The UAE Office for the Coordination of Foreign Aid hosts workshop on humanitarian evaluation

The event was conducted, in Arabic and English, by leading experts in the field, and allowed participants to review current evaluation practices by UAE donors, as well as introducing guidelines to help humanitarian organisations improve the evaluation of their programmes.

Representatives from UAE donor organizations included Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UAE Red Crescent Authority, the Islamic Affairs and Charity Department of Dubai, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable Foundation, the International Humanitarian City, and Dubai Charity.

"This initiative is part of OCFA's on-going commitment to help UAE donor organisations improve the delivery of their humanitarian programmes by facilitating knowledge transfers and bringing international and local aid organizations together to exchange best practices" said OCFA Executive Director Sultan Shamsi.

"The introduction of guidelines for humanitarian evaluation will help the UAE's humanitarian community to ensure that their programmes are reaching those most in need." Al Shamsi added that the workshop emphasized the importance of factoring in evaluations at the earliest stages of project planning.

The event took the form of an interactive and open discussion on humanitarian evaluation through vivid case studies of humanitarian programmes carried out in Somalia and Pakistan. Seasoned humanitarian professionals Ross Mountain, Director General of DARA, and Riccardo Polastro, Head of Evaluation, brought long and wide-ranging experience in humanitarian work around the world.

Speaking at the event, Ross Mountain said, "UAE organizations have contributed generously to humanitarian efforts. Drawing lessons and applying good practice can ensure enhanced impact for the victims of conflict and disasters, whom we seek to help."