Evaluation of Disability Inclusion in EU-funded humanitarian aid operations (2020-2025)

The Evaluation of Disability Inclusion in EU-funded humanitarian aid operations (2020–2025) assesses how disability inclusion has been integrated into DG ECHO-funded humanitarian interventions five years after the publication of its 2019 Operational Guidance on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The global objective of this evaluation is twofold:

• To provide the relevant EU services and stakeholders with an independent assessment of the extent to which DG ECHO-funded humanitarian interventions have mainstreamed disability inclusion across sectors and contexts, while also supporting disability-targeted actions and relevant policy projects;
• To identify key lessons learned, conclusions, and recommendations to inform decision-makers on how to strengthen disability inclusion in current and future EU-funded humanitarian aid operations, including through improved programming, data use, participation, and accessibility.

The specific objectives are:

• to assess the relevance of DG ECHO’s operational guidance in supporting staff and partners to mainstream disability inclusion in EU-funded humanitarian aid interventions;
• to assess the level, quality, and effectiveness of disability inclusion across all sectors, covering both mainstreaming and disability-targeted actions;
• to assess ECHO-funded policy projects on disability inclusion, including their coherence with EU policy, relevance to global priorities and needs, added value for partners and the broader humanitarian system, and achieved results;
• to assess the capacity of DG ECHO staff and partners to operationalise disability inclusion in programming, including through available requirements, tools, and practices;
• to identify barriers, enablers, gaps, lessons learned, and good practices in disability inclusion, and to develop actionable strategic and operational recommendations for future DG ECHO strategies, policies, programming priorities, guidance, and tools.