All Reports

2022:07

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Magnus Lundgren, Jonas Tallberg, Camilla Pedersen

After three years of negotiation a new long-term EU budget for (2021–2027) was agreed upon in 2021. The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), which covers the EU’s development cooperation with...

2022:06

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Bereket Kebede, Leif Danielsson, Hailu Elias, Gunnar Köhlin

One of the most important partner countries for Swedish aid has historically been Ethiopia; the country became Sweden’s first bilateral development cooperation partner in 1954, while Swedish development financing to Ethiopia remains...

2022:June

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Suvi Virkkunen, Alva Bruun

This working paper is one of the contributions to the EBA anthology on theories of change (ToC) in development cooperation. The authors, Suvi Virkkunen and Alva Bruun (both formerly with the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs) describe...

2022:03

Organisation and Management of Aid

Description of method, Review

Kim Forss, Númi Östlund

Theories of change have emerged as a popular model for governing, planning and monitoring development aid. In this anthology, a range of researchers and practitioners explore the use of theories of change in development, offering a mix of...

2022:June

Education and Research, Organisation and Management of Aid

Description of method

Adam Pain

This working paper is one of the contributions to the EBA anthology on theories of change (ToC) in development cooperation. The author, Adam Pain, discusses ToCs for a common type of intervention in Swedish development cooperation: support...

2022:February

Democracy and Human Rights, Organisation and Management of Aid

Description of method

Joakim Molander, Wolfgang Biersack

In this text, Joakim Molander and Wolfgang Biersack describe the theory of change that International IDEA has established to guide the organisation towards its objective of promoting and advancing sustainable democracy. IDEA’s theory of...

2022:04

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Erik Lundsgaarde

This study explores the relationship between Sweden and the EU in the area of development cooperation. It focuses on programming at the partner country level, where the majority of development cooperation is programmed and implemented. The...

2022:01

Equality, Evaluation of Aid

Evaluation

Lisa Dellmuth, Paul T. Levin, Nicklas Svensson

A large part of Sweden’s foreign policy takes place within – and through – multilateral organisations, such as the UN, the EU or the various development banks. Sweden is also one of the largest donors to the multilateral system: the...

2022:02

Health and Social Protection, Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Carsten Schwensen, Jonas Lövkrona, Louise Scheibel Smed

This report analyses how adjustments of Swedish aid were managed within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Sida during the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, it contributes to knowledge on how development cooperation was impacted by the...

2022:05

Economic Development, Evaluation of Aid

Mapping

Ivar Virgin, Alice Castensson, Filippa Ek, Ylva Ran

Agricultural development can strongly contribute to poverty reduction in low-income countries. Despite this, Swedish development aid to the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors constitute a small share of total aid flows. During...

2022

Health and Social Protection, Migration

Mapping

Jason Gagnon, Mona Ahmed, Lisa Hjelm, Jens Hesemann

This paper provides the first overview of efforts by low- and middle-income countries to extend the coverage of national social protection systems to forcibly displaced persons within their borders. It presents a baseline of de jure...

2022:June

Organisation and Management of Aid, Public Administration

Other

Thomas Larue

Published in Swedish...

2022:06

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Karin Johansson

Conflict-related sexual violence by state actors has received increasing attention in international politics. This Development Dissertation Brief explores the effects of domestic protests and international condemnations on the occurrence...

2022:April

Climate and Environment

Other

Tilman Hertz

This report commences by providing a background to one of today’s most important global challenges – the rapid loss of biodiversity – before discussing the role of development actors in general and donors, such as Sida, in protecting...

2022:05

Democracy and Human Rights

Other

Karin Sundström

National human rights institutions are important for the protection of human rights, though they can serve as both as watchdogs and lapdogs to their governments. This Development Dissertation Brief uses multiple methods to explore why...

2022:April

Humanitarian Assistance

Other

Emma Öståker

This study shows that Ethiopia at regular intervals during the last decades has suffered from disasters and emergencies during which Sweden contributed relatively large sums of humanitarian aid. The study raises vital questions about how...

2022:04

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Måns Muhrbeck

In armed conflicts, access to medical care and surgical resources are often limited. Using records from three different Red Cross hospitals, this Development Dissertation Brief analyses the relationship between types of injuries,...

2022:April

Economic Development

Analysis

Mats Hårsmar

A key question that continues to face policymakers and practitioners in development is: What are the most effective ways of reducing poverty in low-income countries? A debate that has long been waged relates to the role of agriculture and...

2022

In its second year, the Covid-19 pandemic entailed enormous loss of human life and the altering of many societies. The effects of the pandemic can be measured in the sharp rise of people living in poverty, children missing out on...

2022:03

Health and Social Protection

Other

Marwan Mosleh

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and war-related injuries constitute major health concerns globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This Development Dissertation Brief describes and analyzes the burden, incidence, and...

2022:02

Democracy and Human Rights

Other

Johanna von Bahr

Children’s rights have risen on many international organisations’ agendas in recent decades. This Development Dissertation Brief explores why international organisations promote children’s rights, which tactics they use to pressure...

2022:01

Health and Social Protection

Mapping, Other

Signe Svallfors

Armed conflicts pose a great challenge to women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). This DDB explores the effects of conflict on women’s SRHR in Colombia. It points to women’s limited access to health care and...

2022:January

Evaluation of Aid

Evaluation

Elliot Stern, Ole Winckler Andersen

This report assesses a portfolio of five country evaluations (CEs) commissioned by EBA between 2015 and 2017, and published between 2016 and 2018. These CEs, in Tanzania, Uganda, Cambodia (the site of 2 studies) and Bosnia-Herzegovina took...

2021:08

Peace, Security and Conflict

Evaluation

Gary Milante, Jannie Lilja, Jups Kluyskens, Johanna Lindström

Sweden has long been at the forefront of promoting international principles for engagement in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Particularly pertinent therefore is Sweden’s application of the ‘New Deal’ agreement over the last...

2021:07

Peace, Security and Conflict

Evaluation

Nicklas Svensson, Julian Brett, Adam Moe Fejerskov, Charlotte Bonnet

The Folke Bernadotte Academy (Swedish Agency for Peace, Security and Development) has become an important actor in Swedish development cooperation, in terms of both the volume of aid managed by the agency and its role in the implementation...

2021:06

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Cecilia Strand, Maria Grafström

Swedish development cooperation has for many years funded efforts to inform the broader Swedish public about development aid. Since 2010, Sida’s and Sida’s partners work in this area has been guided and financed under a specific...

2021:November

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Pranvera Muçaj

The issue of ownership has been at the heart of the international development debate for several decades. While the Paris Declaration from 2005 contributed to (at least an alleged) consensus on the centrality of ownership – or partner...

2021:November

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Jens Andersson

Published in Swedish...

2021:November

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Erik Bryld, Julian Brett, Léonie Borel

Swedish development assistance needs to be able to adapt to changing circumstances, particularly in fragile and conflict affected states, where contexts can change rapidly. This is true not only for individual projects or programmes, but...

2021:05

Democracy and Human Rights

Mapping

Antonio Spinelli, Peter Wolf, Sead Alihodžić, Therese Pearce Laanela

Watch the seminar with Therese Pearce Laanela, Sead Alihodžić, Thomas Carothers, Staffan Smedby, and moderator Helena Lindholm. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UwjTo5YwJqU As part of its democracy support, Sweden regularly assists...

2021:04

Equality, Health and Social Protection

Analysis

Anna Kågesten, Karin Båge, Jesper Sundewall, Helena Litorp, Bi Puranen, Olalekan Uthman, Anna Mia Ekström

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender are closely linked with cultural and societal values and norms. This EBA report aims to improve the understanding of norms and values that undermine – or support – SRHR, and...

2021:03

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Barbara Befani

This report presents an innovative methodology for conducting theory-based evaluations. It retains several of the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative methods. This report contains both an in-depth theoretical discussion of the...

2021:02

Evaluation of Aid

Evaluation

Markus Burman

The purpose of this study (also available in Swedish with the title Målbild och mekanism: Vad säger utvärderingar om svenska biståndsinsatsers måluppfyllelse?) is to examine what recent evaluations say – and can say – about...

2021:03

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Sanela Bajramović

International peacebuilding in conflict-affected areas entails possibilities as well as challenges. Focusing on the engagement of Swedish foundation Kvinna till Kvinna in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1993 and 2013, this DDB analyzes...

2021:August

Evaluation of Aid

Analysis

Adam Pain

This working paper reviews the lessons that can be drawn from Sweden’s development cooperation with Afghanistan from 2002–2020, and the implications of these for Sweden’s future engagement with the country. The analysis is based on...

2021:July

Organisation and Management of Aid

Review

Helena Hede Skagerlind

Corruption in development aid is a recurring issue of debate. Within this background report, the author  compiles conclusions from academic and grey literature on the extent of corruption in development assistance. The focus is primarily...

2021:June

Humanitarian Assistance, Migration, Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Alexander Burlin, Jason Gagnon, Karen Jacobsen, Kim Wilson, Mona Ahmed, Sarah Miller

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...

2021:May

Evaluation of Aid

Joel Samoff

Evaluations of development cooperation interventions are almost always based on the evaluation criteria developed by OECD/DAC, one of which relates to the relevance of an intervention. One observation related to the evaluation criteria...

2021:May

Organisation and Management of Aid

Jonas Tallberg, Olof Karlsson

Together, the EU and its 27 member states constitute by far largest provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the world. Several member countries have been important donor countries for a long time, while others are emerging....

2021:May

Equality, Health and Social Protection

Mapping

Elin Bergenlöv

In the last ten years the issue of menstruation has received increasing attention in Swedish development cooperation. However, an overall picture of the extent to which menstruation is addressed in Swedish aid is absent. This study...

2021:01

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Gustav Engström, Jonas Norén

This report examines the potential of using data science and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in development evaluations. It looks at how such methods can be used to produce reliable assessments of what past evaluations have concluded...

2021:May

Climate and Environment

Daniel Slunge, Ida Andersson, Petter Wikström, Thomas Sterner

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...

2021

Evaluation of Aid

Review

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...

2021:02

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Tomas Cole

In Southeast Myanmar a protracted armed conflict has dragged on for over 70 years. This DDB depicts the struggles of indigenous people and environmental activists to transform a war-torn area into an indigenously run protected zone, the...

2021:01

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Pernilla Johansson

Effective peacebuilding requires international actors to listen to local partners, which often fails in practice. Through interviews with practitioners, donors and researchers, this DDB-report identifies how everyday emotions help or...

2020:07

Democracy and Human Rights

Evaluation

Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, Rachel M. Gisselquist, Ana Horigoshi, Melissa Samarin, Kunal Sen

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FHUALezAp8k Democracy aid is a key component of Swedish international development cooperation. The EBA report Effects of Swedish and international democracy aid explores the effects of aid on countries...

2020

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2020 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2019 and also briefly summarise our...

2020:09

Humanitarian Assistance

Other

Jenni Koivisto

This thesis investigates the uncertainties in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Mozambique, a low- income country that regularly faces natural hazards that cause heavy loss of life and livelihoods. The thesis focuses on different sets of...

2019

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2019 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2018 and also briefly summarise our...

2020:08

Humanitarian Assistance

Other

Anneli Eriksson

Humanitarian aid must be based on needs but is underfunded and unevenly distributed. This DDB report develops a model that estimated needs in the event of disasters. The results were presented during the webinar How to mitigate disasters:...

2020:07

Climate and Environment, Health and Social Protection, Humanitarian Assistance

Other

Dell Saulnier

Resilient health systems have the capacity to maintain their functions and to change when shocked, enabling them to continue delivering health services, yet there is little evidence about what creates resilience. The contribution...

2020:06

Democracy and Human Rights, Equality

Analysis

Åsa Eldén, Dolores Calvo, Elin Bjarnegård, Silje Lundgren, Sofia Jonsson

https://www.youtube.com/embed/GU79ssaf-aM The abuse of power and position in exchange for sexual favours – sextortion – is both a form of corruption and of gender-based violence, which makes it difficult to address. How should the...

2020:November

Climate and Environment

Analysis

Lisa Hjelm, Mats Hårsmar

The study contains assessments of 25 multilateral organisations receiving support from Swedish ODA. To what extent are their work aligned with the Paris Agreement in terms of climate mitigation, adaptation to adverse effects of climate...

2020:05

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Janet Vähämäki, Susanna Alexius

Trust based management of public services could serve to achieve better results. To build trust is particularly difficult in the area of development cooperation: vast distances, unequal power relations and complex practices provide...

2020:04

Public Administration

Evaluation

Richard Allen, Giorgio Ferrari, Krenar Loshi, Númi Östlund, Dejana Razić Ilić

Every year around SEK 600 million of Swedish international development assistance is directed through Swedish government authorities (SGAs). This evaluation aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the long-term effects, sustainability...

2020:05

Health and Social Protection

Other

Suvi Kokko

Social entrepreneurship and innovation are expected to take on a growing role in solving global problems of sustainability. This DDB examines the case of a social entrepreneur in the sanitation sector in Kenya. By studying the dynamics of...

2020:06

Health and Social Protection

Other

Stefan Granlund

Cash transfer programs have become a significant tool in efforts to reduce poverty. Focusing on the Child Support Grant (CSG), this DDB report explores the material and socio-relational implications of state cash transfers in rural South...

2020:04

Education and Research

Other

Helena Kraff

Participatory processes are typically viewed as democratic and transparent. This DDB report explores the pitfalls of participation. By addressing when, how and why participatory practices lead to unjust forms of participation, it offers...

2020:juli

Equality, Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Anna Schnell

Gender budgeting means a systematic integration of the causes to gender inequality and design of measures for increased gender equality in both budgets and budget processes. It is clearly written in the Sustainable Development Agenda as an...

2020:03

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Daniel Tarschys

Is management only a burden? The premise in much of the literature on development aid, and more specifically in the Swedish budgetary dialogue in this policy field, seems to be that administrative activities should be squeezed back as far...

2020:02

Climate and Environment

Evaluation

John Colvin, Mutizwa Mukute, Mehjabeen Abidi Habib, Jane Burt, Miriam Kugele, Jessica Wilson

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. The CCI amounted to SEK 4...

2017:05

Peace, Security and Conflict

Review

Joakim Öjendal, Hanna Leonardsson, Martin Lundqvist

Peacebuilding has grown to become a prominent global practice and research theme. Peacebuilding projects have been set up in (post-)conflict societies across the globe with the aim of securing sustainable peace. Yet such positive...

2020:April

Education and Research

Mapping

Cecilia Strand, Elin Bjarnegård, Flora Hajdu, Henning Melber, Janet Vähämäki, Jonas Ewald, Magnus Jirström, Rickard Lalander

This study was initiated and conducted by the newly established Swedish Development Research Network (SweDev) with support from the Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA). The study has sought to map the Swedish development research community,...

2017:12

Evaluation of Aid

Evaluation

Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys

This study aims to examine what evaluations can tell us about sustainability in Swedish aid projects. Sustainability, in this sense, refers to the viability and longevity of achievements financed by development aid once financing is...

2015:08

Democracy and Human Rights, Economic Development, Public Administration

Evaluation

Rasmus Kløcker Larsen, Sandra Atler

In recent years there has been an increased focus on the role of business and private sector activities in international development cooperation. Meanwhile, there are well documented challenges in implementing policy coherence to address...

2020:03

Health and Social Protection

Other

Nelson Ekane

Sanitation is high on the international development agenda, but how is sanitation policy actually put into practice on the ground? This DDB examines governance structures in sanitation on multiple levels across Rwanda and Uganda. The...

2015:01

Democracy and Human Rights

Analysis

Richard Youngs

Sweden has a long tradition of providing development cooperation with the aim of strengthening democracy and respect for human rights. Sida-support for these purposes has increased in recent years, and accounts for more than 5 billion SEK...

2020:02

Equality

Other

Helena Hede Skagerlind

Global performance indicators are now-common tools for global Development governance. This DDB gives an account of the influences of such indicators, studying the mechanisms of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their effects on...

2020:01

Democracy and Human Rights, Economic Development, Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Linda Engström

Large agricultural investment projects have been popular in African development for almost 20 years. The results of these investments however, have often failed to materialize. This DDB explores the consequences for people living where...

2020:01

Economic Development

Mapping

Polly Meeks, Matthew Gouett, Samantha Attridge

The use of development finance to ‘catalyse’ private finance has become a growing trend in development cooperation. This study focus on one specialised form of development finance - Official Development Assistance (ODA) – and its...

2019:09

Democracy and Human Rights

Analysis

Göran Hydén, Marina Buch Kristensen

The purpose of this report is to examine why democratization in Africa is a special challenge and how democracy aid may be recast in a world where national sovereignty is on the rise and partners claim greater ownership of the external...

0

Support in the areas of democracy and human rights currently represents about one-fourth of Swedish bilateral overseas development assistance, which is about twice as much as the average of OECD Development Assistance Committee countries....

2019:08

Climate and Environment

Review

Goncalo Carneiro, Raphaelle Bisiaux, Mary Frances Davidson, Tumi Tómasson, Jonas Bjärnstedt

Despite several decades of aid to the fisheries sector and numerous evaluations, there are very few known efforts to analyse and document lessons learned across those interventions. This study is a systematic map and a thematic...

2019:07

Economic Development, Equality, Health and Social Protection

Review

Meagan Dooley, Abby Fried, Ruti Levtov, Kate Doyle, Jeni Klugman, Gary Barker

Social protection systems are highligthed in Agenda 2030 as an important tool to reduce poverty. Different forms of Social Safety Net programs (SSNs), like cash transfers, in-kind food aid or public work programs are rapidly becoming...

2019:06

Economic Development

Evaluation

Stephen Spratt, Eilis Lawlor, Kris Prasada Rao, Mira Berger

This report is the result of a request from the Nordic Development Fund’s (NDF) Board of Directors to the Evaluation Departments at the Nordic Development Cooperation Agencies for an independent input to strategic decisions on the future...

2019:05

Democracy and Human Rights

Review

Andrew Shepherd, Dhruva Mathur, Rachel Marcus

Poor people often belong to discriminated against groups. For a sustainable reduction of poverty, it is necessary to work against discrimination and disrespect of human rights. How effective are anti-discrimination measures undertaken by...

2019:July

Migration

Review

Robert E.B Lucas

The objectives of this research overview are twofold: To provide a succinct outline of what is and is not known about the links between migration and economic development in developing countries; and to inform aid agencies about the...

2019:04

Democracy and Human Rights, Economic Development

Evaluation

Ariel BenYishay, Brad Parks, Rachel Trichler, Christian Baehr, Daniel Aboagye, Punwath Prum

In 1996, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and other donors worked with the Cambodian government in an attempt to rebuild confidence in public institutions and improve economic welfare by strengthening local...

2019:03

Democracy and Human Rights

Evaluation

Henny Andersen, Joakim Öjendal, Karl-Anders Larsson

Since the 1990s, democracy and human rights have been an important objective in Swedish development cooperation. This study evaluates Sweden’s democracy assistance to Cambodia during the period 1997–2017. The study is based on...

2019:02

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Linnea Mills, Nilima Gulrajani

Development cooperation to fragile and vulnerable environments involves different types of risk. The study Fit for Fragility? An exploration of risk stakeholders and systems inside Sida provides an analysis of how Sida works with...

2019:03

Climate and Environment

Other

Stefan Linde

The objective of this thesis is to investigate how communication affects public preferences for cooperation in large-scale collective action dilemmas. By merging theories on collective action and political communication the thesis...

2019:02

Climate and Environment

Other

Marcus Wangel

For the past three decades the policy discourse on forest governance in low- income countries has come to increasingly emphasise collaborative ideals and practices. Overall, the outcome has not been as intended: genuine...

2019:01

Climate and Environment

Other

Elin Jakobsson

This dissertation development brief provides further insights into how new norms become or do not become accepted in the international political system. It puts particular emphasis on how contingencies and windows of opportunity...

2019:May

Humanitarian Assistance

Review

Anna Bäckman

The existing initiatives using blockchain technology in humanitarian aid are few and at an early stage. The potential of blockchain should nevertheless be considered seriously. It can, for example, be used within financial means, reducing...

2019:01

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Karolina Windell, Maria Grafström

The aim of this report is to create an understanding of how decisionmakers within development cooperation deal with media surveillance, and what consequences their approach may have for risk-taking and decision making. This report...

2018:10

Economic Development

Evaluation

Claes Lindahl, Julie Lindahl, Mikael Söderbäck, Tamara Ivankovic

This study focuses on the theme of economic development over more than two decades of development cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report was presented during the seminar Swedish Aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Case...

2018:09

Democracy and Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance

Analysis

Sophia Swithern

The UN-coordinated appeals represent the largest combined request for humanitarian aid, and a central pillar of the humanitarian response architecture. In 2017, these appeals set out a record total requirement of US$25.2 billion. This was...

2018:08

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Charlotte Örnemark, Fabian Scholtes, Niels Keijzer, Stephan Klingebiel

According to the Paris Declaration and the 2030 Agenda, ownership is a prerequisite for effective development cooperation. How can the principle of ownership be promoted in today’s complex development cooperation, in which the numbers of...

2018:December

Organisation and Management of Aid

Review

Arne Tostensen

Increasing emphasis on capacity-building and training activities as a proportion of donors’ country programmes has drawn attention to per diem practices. This report discusses the uses and abuses of per diem payments, predominantly by...

2018:07

Equality, Public Administration

Evaluation

Elin Bjarnegård, Fredrik Uggla

The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) commissioned an evaluation that followed Sida’s work over time through an ongoing research project. The report is a systematic follow-up which examines the plan for gender integration that has been...

2018:oktober

Organisation and Management of Aid

Review

Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys

Information and communication technology (ICT) has long been an important part of Swedish development assistance both at the bilateral level and via multilateral organizations. This report aims to map the Swedish ICT assistance during...

2018:October

Public Administration

Analysis

Karl-Anders Larsson

Budget support is the aid modality that best complies with the principles for aid effectiveness and it has been stated in several Swedish government documents since 2000 that its share of total Swedish aid should increase. It increased up...

2018:06

Democracy and Human Rights

Analysis

Åsa Eldén, Paul T. Levin

The notion of a shrinking space describes a global trend whereby activists’ and civil society organizations’ freedom to organize and operate is circumscribed by increasingly repressive and authoritarian governments. Turkey is often...

2018:04

Public Administration

Review

Geske Dijkstra

Budget support is an aid instrument that is not linked to projects and that is freely spendable by recipient governments. Budget support volumes have declined in recent years. This report examines the extent to which this reduced interest...

2018:June

Climate and Environment

Monir Elias Bounadi

This Working Paper combine high-resolution data on temperature and precipitation with georeferenced data on conflict events to explore the link between local weather variations and conflict incidence for all districts of Afghanistan...

2018:03

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Númi Östlund

Sweden generally disburses development aid in SEK, while most partner countries, implementation organisations and recipients work in other currencies. This EBA report examines the effects of disbursing Swedish bilateral aid in Swedish...

2018:02

Humanitarian Assistance, Migration

Review

Alexander Kocks, Ruben Wedel, Hanne Roggemann, Helge Roxin

How to improve the linkages between emergency assistance and more long-term aid is a recurring question for actors operating in crisis situations around the world. In this EBA study researchers from the German Institute for Development...

2018:05

Health and Social Protection

Other

Damian Clarke, Hanna Mühlrad

This Development Dissertation Brief (DDB) is a summary of an article written by Hanna and Damian Clarke, Associate Professor of Economics at The University of Santiago of Chile. The article was included as the third chapter of...

2018:04

Health and Social Protection

Other

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson

Well-functioning health systems are key to the reduction of treatable, preventable and premature deaths, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all age This thesis contributes with knowledge on the utility of...

2018:03

Health and Social Protection

Other

Ulrika Baker

Maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths remain high in Sub Saharan Africa. Despite the large increases achieved in access to care, the expected gains in survival for mothers and newborns have therefore not materialised, giving...

2018:April

Evaluation of Aid, Public Administration

Mapping

Matilda Svedberg

Looking specifically at the case of Sweden, this working paper aims to provide insight to research and policies concerning aid volatility and generate comparable estimates of volatility in foreign aid. The paper uses the...

2018:01

Economic Development

Evaluation

Stephen Spratt, Peter O'Flynn, Justin Flynn

Investments in companies to achieve developmental effects are becoming increasingly important in development cooperation. Swedfund, the Development Finance Institution of the Swedish state, has the task of investing in poor countries...

2018:April

Public Administration

Mapping

Klas Markensten

More financing, including taxes, is needed to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. At the Addis Ababa conference 2015 the Addis Tax Initiative was launched, in which donors were asked to double their technical assistance to...

2018:april

Democracy and Human Rights

Mapping

Anna Jonsson Cornell

The purpose of this report is to present the current policy framework, and provide an introduction to how Swedish actors work and have worked with the rule of law principles within the framework of Swedish development cooperation. The...

2018:April

Equality

Evaluation

Elin Bjarnegård, Fredrik Uggla, Hanna Barvaeus

EBA decided in 2016 to initiate "on-going evaluation" on the efforts to strengthen gender mainstreaming at Sida until 2018. This is the second report from the evaluation. This report presents updates and extensions of findings and...

2018:02

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Janet Vähämäki

The search for results or effectiveness of aid has been of major concern for Sida and Swedish public aid since the “birth” of public development aid in the 1960s. One way in which Sida (Swedish International Development Agency)...

2018:01

Health and Social Protection

Other

Josephine Sundqvist

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become increasingly common in global health. Since health systems in development contexts tend to be weak and fragile, they are still dependent on receiving contributions from faith-based...

2018

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2018 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2017 and also briefly summarise our...

2017:December

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Annika Nilsson, Johanna Lindgren Garcia

This study is based on an expressed need at EBA to supplement its research reports with portfolio analyses that describe what Swedish development cooperation does in a specific country or sector. In addition, there is a need to...

2017:11

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Nina Connelly, Stephen Browne, Thomas G Weiss

Assistance channelled through the United Nations should be seen in the context of the broader development landscape, which is undergoing constant change. Donor’s funding of UN Funds and Programmes has become increasingly earmarked over...

2017:September

Climate and Environment

Other

Nicklas Nordfors

The aim of the thesis is to answer the question: does foreign aid have an impact on local environmental degradation, specifically deforestation, in recipient countries? The study link geocoded data on aid projects in Uganda to high...

2017:September

Health and Social Protection

Other

Evelina Linnros

For many households in developing economies climate shock, economic instability, illness and conflict are part of everyday life. Without access to formal insurance and credit markets, this means a limited ability to smooth...

2017:10

Democracy and Human Rights, Public Administration

Analysis

Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

The time has come for a full-fledged roadmap to evidence-based anti-corruption. Testing the toolkit of anti-corruption consultants, it is found that the few workable tools are functioning only in contexts where domestic agency exists....

2017:09

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Ann-Sofie Isaksson

Recent years have seen an increased focus on results in development cooperation, and a heated debate on the evaluation strategies and effectiveness of development policies. A rapid expansion in the availability of sub-nationally...

2017:10

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Therese Brolin

The increased focus on results within international development cooperation is a consequence of the assumption that development cooperation must be more effective and efficient. However, these approaches present diverging and...

2017:09

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Emma Elfversson

Each year, a number of violent communal conflicts take place around the world. Because they do not directly challenge the central state, communal conflicts often receive less media attention than civil wars. This dissertation seeks...

2017:08

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Mathilda Lindgren

As a first of its kind, this thesis deals with a specific aspect of the micro dynamics of international mediation, namely developing possible explanations for variations in mediator style among individual mediators working for...

2017:04

Education and Research, Health and Social Protection

Other

Elina Elveborg Lindskog

This thesis deals with the relationship between violent conflict and sexual and reproductive behavior in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The aim is to contribute to the literature on how war affects demographic...

2017:07

Education and Research, Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Sara Gehlin

In situations of conflict, religions appear with different faces. The same religion that motivates destruction and violence can motivate peace, forgiveness, tolerance, and hope. The dissertation brings light to the way theology can...

2017:06

Health and Social Protection

Other

Susanne Sjöström

Increased knowledge and awareness as well as changes in the legal framework has contributed to decreased maternal mortality caused by unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortion. Despite this progress access to abortion and...

2017:05

Health and Social Protection

Other

Jessica Påfs

Since 1990, maternal deaths have decreased by nearly half – but with stark disparities between countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s lifetime risk of dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth is estimated to be more...

2017:03

Education and Research, Health and Social Protection

Other

Anna Kågesten

Early adolescence is a time of rapid and interconnected physical, cognitive and social changes that has special salience for sexual development. The norms and behaviors adopted during these formative years can carry lifelong sexual...

2017:02

Education and Research, Health and Social Protection

Other

Malin Bogren

The past decades have seen significant achievements in global development goals and targets. Some have led to better access to sexual and reproductive health care. However, for women from poor, marginalized communities, and those...

2017:01

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Karl Bruno

This study is organized around the central institutions for the agrarian sciences in postwar Sweden: the Agricultural College (Lantbrukshögskolan), the Veterinary College (Veterinärhögskolan), and the College of...

2017:08

Education and Research

Evaluation

Måns Fellesson

This study starts out from the fact that the main determinant of poverty in many low-income countries today is not a lack of natural resources or geographical marginality, but a lack of trained, specialised individuals who could generate...

2017:07

Education and Research

Analysis

David Nilsson, Sverker Sörlin

Research aid was institutionalised in the 1970s as part of Sweden’s growing ambitions on the international development aid scene. This ambition was driven by several motives, such as international solidarity but also economic and foreign...

2017:06

Evaluation of Aid

Analysis

Hilde Reinersten, Kristian Bjørkdahl, Desmond McNeill,

Learning is a key purpose of aid evaluation. So why do aid organisations not learn more from their own experiences? More specifically, why do they not learn more from their own evaluations? Yet learning is but one part of the...

2017:04

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Lars Anell

The aim to set aside one per cent of Sweden’s GNI for development cooperation, the one per cent target, is an expression of Sweden’s solidarity with the poorer parts of the world. It was agreed by the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament)...

2017:03

Health and Social Protection

Review

Jonathan Rushton, Arvid Uggla, Ulf Magnusson

Agricultural development is the basis for economic growth in lowincome countries, with animal production constituting a major component of their agricultural economies. Around 750 million livestock keepers in the world are living on less...

2017:April

Equality

Evaluation

Elin Bjarnegård, Fredrik Uggla

The Expert for Aid Studies decided in 2016 to initiate “on-going evaluation” on the efforts to strengthen gender mainstreaming at Sida until 2018. In total, two interim reports and a final EBA report will be presented. This first...

2017

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2017 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2016 and also briefly summarise our...

2017:02

Democracy and Human Rights, Equality

Review

Anna Mdee, Ella Page, Rachel Marcus

Discrimination on grounds of gender, against particular ethnic groups, on grounds of age, caste, disability or religion is a violation of human rights and an important factor contributing to the high rates of poverty among many...

2017:01

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Andrew Sheriff, Anna Knoll

Increasingly high numbers of refugees and migrants have come to Europe over the past five years seeking protection. Reception systems for migrants and asylum seekers have increasingly been under strain. To investigate the response of...

2016:11

Economic Development, Organisation and Management of Aid

Review

Per Molander

The present report discusses, on the basis of recent social-science literature, policies for global development and development cooperation from the perspective of a small, non-aligned country. The report is based on a review of...

2016:10

Public Administration

Other

Rasmus Broms

The existence of political systems characterized by well-functioning governance and high institutional quality has come to be one of the most discussed fields within the social sciences. Research focusing on developing countries highlights...

2016:09

Education and Research

Other

Johanna Malm

How does China challenge the power of Western donors in Africa? This question has been raised by policy makers, scholars and pundits alike ever since the Chinese presence in Africa started to grow at the turn of the 21st century....

2016:07

Democracy and Human Rights, Public Administration

Other

Aksel Sundström

In most low-income countries, the problem of bureaucratic or small-scale corruption is relatively widespread. This report is based on the premise that the dominant view of what drives officials' choice to engage in corruption is in need of...

2016:08

Democracy and Human Rights, Public Administration

Anders Sundell

Corruption is one of the major obstacles to development in the world. The causes are, however, less understood. A proposed explanation for the failure of anti-corruption reform is that corruption is a collective action problem....

2016:December

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Ulrika Ahrsjö

The question posed in this paper is in whether re-formulated political goals for development assistance lead to reclassifications of individual aid projects, rather than actual reallocations of funds. The study compares...

2016:October

Economic Development, Public Administration

Mapping

Anton Ståhl, Arne Bigsten, John Åke Andersson, Per-Åke Andersson

Sweden’s bilateral aid to Uganda over the period 2000-2015 was fairly extensive, amounting to around 335 million Swedish Kronor (SEK) per year (Openaid 2016). This explorative study aims to map commercial and other economic...

2016:10

Economic Development, Public Administration

Evaluation

Mark McGillivray, David Carpenter, Oliver Morrissey, Julie Thaarup

Sweden’s official aid policy began in 1962. The Government Bill (1962:100) describes how the first steps were taken in the Swedish-Tanzanian aid relationship as early as 1961, when the Nordic Committee of Ministers for the coordination...

2016:09

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Stein-Erik Kruse

Several country studies have tried to measure and assess long-term aggregate impact of external support and end up presenting findings with weak empirical foundation. The learning for the donor – about how to improve its own aid...

2016:08

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Lisa Román, Måns Fellesson

The spirit of the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is mirrored in the recently adopted Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sweden has a comparatively long tradition of PCD through its Swedish version, the Policy...

2016:07

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Cathy Shutt

International development cooperation wants to make a difference and for their work to have ‘results’ on the lives of poor or marginalised people. It was this motivation that led to the 2005 Paris Declaration’s focus on results....

2016:June

Economic Development, Public Administration

Other

Ulrika Ahrsjö

Can foreign aid contribute to attracting private investment to developing countries? This paper applies an instrumental variable strategy developed by Galiani et al. (2014) to data from 35 countries that traversed the middle income...

2018:05

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the financial governance of Swedish ODA at the national level. Many different stakeholders at various levels are involved in the decisionmaking process for Swedish aid including the...

2016:05

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Barbara Befani

In the search for new, more rigorous and more appropriate methods for development evaluation, one key task is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of a broad range of different methods. This report makes a contribution in this sense...

2016:04

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Kristina Jönsson, Magdalena Bexell

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all UN Member States. Attention now turns to realisation of the goals at national level. In light of their broad scope, a clear allocation...

2016:06

Equality

Other

Anja Tolonen

Promoting natural resource extraction as a strategy for economic development is controversial, although a common reality in many developing countries. The research summarized in this brief explores the local welfare effects of largescale...

2016:05

Democracy and Human Rights, Equality, Humanitarian Assistance

Other

Elisabeth Olivius

Considerations of gender have today entered the mainstream of international policymaking and governance to an unprecedented degree. Drawing on an analysis of key humanitarian policy texts and interviews with about 60 humanitarian...

2016:03

Education and Research

Review

Joel Samoff, Jane Leer, Michelle Reddy

Formal evaluations of aid to education have become more frequent, more systematic, and more important in subsequent policy and programmatic decisions. What do we learn from that increasing volume of evaluations? The objective of this...

2016:01

Education and Research

Review

Amy Damon, Paul Glewwe, Suzanne Wisniewski, Bixuan Sun

The study is a synthesis of high quality and rigorous evaluations in the field of education aid in order to direct the Swedish government’s education aid strategy toward investments that have been shown to result in positive impacts on...

2015:01

Business, Democracy and Human Rights

Rasmus Kløcker Larsen, Sandra Atler

Forskaren Rasmus Kløcker Larsen och MR-experten Sandra Atler har skrivit EBA-rapporten ”Business and Human Rights in Development Cooperation – has Sweden incorporated the UN Guiding Principles?. Rapporten innehåller en analys av hur...

2016:01

Public Administration

Analysis

Fredrik Söderbaum, Therese Brolin

Regional cooperation and integration in Africa has deepened and expanded considerably during the last two decades, partly as a result of intesified outside support and financing. Over time, Sweden has provided substantial support in to...

2015:09

Climate and Environment

Review

Ariana Salas, Daniel Ternald, Erin Sills, Eskil Mattsson, Gunnar Köhlin, Madelene Ostwald, Subhrendu Pattanayak

International development assistance is increasingly shaped by climate change concerns.  Climate interventions have become an increasingly important part of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), reaching 15 % of the total bilateral ODA,...

2016:04

Democracy and Human Rights, Economic Development, Education and Research

Other

Elin Vimefall

Most poor people in the world live in rural communities, and they are more likely to be women, children, or members of a minority ethnic group. The research presented in this brief focus on these individuals, the most vulnerable in...

2016:03

Education and Research

Other

Montserrat López Jerez

Several issues remain to be settled before conclusions can be drawn about how colonial institutions interact with long-term development dynamics.What does it mean and how can it be measured? How does it influence the development...

2016:02

Organisation and Management of Aid

Other

Arvid Erlandsson

Within the fields of experimental psychology and behavioral economy, helping decisions has mostly been investigated at the individual level but helping decisions can also occur at the organizational level. This dissertation...

2016

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2016 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2015 and also briefly summarise our...

2016:01

Education and Research

Other

Yumiko Yasuda

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have increasingly become important agents in environmental governance. Many studies discuss the way civil society actors attempt to influence rules and norms. There is limited research, however,...

2015:07

Public Administration

Review

Bo Rothstein, Marcus Tannenberg

Institutional development and corruption have been a major concern in international development cooperation for decades. In the report, the authors address the question of why the development agenda has failed, and what donors should do to...

0

This report aims to summarize the results of research from the Quality of Government approach in terms of its importance for development and aid policy. In the report, Professor Bo Rothstein and Marcus Tannenberg from the University of...

2015:05

Economic Development, Public Administration

Analysis

Matt Andrews

Many donors are working on Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms in developing countries, but these reforms are commonly limited. Observers suggest that the impact can be improved if reforms are designed and implemented in a more...

2015:06

Economic Development, Public Administration

Review

Ari Kokko, Hanna Norberg, Sara Johansson da Silva

Private investment to developing countries has surged since the 1990s with notable impacts on local economies and living standards. This increase the pressure to form new partnerships between private and public actors, so called "Joint...

2015:04

Economic Development, Education and Research

Review

Kjetil Bjorvatn

Young people in low income countries have realistically very minor options to get a job in the formal sector of the economy. Most will instead find themselves in the informal sector, with all the insecurity and low income that it implies....

2015:07

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Michael Jonsson

As the number and scope of peace operations has grown since the early 1990s, the question of how to ensure that ex-combatants do not resort to renewed violence has grown in prominence. The answer has predominantly been to create...

2015:06

Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Johan Brosche

In some regions communal conflicts lead to a few deaths or are solved before they cause any fatalities. In others, these conflicts become very violent and dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people are killed. The Ituri region...

2015:05

Equality, Peace, Security and Conflict

Other

Angela Muvumba Sellström

Which conditions lead to armed group impunity for sexual violence? This dissertation focuses on African armed actors that have been exposed to settlement processes in the post-Cold War period. It is composed of two components. First, a...

2015:04

Democracy and Human Rights

Other

Abrak Saati

Scholarly work has not attempted to analytically differentiate between different types of participation. The term public participation is currently being used in a very wide sense and the proposed link between...

2015:03

Organisation and Management of Aid

Evaluation

Rune Hagen

One of the major points on the so called Paris Agenda on aid effectiveness was the negative effects of aid dispersion – the fact there are too many donors funding too many activities in too many recipient countries. Sweden has undertaken...

2015:02

Evaluation of Aid

Mapping

Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys

An essential difference between international aid and other publicly financed activities is that development cooperation occurs abroad. Both learning and holding decision makers to account is complicated by geographical distance and the...

2015

Evaluation of Aid

Review

By March 31 each year the EBA submits a report to the Government of Sweden summarising the content and conclusion of our reports and seminars. In the 2015 Aid Review we present work conducted during 2014 and also briefly summarise our...

2014:05

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys

One way to define and understand official development assistance (ODA) is as a donor country's total costs for its work to achieve its aid policy goals The aim of this study is to chart out the part of Swedish development assistance...

2014:04

Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Christopher Humphrey

A significant part of Swedish development assistance is channeled through multilateral development banks. One of these is the African Development Bank, AfDB. The Africa focus of Swedish development assistance makes the bank an important...

2015

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

The Expert Group for Aid Studies

The study Svenskt statligt internationellt bistånd i Sverige – en översikt (2014:05) maps out how Swedish international aid has been evaluated during 2013. The data used in the report is available here. The findings were presented...

2014:03

Democracy and Human Rights

Mapping, Review

Lars G Svåsand

International party assistance (IPA) has become part of the international efforts to assist new democracies, andhence part of international democracy assistance. Well-functioning parties and party-systems are considered to perform...

2015:03

Health and Social Protection, Public Administration

Other

Johan Sandberg

Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have been widely promoted for their ability to simultaneously pursue the twin objectives of short-term poverty alleviation and long-term poverty reduction. Yet, CCTs’ alleged capabilities concerning...

2015:02

Education and Research

Other

Veronica Brodén Gyberg

This dissertation investigates how Swedish official aid policy constructed the role of research for development in low-income countries between 1973 and 2008. The overarching purpose of the study is to contribute to an understanding of how...

2014:02

Health and Social Protection

Analysis

Gavin Yamey, Helen Saxenian, Robert Hecht, Jesper Sundewall, Dean Jamison

In 2013 the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health (CIH) published Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a Generation. The report laid out a series of opportunities for donors, low-income countries, and lower middle-income...

2015:01

Democracy and Human Rights

Other

Agnes Cornell

This Development Dissertation Brief (DDB) summarizes Agnes Cornell’s dissertation Institutional Impediments and Reluctant Actors - The Limited Role of Democracy Aid in Democratic Development. The dissertation examines why and under what...

2014:August

Economic Development, Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Mats Hårsmar

The aim of Swedish international development assistance is to help reduce poverty. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether projects and programmes in a selected number of Swedish partner countries focus on what research have...

2014:August

Economic Development, Organisation and Management of Aid

Analysis

Bob Baulch

The Development Assistance Committee’s peer review of 2013 notes that “Sweden’s aid remained largely as it was at the time of the last peer review: thinly spread across a wide range of countries and sectors”. The review...

2013:December

Organisation and Management of Aid

Mapping

Mapsec

The purpose of this study was twofold. One task was to find out how Swedish support to multilateral organisations has evolved over the last 15 years. Another purpose was to investigate what information could be found in publically...

2014:01

Evaluation of Aid

Description of method

Anders Olofsgård

The report explores the role of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in evaluations of the impact of aid-financed activities. The first part looks at how RCTs have been used in research and practice to promote evidence-based development...