an Eldis Resource
Assessment of sustainability elements / key risk factors: practical guide
A practical guide to identifying the effects, risks and impacts of a programme
Authors:
; NORAD
Publisher:
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation , 2007
The Guide is designed to be of practical use when identifying and documenting the effects, impacts and risks of a programme. Specifically, the guide is a supportive document for carrying out screening and assessment of the relevant sustainability elements/ key risk factors. These elements are described in the Development Cooperation Manual (DCM), a quality assurance tool for the management of Norwegian support to Partner Countries efforts to achieve development results.
This Guide contains seven chapters each describing one important sustainability element, based on OECD/DAC’s six areas of particular importance from 1992 but adjusted to existing Norwegian development policy:
- gender equality and women’s empowerment
- environmental sustainability
- HIV and AIDS
- institutional capacity
- conflict sensitivity
- financial management and corruption
- human rights and equality
All seven chapters suggest important and critical questions that may be asked and answered during the Preparatory Phase, the Follow-up Phase and the Completion Phase. In order to facilitate the screening and assessment the Guide suggests identical procedures for addressing all the sustainability elements, although not all are relevant in all programmes.
The guide may be of particular use in the following contexts:
- for programmes assessed locally by the Embassy, the questions in the Guide may be of direct use
- for programmes that involves technical support from Norad the questions may be used when drafting the request for the assignment
- in Sector Programmes or Joint Financed Programmes the Embassy should, in line with the Paris
Declaration, as far as possible harmonize the assessments with other donors.
