JOINT EVALUATION OF THE DANISH-BHUTANESE COUNTRY PROGRAMME 2000-09

Bhutan and Denmark have a long lasting working relationship. Denmark has provided development assistance to Bhutan for 30 years, firstly through multilateral agencies from 1978 and later through direct bilateral development cooperation dating back to 1985. In 1989 Bhutan was selected as one of Denmark’s programme countries. Denmark is the second largest contributor of aid to Bhutan (after India), with support being concentrated in the areas of health, education, environmental and natural resource management, urban development, as well as to democratization, good governance, and decentralization.

The main purpose of this joint evaluation – commissioned by the Evaluation Department of Danida and the Research and Evaluation Division of the Gross National Happiness Commission of Bhutan - is to assess and document the relevance and effectiveness of the Danish support over the past ten years (2000-2009) with a particular focus on the outcomes and sustainability of the support given. The evaluation results and lessons learned will contribute to discussions of how to adjust the cooperation during the last programme period 2008-2013 and the subsequent phasing out support in order to consolidate and enhance the sustainability of the outcomes achieved.