Evaluation of the Swedish Development Cooperation Strategy, Colombia 2021-2025

Social protection is a human right with direct effects on poverty, resilience and livelihoods. Well-designed programmes can also improve gender equality and reduce women’s vulnerabilities across the life course.

Purpose and use

This evaluation examines how Sida integrates conflict sensitivity across its strategies and operations, with the purpose of strengthening learning and improving how Sida’s work affects peace and conflict dynamics.

Conclusion

It finds that conflict sensitivity is increasingly embedded in Sida’s portfolio but applied unevenly across contexts. Stronger results emerge where analysis is continuous, partner capacity is high, and adaptation is proactive. Weak monitoring systems and inconsistent feedback loops limit learning and the ability to track outcomes or anticipate risks.

Recommendation

The evaluation recommends establishing minimum standards for conflict sensitivity across all strategies, ensuring regular context updates, strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning systems with simple indicators, and proactively addressing recurring risks such as gender backlash, unequal targeting, and challenges linked to country exits.

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Annexes

Annex 1: Annex list
Annex 2: Country case studies