexual and gender rights?
In a recently published background report, Sofia Kahma shows how the so-called ‘anti-rights’ or ‘anti-gender’ movement affects the rights-based work of three international civil society organisations that are partners of Sida. How does the backlash against sexual and gender rights affect the civil society organisations that Sida works with, and how do they deal with the challenge posed by the anti-rights movement?
Published 7 January 2025 – Read more
Article

What we know about corruption – as a barrier to development and in aid
In development co-operation, the issue of corruption relates to two key areas - corruption as an obstacle to development in partner countries and corruption in aid activities. Corruption thus not only poses a risk to aid funds and to the effectiveness of aid, but also undermines the ability of entire societies to develop.
Published 14 November 2024 – Read more
Report

Evaluation of Sida’s efforts to reduce corruption in partner countries
Today a report from Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) is released that evaluates Sida's work to reduce corruption in partner countries. The report highlights both challenges and strengths in Sida's current anti-corruption strategy and underlines the need for anti-corruption as an overarching perspective in all aid.
Published 7 November 2024 – Read more
Rapport

A roadmap for global health by 2050: Halving premature deaths
On 14 October, the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health 3.0 published the report: Global Health 2050: The Path to Halving Premature Death by Mid-Century. The report highlights what investments are necessary for continued progress in global health and what we should prioritise. The authors argue that we can halve the number of premature deaths (before the age of 70) by 2050 through wise investments.
Published 4 November 2024 – Read more
Report

How can Swedish climate aid contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement?
Achieving the Paris Agreement targets will require a significant shift in global energy systems and investment patterns, including in developing countries. Informed policy decisions on climate aid require an understanding of the effectiveness of interventions. This report examines the emission reduction performance of the financing portfolios of three Swedish institutions: Sida, Swedfund and the Nordic Development Fund. The aim is to assess whether their interventions can contribute to the emission reductions required to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.
Published 30 October 2024 – Read more
Seminar

What are the similarities and differences between Scandinavian policies on Africa?
This year, both Norway and Denmark introduced new strategies for engaging with Africa, a continent of more than 50 states and 1.4 billion people. EBA's Managing Director, Jan Pettersson, is part of a conversation on why Norway and Denmark need official strategies when Sweden - historically the largest Scandinavian donor to Africa - does not. How do Sweden's, Denmark's and Norway's interests differ on the continent?
Published 30 October 2024 – Read more
Working paper

New working paper highlights challenges in applying the principles of development effectiveness
Development effectiveness is crucial to ensure that aid leads to sustainable results. This report examines Sweden's work with development effectiveness in its multi-bi aid. It shows the importance of clarifying expectations concerning development effectiveness, encourage multilateral organisations to take a stronger role in donor coordination and to strengthen domestic institutions to promote ownership.
Published 22 October 2024 – Read more
Working paper

New working paper analyzes Sweden’s support for climate adaptation
Climate change is an urgent global problem affecting ecosystems, biodiversity and communities. This report analyzes Sweden's support for climate change adaptation and how well it aligns with current research. The report shows that Sweden can improve its support by focusing on interventions with stronger evidence or funding research where evidence is lacking.
Published 18 October 2024 – Read more
Rapport

New EBA report on how to support constitution building processes
The global wave of autocratization calls for reflection on support to constitution building processes. Drawing on thirty years of experience, the EBA report External Support to Constitution Building Processes discusses how such support can be effective, how it can be combined with support to peace building and when it simply is better not to intervene.
Published 1 October 2024 – Read more
Invitation for proposals

Invitation for evaluation of Swedish reform cooperation in Eastern Europe
EBA hereby invites proposals for an evaluation of the relevance of Swedish reform cooperation for EU accession. The purpose is to assess the relevance of Swedish aid in assisting partner countries to meet the requirements and frameworks set up by the EU to be accepted as members.
Published 1 October 2024 – Read more
Article

Support to civil society increasingly important and difficult
Sweden invests large resources in democracy assistance, and a significant part is channeled through civil society. At the same time, democratic space is shrinking in more and more countries. EBA has examined the impact of democracy assistance in a number of reports.
Published 28 August 2024 – Read more
News

The tangled migration – aid relationship
Migration is an aid policy priority. The Government has set different and clearer goals related to migration in development cooperation. Development cooperation is aimed to become a tool to combat irregular migration and its root causes and increase the number of migrants returning to their former homelands. But what are the links between migration and aid? What are the problems we want to solve and which tools are most effective? These are some of the questions that the Expert Group for Aid Studies has analysed in a number of reports.
Published 8 August 2024 – Read more
Interview

‘Behind every number there are people with stories that need to be told’
Since April, Ravneet Singh has been working as an assistant programme manager at the EBA's secreteriat. She comes from Sida and has previously been a trainee for the medical mission in Uganda. ‘I chose the EBA because it allows me to combine my interest in development issues with my preference for working methodically and analytically. I really appreciate that EBA approaches development cooperation from so many different angles. I also appreciate EBA's role as an independent actor, scrutinising aid regardless of who delivers it and daring to tackle the uncomfortable issues. There is better and worse interventions, and the role of EBA is to highlight it so that we can learn and improve.’
Published 1 August 2024 – Read more
Film

Watch the seminar Global Development and the Middle-Income Trap
A majority of the world's poor live in middle-income countries. Watch the seminar where Indermit Gill from the World Bank discusses how middle-income countries can achieve economic, social and environmental efficiency together with Norman Loayza, Global Indicators Group; Elina Scheja, Sida; Haishan Fu, World Bank; Torbjörn Becker, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economies and Mats Hårsmar, Expert Group for Aid Studies.
Published 29 May 2024 – Read more
Interview

Working against the tide for children’s and women’s rights
"In a time of disinformation, informed knowledge is essential." Åsa Regnér, Secretary General of Save the Children, is a new member of the Expert Group for Aid Studies as of 1 April. She works daily to improve the rights of children and women in the world and has experience from both the government and the UN. Read more about Åsa and how she views her role in EBA.
Published 21 May 2024 – Read more
News

Political Voice in Times of Democratic Backsliding
On 16 May, EBA organised a seminar where Adea Gafuri, Elizaveta Kopacheva, and Valeriya Mechkova presented and discussed their theses in the field of political representation and ways to counter democratic decline.
Published 17 May 2024 – Read more
Seminar

Development cooperation in middle income countries?
A majority of the world’s poor live in middle income countries. What is, and should be, the role for development cooperation in this country category? On the 27th of May, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), the World Bank, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Expert group for Aid Studies (EBA) will host a public knowledge event entitled "Global Development and the Middle-Income Trap".
Published 13 May 2024 – Read more
Report

Report on the acceptance of green transition in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Very little is known about the acceptance of green transition in low- and middle-income countries. This study provides new insights into public support for carbon taxes and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies in three East African countries, where widespread poverty and corruption contribute to low trust in political institutions.
Published 8 May 2024 – Read more
Interview

“I want to contribute to the democratic anchoring of aid”
As of 1 April, EBA's Expert Group has three new members, including Katarina Tracz, a security and defence analyst and strategic communications advisor. Katarina shares her expectations of EBA and her thoughts on how she can contribute as a member of the Expert Group.
Published 6 May 2024 – Read more
Interview

A nerd with defence readiness and prioritisation as keywords
The work of the EBA is guided by an Expert Group, which decides on the focus and the studies to be undertaken. As of 1 April, the Expert Group has three new members. One of them is Jenny Deschamps-Berger, Head of the Analysis Support Division, Centre for Total Defence and Societal Security at the Swedish Defence University. Here she shares about herself and about being part of the EBA.
Published 2 May 2024 – Read more
Seminar

Welcome to a seminar on democracy and autocratisation!
2024 will go down in history as a super election year. Never have so many people had the opportunity to make their democratic voices heard as this year. At the same time, we are in the midst of what's known as a period of ‘democratic backsliding’ with more and more countries turning towards an autocratic system of governance. What can aid do to improve the chances of increased democratisation, and what conditions are required for citizens in semi-autocratic countries to regain political power?
Published 24 April 2024 – Read more

Three new members and a vice chair in EBA
The Expert Group has three new members from April 1st: Jenny Deschamps-Berger, head of the Department for Analysis Support at the Centre for Total Defence and Society Security at the Swedish Defence University; Åsa Regnér, Secretary General of Save the Children; and Katarina Tracz, CEO and founder of Solomós Communications. Malin Oud, who has been a member of the expert group for a year, was appointed vice chair of the expert group at the same time.
Published 20 April 2024 – Read more

Watch the Seminar about Supporting Local Actors
At the seminar, three of the authors: Sophia Swithern, Charlotte Lattimer and Teddy Atim, presented their research and findings from the evaluation of how Sweden has applied the localisation agenda Supporting Local Actors for a More...
Published 15 April 2024 – Read more
Annual report

Aid to Ukraine and it’s challenges
Sweden is one of many actors supporting Ukraine. The challenges are unique and many: support to defend and maintain a country at war; short- and long-term assistance with reconstruction; and support to drive the necessary reforms to combat corruption and bring the country closer to EU membership.
Published 3 April 2024 – Read more
Report

Learnings from 40 years of HIV response
The first cases of AIDS appeared in the late 1970s and the disease rapidly developed into an international epidemic in the 1980s. Sweden was among the countries that joined the response. In the EBA report The Swedish Aid Response to the HIV Epidemic: An Overview you can read about how the Swedish HIV response has evolved over these 40 years, and what lessons can we learn from this long effort.
Published 19 March 2024 – Read more

How can development cooperation promote rule of law?
According to the World Justice Project index, rule of law is in global decline for the sixth consecutive year. This also means that respect for human rights and the foundations of democracy are put under further threat. This was the subject of a round table discussion organized by EBA, in collaboration with Sida and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Published 23 February 2024 – Read more
Seminar

Trade and Markets for Development
Welcome to a seminar on the theme of trade and development. Trade is an important part of creating opportunities for sustainable and long-term development. In the Swedish Government's reform agenda for development assistance, aid and trade...
Published 12 January 2024 – Read more
Report

More Than a Label, Less Than a Revolution: Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy
How was Sweden's feminist foreign policy implemented? The EBA report "More Than a Label, Less Than a Revolution: Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy" (EBA 2023:02) presents the first systematic study of the implementation of Sweden's feminist foreign policy (FFP). It follows the implementation chain from the Government to embassies and public authorities within the three areas of foreign policy.
Published 30 August 2023 – Read more
Working paper

Influence in Multilateral Organizatinons
Sweden is an important donor to the multilateral system, working to achieve its aid and development goals through significant financial support to multilateral organisations, such as the European Union, the United Nations and the World...
Published 3 July 2023 – Read more
Report

Payment by Results in Aid: Does it work?
The evidence on the effectiveness of Payment by results for outputs, outcomes and impact is mixed. A new working paper show that Payment by results appears to have been effective in some cases and circumstances, but that effectiveness, let alone cost effectiveness (or value added) of PbR in general is by no means certain.
Published 23 May 2023 – Read more
Annual report

Our annual report is here
The EBA Aid Review 2023 highlights a number of issues. Among them are Sweden's role in EU aid, the crisis management capacity of international development cooperation, the importance of agricultural aid and what aid can realistically achieve.
Published 12 May 2023 – Read more
Report

The Rise of Social Protection in the Global South: The Role of Foreign Aid
More than half of the world’s population has no access to social safety nets or social insurance. What is international development aid doing to address this? A new EBA study demonstrates that, while international aid has contributed to the expansion of social safety net programmes in poor countries, the share of aid that is targeted towards social protection has decreased globally.
Published 28 April 2023 – Read more
Report

New report provides unique insight into negotiations
After three years of negotiations a new aid budget was agreed upon in the EU. These negotiations thus represent one of the most impactful development policy processes of the decade. This report provides a unique insight into the negotiations.
Published 27 December 2022 – Read more
Report

Is strategic secondments an effective tool?
This report highlights how Sweden works with one of the many tools available to cooperate with and influence multilateral organizations, namely secondments. The overall conclusion of the evaluation is that senior secondments can be an effective instrument in Swedish advocacy work, but only under the right conditions and circumstances.
Published 4 October 2022 – Read more
Report

New report about Swedish Aid to Agriculture
Agricultural development has strong poverty reduction leverage. Still, Swedish aid to agriculture, forestry and fishery constitute meagre shares. A recent mapping indicate severe underreporting.
Published 22 September 2022 – Read more
Invitation for proposals

Evaluation of Sida’s efforts to reduce corruption in partner countries
We hereby invites proposals for an evaluation of Sida’s efforts to reduce corruption in partner countries. The aim of the evaluation is to explore and assess Sida’s work against corruption as a development obstacle. More specifically, the evaluation will study the extent to which Sida’s efforts to contribute to the reduction of corruption in partner countries are in line with current knowledge about effective approaches to anti-corruption.
Published 9 May 2022 – Read more
Invitation for proposals

Call for researcher-initiated proposals
EBA has decided to allocate funds for studies within any of its prioritised areas (poverty and its drivers; environment and climate; steering and organisation of Swedish aid). Funds are available for researchers active at institutions...
Published 21 April 2022 – Read more
Annual report

Annual report: The EBA Aid Review 2022
Our annual report highlights a number of issues. Among them are development assistance in challenging environments, improved aid evaluation methods and also norms and values in development cooperation.
Published 12 April 2022 – Read more
Vacancy

Internship at EBA
Are you a student and interested in global issues and development cooperation? In addition to your theoretical studies, do you want to gain insight into what happens in workplaces that deal with these issues? Then you should apply for an internship in EBA's office.
Published 11 February 2022 – Read more
Seminar

Webinar: State-To-State Or Bypass?
See the EBA webinar on differences in donor countries' ways of channeling aid to recipient countries: Why do some donor governments channel their aid through recipient governments, while others bypass such authorities? Listen to...
Published 26 January 2022 – Read more
Working paper

New working paper about Swedish aid to Afghanistan
EBA has published a new working paper that reviews the lessons that can be drawn from Sweden’s development cooperation with Afghanistan from 2002–2020. The author also analyses the implications of these for Sweden’s future engagement with the country.
Published 29 August 2021 – Read more
Report

New report (in Swedish): “What Do Evaluations Say About the Effectiveness of Swedish Aid Interventions?”
I denna studie undersöker författaren vad utvärderingar säger om måluppfyllelsen i Sidas biståndsinsatser. Författaren undersöker också i vilken grad dessa måluppfyllelseutvärderingar kan anses tillförlitliga. Studien baseras på en systematisk genomgång av den del som avser måluppfyllelse i 80 decentraliserade utvärderingar från åren 2017 till 2019 beställda av Sida, samt sex centralt genomförda ("strategiska") Sida-utvärderingar från perioden 2015-2019.
Published 12 August 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Corruption and Aid: A Literature Review” (in Swedish)
Korruption inom biståndet är en återkommande fråga i samhällsdebatten. I denna underlagsrapport sammanställer rapportförfattaren slutsatser från akademisk och grå litteratur kring korruptionens omfattning inom biståndet. Översikten berör primärt korruption inom biståndet och inte korruption som utvecklingshinder.
Published 5 July 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Forced Displacement and the Humanitarian‐Development Nexus: A Roundtable Anthology”
This Working Paper summarises three roundtable discussions arranged by EBA during Spring 2021 under the theme "Forced Displacement and the Humanitarian‐Development Nexus." The three roundtables looked at challenges and opportunities for working within the nexus, with a respective focus on internal displacement, livelihoods and financial health, and coherence between donor and host country measures. The latter roundtable was co-organised by EBA and the OECD Development Centre.
Published 21 June 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Relevant? Almost Always: Relevance in Development Cooperation”
In this Working Paper, Joel Samoff explores the use of the relevance criterion in evaluations of Swedish development cooperation. He critically investigates a number of recently conducted evaluations and a selection of other documents. Based on this investigation, he presents a number of suggestions for how the relevance criterion can be improved.
Published 1 June 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Mapping of Swedish Aid Addressing Menstruation”
Today on International Menstrual Hygiene Day (28 May), EBA is publishing the new Working Paper "Mapping of Swedish Aid Addressing Menstruation." In this paper, author Elin Berglöv examines to what extent menstruation is made visible and prioritised within Swedish development cooperation. She also maps existing contributions and interventions in the area.
Published 28 May 2021 – Read more
Report

New EBA report: “Data Science Methods in Development Evaluation: Exploring the Potential”
This study examines the potential of using data science and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in development evaluation. It looks at how such methods can be used produce reliable assessments of what past evaluations have concluded about aid projects and programmes (relating to OECD/DAC’s evaluation criteria relevance). It also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these methods compared to approaches relying on manual techniques.
Published 27 May 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Like-Minded in Principle or in Practice? Priorities and Allocations in EU Member States’ Foreign Aid”
EBA has published a new Working Paper titled "Like-Minded in Principle or in Practice? Priorities and Allocations in EU Member States’ Foreign Aid." The paper presents a mapping of the development policies of the EU and all its member states and relates member states’ profiles to Sweden to identify “like-minded” states in development cooperation.
Published 25 May 2021 – Read more
Working paper

New Working Paper: “Circular Economy – a Conceptual Review and Analysis of Implications for Swedish Development Cooperation”
EBA has published a new Working Paper titled "Circular Economy – a Conceptual Review and Analysis of Implications for Swedish Development Cooperation." Circular economy is increasingly discussed in Swedish, European, and international public policy making. This report provides a review of the circular economy concept and discusses its potential implications for Swedish development cooperation.
Published 24 May 2021 – Read more
Annual report

The EBA Aid Review 2021 – now in English!
Our annual report The EBA Aid Review 2021 summarises insights and conclusions from our reports and seminars from the previous year. The report is written for a wide audience of policy makers, practitioners and students, as well as the general public with an interest in development issues.
Published 28 April 2021 – Read more
Invitation for proposals

Call for researcher-initiated proposals
EBA has decided to allocate funds for studies within any of its four prioritised areas (democracy support; SRHR and health; aid in fragile situations; environment and climate). Funds are available for researchers active at institutions...
Published 19 April 2021 – Read more
Webinar

DDB Webinar: Listening to Locals in Peacebuilding – Experiences from Bosnia, Myanmar and International Peacebuilding Partnerships
Welcome to an EBA DDB webinar on the local–international relationship in peacebuilding, taking place on March 25 at 13:30–15:00 CET! The webinar will be based on three new EBA Development Dissertation Briefs (DDBs) that summarise recent doctoral dissertations on peacebuilding with examples from Bosnia, Myanmar and international peacebuilding partnerships.
Published 4 March 2021 – Read more
Webinar

Democracy Aid – Are There Any Effects?
PRESS RELEASE 20201209 New study: Democracy aid has an impact Does development cooperation aimed at strengthening democracy work? A new study from the Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) addresses critical knowledge gaps on aid...
Published 9 December 2020 – Read more
Artikel

How can cash transfer support during crisis?
The Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for people living in poverty. As a response to the crisis, several countries have initiated, or expanded cash transfer programmes directed at households. The EBA has contributed to a...
Published 2 December 2020 – Read more
Report

We have evaluated Swedish Authorities´ Reform Cooperation
A new EBA-evaluation concludes, among other things, that Swedish government authorities contributed to sustainable results in terms of improving the capacity of their partner agencies in the Western Balkans – particularly in relation to...
Published 15 October 2020 – Read more
Annual report

The EBA Aid Review 2020 is here!
Our annual report is based on the studies that we have published during the last year. You can easily download it. Over arching themes in The EBA Aid Review this year are: Democracy, Risk, Corruption and mediatisation, Aid for sustainability and Anti-discrimination and gender equality.
Published 6 May 2020 – Read more
Webinar

Aid in times of a changing climate
Watch this popular webinar at any time convenient for you. In 2009, the Swedish Government launched the Climate Change Initiative (CCI), a four-year programme of investments in climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, targeting some of the poorest countries.
Published 3 April 2020 – Read more
Seminar

EBA-seminar on blended finance
In connection to the release of a new report on blended finance in decelopment cooperation, we recently had this seminar: ”Financing Private Development Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Please feel free to watch it...
Published 16 March 2020 – Read more
Seminar

Anti-discrimination and the fight against poverty
Many living in poverty belong to discriminated against groups. Anti-discrimination work are key to reduce poverty. Still, not enough is known about what gives the best effects in anti-discrimination. See the seminar here.
Published 14 August 2019 – Read more
Annual report

The EBA Aid Review 2019
Our annual report The EBA Aid Review 2019 has arrived! Here we gather findings and conclusions from our work last year, in an accessible, short format. Read about current challenges and trends in development cooperation, and also reflections for the future. The EBA Aid Review is available in English here and in Swedish here. For a printed version, please don’t hesitate to order from ud.eba@gov.se.
Published 6 May 2019 – Read more
Seminar

Swedish Aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina – An evaluation
Welcome to an interesting seminar and launch of our new evaluation of Swedish development cooperation to Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1995-2018. Friday April 26th at 2 pm - 3.45 pm (registration at 1.30 pm), at Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm.
Published 24 April 2019 – Read more
Artikel

Aid in shrinking democratic spaces
We are living in an era where civil liberties are increasingly under threat. How does this trend affect forms and content of Swedish international development cooperation?
Published 18 October 2018 – Read more
Invitation for proposals

Evaluate the NDF
EBA invites proposals for evaluate the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). Focus on institutional performances in accordance to mandate and potential future role as a joint Nordic financing instrument for development. Find more information...
Published 21 August 2018 – Read more
Article

Working together in Syria – report release and seminar
On June 15 EBA in collaboration with the German Institute for Development Evaluation, DEval, held a seminar on "How can humanitarian and development aid work together? The case of Syria". The EBA report 2018:02 Building bridges between...
Published 27 June 2018 – Read more
Article

EBA-seminarium: “The (fluctuating) value of aid”
On May 28 the report "How predictable is Swedish aid? A study of exchange rate volatility" was launched at a seminar at Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. The report, which is written by Númi Östlund, shows that exchange rate volatility has...
Published 5 June 2018 – Read more
Article

Research cooperation in a new era
We need to talk more about research. About its intrinsic value, and its importance for development at large. Sometimes viewed as a costly subsidy of elites in poorer countries, aid to research has not always been a priority among donors....
Published 21 September 2017 – Read more
News

Three new members of the Expert Group
We are pleased to announce that the Minister for International Development Cooperation has, as of 1 June, appointed three new Expert Group members. We warmly welcome Helena Lindholm (chair), Johan Schaar and Fredrik...
Published 1 June 2017 – Read more
Article

Do anti-discrimination measures reduce poverty?
Discriminatory structures tend to keep people in poverty since they are not given full access to e.g. service provision or the educational system. One of the strongest messages of the Agenda 2030 framework is that no one will be left...
Published 1 March 2017 – Read more
News

Hans Rosling, 1948-2017
A voice for knowledge and decency has fallen silent. During Hans’ three years as a member of EBA, we learnt to know him as a devoted and fearless defender of humanitarian principles and knowledge based decisions; a person with a warm...
Published 8 February 2017 – Read more
Article

ODA displaced?
On February 2, EBA launched the report “Making Waves: Implications of the irregular migration and refugee situation on Official Development Assistance spending and practices in Europe ” (the report was launched during following...
Published 3 February 2017 – Read more
Article

Ends and Means: results in development management
International development cooperation has always been concerned with results. Whether there is an increased attention to results in recent years can be questioned, for those with good memory there has been successive waves of results...
Published 8 September 2016 – Read more
Article

Aid and the private sector, JDI ≠ PPP ≠ PSD
The importance of the private sector for economic development is undisputable. Private actors - whether we talk about firms or other organisations - are an essential part of the web that forms a well-functioning society. In the process of...
Published 16 December 2015 – Read more
News

Three interesting seminars in Stockholm and Gothenburg
In the last few months I have as a new vice chairperson of EBA had the privilege of participating in three EBA seminars of which I have moderated two; one in Stockholm and one in Gothenburg. The attendance has more than met expectations...
Published 9 November 2015 – Read more
Article

Support to PFM-reforms abroad starts at home
Most would agree that prudent and effective Public Finance Management (PFM) is essential in low- and middle income countries. Well-functioning institutions are key to economic growth and development and are a necessary (albeit not...
Published 9 October 2015 – Read more
Article

Concentration difficulties? It´s politics, stupid!
Sweden has repeatedly been criticized for spreading its bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) thinly. For example, the OECD’s recent peer review of Sweden’s development assistance  concluded that “In the absence of clear...
Published 4 September 2015 – Read more
Article

Inequalities challenge health progress
What would it take to reach a ”grand convergence” in global health by 2035? What actions are necessary in order to reduce mortality in low- and lower middle-income countries to the levels of the healthiest middle income countries of...
Published 13 November 2014 – Read more
Article

The Grand Convergence in health and the role of Swedish aid
This week, the Expert Group for aid studies publishes a report on the future role of Swedish health aid. The report summarizes main finding from recent international work and elaborates on the implications for countries currently receiving...
Published 4 November 2014 – Read more
Article

EBA and its “double independence”
How does EBA pursue its work on a daily basis? Well, we first try to find the most important questions to study, and then decide on who should get the assignment of writing reports on these issues. Some of the ideas come from the expert...
Published 19 June 2014 – Read more
News

Welcome to a new committee!
The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) was set up by the Swedish government in 2013. The Terms of Reference announce that we "will continuously evaluate and analyse Sweden’s international development cooperation in order to improve...
Published 19 June 2014 – Read more
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