Norad Evaluation Department Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm Evaluation of Norwegian support to promote the rights of persons with disabilities Report 1/2012 Evaluation Norad Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation P.O.Box 8034 Dep, NO-0030 Oslo Ruseløkkveien 26, Oslo, Norway Tel: +47 23 98 00 00 Fax: +47 23 98 00 99 Photo: Nora Ingdal/NCG, Save the Children Norway Design: Siste Skrik Kommunikasjon Print: Network Broking/Digital PrintService ISBN: 978-82-7548-623-1 Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm Evaluation of Norwegian support to promote the rights of persons with disabilities February 2012 Nordic Consulting Group Team leaders: Nora Ingdal and Annika Nilsson Team members: Basil Kandyomunda, Malek Qutteina, Jack Makoko, Era Shrestha, Anne Hertzberg, Zozan Kaya and Mari Brekke Mogen Quality-Assurance: Miriam D. Skjørten and Guro Fjellanger The report is the product of its authors, and responsibility for the accuracy of data included in this report rests with the authors. The findings, interpretations and conclusions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Norad Evaluation Department. Note on layout and language The layout of the document has tried to conform to guidelines for accessibility and ease of reading, which require Arial font and left (not full) justification of the text. The report has tried to avoid unnecessary use of acronyms and abbreviations. An easy-read version of the final report will be made available on www.norad.no Disclaimer: The report is the product of its authors, and responsibility for the accuracy of data included in this report rests with the authors. The findings, interpretations and conclusions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Norad Evalua- tion Department. Preface During the last decade the approach to disability has changed from a medical approach to a social and a human rights-based approach where focus is on removing barriers in society. Norway has been among the driving forces establishing a framework for including and mainstreaming disability in development cooperation. How has Norwegian support to the promotion of the rights of persons with disability in the last decade been reflecting this? The purpose of the evaluation was twofold: to document and assess the results of the Norwegian support in the last decade, and to assess the adequacy of the cur- rent 2002 Guidelines for the future, with special reference to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The evaluation offers an overview of Norwegian support to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. Between 2000 and 2010 the total funding targeting per- sons with disabilities was 1,4 billion Norwegian kroner (USD240 million). In addi- tion to the targeted support, the report identifies a few general programs in which disability aspects have been mainstreamed. These projects had a total budget of 1, 6 billion Norwegian kroner of which only a small part (less than 1%) went to facilitating the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The documentation and analysis of Norwegian support in the four case countries Malawi, Nepal, the Palestinian territory and Uganda, and the desk study of the support to Afghanistan, argue for a two-track approach, utilizing gender main- streaming as a model. Targeted initiatives give short term results and empower the rights-holders. Mainstreamed initiatives may take more effort and time, but - when successful – capacitate the governments (duty-bearers) in providing long term and sustainable results by removing barriers for inclusion and universal access. The research team systematically analyzed the Norwegian funded projects in light of a human rights-based theory of change, relying on the assumptions that pro- jects need to empower persons with disabilities and their organizations, as well as Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm iii build the capacity and demand accountability of the duty-bearers to take their responsibility for fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities as stipulated in international conventions and national laws. Ensuring that research, statistics and knowledge are fed into the programming is also a key dimension of this theory of change. The evaluation found that very few stakeholders applied a human rights- based theory of change, but rather focused on service provision which the team suggests is more likely to address immediate needs rather than creating sustaina- ble changes. The main synthesis report is available electronically and in printed version. A braille copy can be downloaded from the web. The four country reports, written in English, are available electronically. As part of Norads efforts of ensuring universal access, the summaries of the country studies are made available electronically, with translations to the relevant local languages Nepali, Arabic and Chewa. In addition an easy-read version in English and Norwegian of the main report is available electronically. In the oral presentations, sign language interpretations were facilitated for the hearing impaired and the deaf. Nordic Consulting Group, in cooperation with researchers from the countries involved, carried out the evaluation and is responsible for the contents of the report, including its findings, conclusions and recommendations. Oslo, February 2012 Marie Gaarder Director of Evaluation iv Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm Acknowledgements The evaluation of the Norwegian support to promote the rights of persons with disabilities has been organised and implemented by Nordic Consulting Group Norway and involved a large number of stakeholders; duty-bearers and rights- holders, in this case, the persons with disabilities themselves. The evaluation was conducted by a team of 11 persons, organised in the follow- ing manner: Evaluation Team Leaders: Nora Ingdal and Annika Nilsson who shared the joint responsibility for the overall report. Country Lead Consultants: Dr Malek Qutteina (the Palestinian territory), Basil Kandyomunda (Uganda), Jack Makoko (Malawi) and Era Shrestha (Nepal). They were fully responsible for the case country reports (printed as separate reports), including the field visits, the data collection and anal- ysis, the write-up and interaction with local and Norwegian rights-holders for validation. They presented the country findings both in Norway and the case countries. They wrote thematic sections on individual empowerment, education, humanitarian aid, research etc. and took full part in the write up of the whole report. Research, statistics and analysis: Anne Hertzberg was in charge of the Afghanistan desk study, and the analysis of Norwegian humanitarian funding; she also took full part in the write up of the main report. Mari Brekke Mogen was responsible for the mapping study and the statistical analysis of the portfolio of Norwegian supported initiatives for the period from 2000-2010; and Zozan Kaya assisted with synthesising previous evaluations and reviews, in addition to backstopping the team with logisti- cal and administrative support. Quality Assurance has consisted of Miriam Donath Skjørten, special needs education expert and Guro Fjellanger, former minister, now lobbyist and advisor, who have provided comments on the country studies and on the final report. The composition of the evaluation team reflected a good balance of gender, age, and abilities. Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm v The evaluation team would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who have willingly shared with us their experience in working with mainstreaming or targeting disability in development and humanitarian assis- tance. Especially people in Norad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassies in the Palestinian territory, Malawi, Nepal and Uganda. A special thanks to Anette Haug in the Evaluation Department of Norad for being an inspiring, flexible and professional colleague. Last, but not least – we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the children, women and men with disabilities – and their organisations, in the countries we visited. We hope that this report might make a small contribution to a more effective, transparent and better coordinated aid that will continue to make a difference in people’s lives. Despite our efforts to validate and check the findings in this report, any error found is the sole responsibility of the evaluation team. Oslo, Stockholm, Blantyre, Jerusalem, Kampala and Kathmandu, 21.11.2011 vi Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm Contents Preface iii Acknowledgements v List of abbreviations xi Executive summary xv 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Background 3 1.2 Scope 3 1.3 Point of departure 4 1.4 Users of the evaluation 5 1.5 Definitions 6 1.6 Evaluation methods 8 1.7 Limitations to reliability and validity 11 2 From charity to rights – a decade of paradigm shift 14 2.1 Disability Time- and Storyline 14 2.2 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 18 3 Theory of change 21 3.1 The model 21 3.2 Different theories of change 23 4 Portfolio Analysis 25 4.1 Trends 25 4.2 Type of interventions 27 4.3 Channels and partners 28 4.4 Types of disabilities 30 4.5 Cause of disabilities 31 5 Achieving the rights of persons with disabilities 33 5.1 Individual empowerment 33 5.2 Capacity development of Disabled People’s Organisations 38 5.3 Government/duty-bearers 42 5.4 Research 43 5.5 Priority sectors 47 5.6 Overall findings on results 59 Mainstreaming