Keywords Climate change • Swiss International Cooperation • Effectiveness •
Measurement and reporting • Lessons
5.1 Introduction
A stronger focus on results has become common among international development
agencies over the last decade. This is also the case for Switzerland and its two
development agencies, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
1
(Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) and the State Secretariat for Economic
Affairs SECO
2 (Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research).
For SDC and SECO it is important and of great interest to understand what worked
and which interventions were effective, which interventions have not produced
tangible results and what the reasons for success or failure are. Consequently,
Switzerland regularly produces thematic Reports on the Effectiveness of the Swiss
International Cooperation. Following effectiveness reports on Water (2008) and on
Agriculture (2010),
3 the third Report on Effectiveness (2014) was dedicated to
Climate Change. Taking stock of results achieved in international cooperation on
climate change is a challenging exercise. One has to deal with a mass of information,
a broad and highly diverse portfolio and a variety of actors. The consultants had to
build on poorly developed methodologies and few internationally recognized standards for measuring climate change adaptation. They were also confronted with the
lack of explicit climate baseline data and the difficulties in attributing (and aggregating) the effects of mitigation measures to Swiss interventions. Informing the parliament and the greater public on the results in a synthesized but still relevant manner on
the basis of a comprehensive and highly technical report was another demanding task.
The main reason for those significant challenges was the fact that the assessment
of the International Cooperation portfolio of 423 climate change relevant projects
covering the timeframe 2000–2012, was a pioneer undertaking. Switzerland was
one of the first bilateral donors commissioning such an assignment. Consequently,
this assessment is of specific originality and can be considered as a pioneer venture
of a bilateral donor in putting the climate lens on a longstanding development
cooperation portfolio.
The authors’ perspective is that of a donor administration. In this chapter the
results of the assessment are briefly presented. However, the chapter is mainly
focused on the process and presents the lessons of commissioning and conducting
the stock taking on 12 years of Swiss International Cooperation on Climate Change.
It also presents lessons on how to improve the evaluability of climate change
1 www.deza.admin.ch
2 www.seco.admin.ch
3 Available under https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/de/home/resultate_und_wirkung/wirkungs-_
und_jahresberichte.html
and
http://www.seco-cooperation.admin.ch/themen/01033/01130/
05122/index.html?lang¼en
82
M. Egger Kissling and R. Windisch
Measurement and reporting • Lessons
5.1 Introduction
A stronger focus on results has become common among international development
agencies over the last decade. This is also the case for Switzerland and its two
development agencies, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
1
(Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) and the State Secretariat for Economic
Affairs SECO
2 (Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research).
For SDC and SECO it is important and of great interest to understand what worked
and which interventions were effective, which interventions have not produced
tangible results and what the reasons for success or failure are. Consequently,
Switzerland regularly produces thematic Reports on the Effectiveness of the Swiss
International Cooperation. Following effectiveness reports on Water (2008) and on
Agriculture (2010),
3 the third Report on Effectiveness (2014) was dedicated to
Climate Change. Taking stock of results achieved in international cooperation on
climate change is a challenging exercise. One has to deal with a mass of information,
a broad and highly diverse portfolio and a variety of actors. The consultants had to
build on poorly developed methodologies and few internationally recognized standards for measuring climate change adaptation. They were also confronted with the
lack of explicit climate baseline data and the difficulties in attributing (and aggregating) the effects of mitigation measures to Swiss interventions. Informing the parliament and the greater public on the results in a synthesized but still relevant manner on
the basis of a comprehensive and highly technical report was another demanding task.
The main reason for those significant challenges was the fact that the assessment
of the International Cooperation portfolio of 423 climate change relevant projects
covering the timeframe 2000–2012, was a pioneer undertaking. Switzerland was
one of the first bilateral donors commissioning such an assignment. Consequently,
this assessment is of specific originality and can be considered as a pioneer venture
of a bilateral donor in putting the climate lens on a longstanding development
cooperation portfolio.
The authors’ perspective is that of a donor administration. In this chapter the
results of the assessment are briefly presented. However, the chapter is mainly
focused on the process and presents the lessons of commissioning and conducting
the stock taking on 12 years of Swiss International Cooperation on Climate Change.
It also presents lessons on how to improve the evaluability of climate change
1 www.deza.admin.ch
2 www.seco.admin.ch
3 Available under https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/de/home/resultate_und_wirkung/wirkungs-_
und_jahresberichte.html
and
http://www.seco-cooperation.admin.ch/themen/01033/01130/
05122/index.html?lang¼en
82
M. Egger Kissling and R. Windisch