REPORT OF THE EVALUATION ECONOMIC JUSTICE NETWORK (EJN) ACTIVITIES: (2003-2009)

Background:
The Economic Justice Network (EJN) was set up in 1997 by the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa (FOCCISA). To assist churches to work together for economic justice. EJN`s mission is to strengthen the commitment of the Church in its advocacy work on economic justice and to act as a catalyst for engaging people in the promotion of just economic and social structures. It also seeks to establish mechanisms to raise the experience and concerns of the marginalised and poor on the agenda of the Church and in society in general. In particular EJN mandate is to contribute to the promotion of economic and social justice in Southern Africa by working with Christian churches in the SADC region in poverty reduction activities focusing on debt, budget monitoring, trade and development, food security and advocacy with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

Purpose/ Objective:
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the activities, results and impact of EJN`s work on trade, dept and finance, food security and SADC in relation to its primary stakeholders the NCCs (National Council of Churches) and FOCCISA. The evaluation further expect to assess the particular relationship between the EJN Office and the 11 NCCs (FOCCISA) including ownership questions (how involved are the NCCs and Steering Committee) of the programmatic areas. Specifically, the evaluation sought to:
- Evaluate the relevance, impact and effectiveness of EJN`s work over the last six years.
- Evaluate how the four focus areas of EJN is taken up and acted upon by the members NCCs of EJN
- Evaluate whether the role of EJN is relevant and appropriate for FOCCISA or whether it should change?
- To propose recommendations to strengthen the work of EJN.

Methodology:
The evaluation used a methodology consisting of desk review of documents mainly reports; and interviews with the Steering Committee members, NCCs Secretary Generals, staff members and funding partners. The interviews were mainly conducted in Maputo during the EJNs meeting on the role of the Church on Ecological Dept and Climate Change held from 27 -29 July 2009. The views of the development partners were mainly collected through a questionnaire that was e-mailed the partners. The findings were presented to the Steering Committee (SC) on 20th November 2009  and the comments there were incorporated in the final report.

Key Findings:
EJN has done great work and achieved a lot over the last six years. It has implemented very successful and well-appreciated programs, especially in research, advocacy, information sharing, training and capacity building and mobilizing churches, church related organisations and CSOs in the area of debt and finance, trade and development, budget monitoring, food security and SADC Advocacy. Through its work, EJN has improved the level of involvement of National Christian Councils on Economic Justice issues. Through the networking and lobbying EJN has linked important actors and stakeholders and made the churches a moral and influential voice on complex economic justice issues and development in Southern Africa. Further EJN has become an important focal point for North-South exchange and dialogue on economic justice and an epicentre for the Stop EPAs campaign in the SADC region. More importantly, Christian Councils in the region can now effectively engage in economic justice debates at the country level and are able to demonstrate how the bas international trade and development policies and processes are affecting the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable communities in Africa.

Recommendations:
• EJN needs to review its vision, mission and statement of objectives in order to interrogate whether they are still appropriate and relevant in the context of Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa (FOCCISA) and National Christian Councils (NCCs).
• All NCCs need to be inducted on EJN’s statement of vision, mission and objectives and core values.
• To make effective use of the organisation’s niche, EJN needs to carefully review, reorganise and refocus the organisation’s task and functional structure in relation to its NCCs anchor and regional and international platforms.
• There is need to re-brand EJN as a regional resource organisation for churches providing technical services and facilitation on economic justice. It was specifically suggested that EJN be renamed “Economic Justice Institute of FOCCISA”.

Comments from Norwegian Church Aid (if any):
EJN is a valuable strategic partner for NCA’ future work and will continue to support it