Evaluation of Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative Support to Civil Society

Norway has ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and supports the 'Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation' (REDD+) framework through Norway's international climate and forest initiative (KOS). Since its inception in 2008, KOS has aimed to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the global south and has allocated nearly NOK 40 billion for this purpose. Of this, NOK 5.9 billion has been directly allocated to civil society organizations, and approximately NOK 4 billion of this funding has been managed by Norad through four rounds of calls for proposals: 2009-12, 2013-15, 2016-20, and 2021-25.

The Evaluation Department at Norad, in collaboration with CMI and Vista Analyse, has conducted an evaluation of the Climate and Forest Initiative's support to civil society. The evaluation explores the extent to which Norad has ensured coherence in support to civil society through KOS to achieve its stated goals.

The purpose of the evaluation is to contribute new knowledge and learning to further strengthen the management of the NICFI civil society support. The evaluation covers the work of the call for proposals in 2019 and the management of the project cycle from 2021-2025 and is based on data collection through documentary analysis and interviews.

The evaluation focused on three dimensions of coherence:

• Learning as a precondition for coherence
• Vertical and horizontal alignment in general among projects; and
• A specific focus on the integration of a rights-based approach in Norad's management of the support to civil society.