FWC of Bilateral Organisations

GLOBAL EVALUATION AND MONITORING (FCDO, 2023-2026)

GFA is a partner in a consortium implementing the Global Evaluation and Monitoring Framework Agreement (GEMFA), the primary mechanism used by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to carry out its monitoring and evaluation assignments, in an effort to promote sustainable development and end poverty.
GFA is contracted to provide service provision under two specific lots, both focused on improving the impact and value for money of the FCDO’s development spending while supporting the effective delivery of the its strategic objectives.

Lot 2 – Independent and third-party monitoring
This lot provides oversight by verifying the accuracy and quality of implementing partners' systems, observing implementation, gathering beneficiary feedback, and validating results, particularly in payment-by-results programmes. It supports learning by identifying areas for improvement and informing new programme designs. Different types of monitoring include results monitoring (progress against targets and unintended consequences), input and activity monitoring (implementation processes), situational monitoring (contextual risks and assumptions), and compliance monitoring (financial and legal adherence). Increasingly, real-time data is used to enable timely decision-making, particularly through Third-Party Monitoring (TPM), which is crucial in insecure contexts where FCDO staff face access restrictions.

Lot 4 – Monitoring, evaluation and Learning (MEL)
This lot focuses on assessing and improving the impact, value for money, and accountability of development programmes while supporting learning and decision-making. Monitoring tracks progress through data on inputs, processes, and outcomes. Evaluation objectively analyses programme design, implementation, and results using OECD DAC criteria: relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. MEL includes process evaluations (implementation analysis), impact evaluations (measuring attributable changes), and value-for-money evaluations (cost-benefit analysis). Methods range from qualitative and quantitative research to experimental and theory-based approaches, using diverse data sources such as administrative records, primary data, and big data. It also incorporates learning tools like synthesis methods, portfolio evaluations, and data verifications to support adaptive and informed programming.

Monitoring and Evaluation enable the FCDO to learn about what works to tackle poverty and promote growth at country and international level.

The framework agreement covers the seven core themes and priorities for the UK’s Overseas Development Assistance:

• Climate change and biodiversity: Promoting greener and cleaner paths to growth in developing countries.
• COVID and global health security: Combating COVID-19 and supporting healthier and more resilient populations in developing countries.
• Advancing global commitment: Enrolling 40 million girls in school and enabling 20 million more to achieve reading proficiency by the age of 10.
• Science, research, technology: Delivering cutting-edge technology and research-led solutions in health, education, resilience, low carbon technologies, agriculture and economic development, conflict, and poverty.
• Open societies and conflict resolution: Strengthening democratic institutions, human rights, free media, and effective governance.
• Humanitarian preparedness and response: Leading stronger collective international response to crises and famine.
• Trade and economic development: Developing future trading and investment partnerships.

 
Geographical scope of services

• Global coverage: Including the UK and a wide range of different geographic locations and contexts.
• Focus on ODA-eligible countries: Primarily serving countries eligible for ODA, including fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS).
• Regional priorities: Continued emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region and Sub-Saharan Africa, as highlighted by the Foreign Secretary.
  

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR AGRICULTURE AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT (SIDA – 2024-2026)

GFA is a consortium partner in a 24-month Framework Agreement for Agriculture and Market Development with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). SIDA collaborates with civil society, government agencies, the private sector, and universities in Sweden and internationally, partnering with major global actors such as the UN, EU, and World Bank. In this partnership, GFA enhances SIDA’s initiatives by providing specialized expertise across the following thematic areas:

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
SIDAs support for market development is focused on empowering women and men living in poverty to actively participate in, contribute to, and benefit from economic growth. The ultimate beneficiaries of SIDA’s market development programmes are the world’s poorest and most marginalized populations, ensuring that economic development reaches those who need it most. The thematic areas encompass the following key development priorities:

• Private sector development: Enhancing value chains, supporting SMEs and smallholders, improving business environments, advancing digital entrepreneurship, expanding financial inclusion, and strengthening business organisations.
• Trade policy and development: Improving trade policies, implementing agreements, financing trade infrastructure (roads, energy, ICT), enabling private sector participation, promoting sustainable and digital trade practices, and fostering responsible value chains and e-commerce.
• Productive employment and decent work: Creating jobs, including digital and green opportunities, enhancing skills, employability, labour markets, working conditions, incomes, labour rights, and social dialogue.
• Digitisation for development: Building inclusive digital ecosystems, enhancing connectivity, developing digital public infrastructure, and promoting innovation, ICT regulation, and accountable digital tools.

 
AGRICULTURE
The agriculture portfolio covers over 100 contributions with diverse support to multiple goals in 26 strategies. Key funding areas include global economic development strategies, bilateral efforts in Kenya, and regional strategies in Africa and Asia-Pacific, with most funds going to NGOs and multilateral organisations. The thematic priorities are as follows:

• Agriculture sector development and food systems: Promotes integrating small-scale producers into value chains through sustainable production, risk diversification, addressing yield gaps and food loss, and fostering innovation and green job creation.
• Food security: Addresses hunger and malnutrition, emphasizing fair trade, market access for small producers, and governance reforms to prevent market distortions and conflicts.
• Rural development: Addresses rural poverty and socioeconomic gaps through support for services, trade, infrastructure, digitisation, and access to resources. Plans should be inclusive, transparent, and align with biodiversity and climate goal.

SIDA’s preferred approach for Market Development and relevant for all the areas listed above is the Market Systems Development Approach (MSD). MSD is an approach to achieve scalable and sustainable impacts for disadvantaged populations. It emphasizes an adaptive, evidence-based methodology to improve transactions between individuals, organisations, and institutions within market systems.

For effective support in market development and agriculture, GFA and SIDA as partners identify constraints and opportunities within local, regional, and international market systems. This requires a nuanced understanding of the local business environment and the political economy, which together influence the feasibility of market changes. A strong local presence in partner countries, a long-term perspective, and close collaboration with other stakeholders are essential to deepening this understanding. Supporting market development and agriculture also demands an adaptive approach, with a focus on creating incentives that drive behavioural change within market systems. Innovative solutions, alongside new forms of financing, are crucial in fostering sustainable impact and resilience in these markets.

SECO’S MACROECONOMIC SUPPORT SECTION PROJECT STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS (2025-2029)

GFA is a key partner in the fourth phase of the Macroeconomic Support Section Project Strategic Partnerships (PSP), launched by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) for the 2025–2029 period. This initiative is a central component of SECO’s development cooperation efforts, focusing on enhancing macroeconomic stability and promoting sustainable development in partner countries. The PSP framework seeks to strengthen public financial management systems, improve financial sector stability, and create the conditions necessary for inclusive and long-term economic growth. It also integrates gender equality, climate adaptation, and digital innovation as integral priorities, aligning its objectives with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By engaging expert organisations and leveraging their specialized knowledge, SECO ensures its programmes remain adaptable, impactful, and relevant to the challenges faced by its partner countries.

The PSP framework is structured around eight thematic and methodological lots, each designed to address specific areas of expertise. Among the eight thematic and methodological lots tendered in this program, Lot 8 Results-Based Financing (RBF), has been awarded to GFA.
 
Lot 8 - Results-Based Financing (RBF)
Under Lot 8, GFA contributes to the design and implementation of budget support operations at both the central and subnational levels. This includes integrating RBF methodologies into development projects to ensure that funding is tied to the achievement of clearly defined objectives. GFA also assists SECO in developing and refining performance indicators, which are essential for monitoring and evaluating project outcomes effectively. These indicators provide a framework for assessing progress and ensuring that financial resources are allocated efficiently to achieve the targeted results.

Another key aspect of Lot 8 involves the creation of fiduciary risk management tools. These tools are critical for identifying and mitigating financial risks within development projects, ensuring that funding is used responsibly and aligns with SECO’s objectives. By safeguarding financial integrity, the partnership helps build trust and strengthens the foundations for sustainable economic development.

Lot 8 also emphasizes collaboration with other thematic and methodological areas within the PSP framework. GFA works closely with experts from other lots – for example dealing with macro-fiscal management, financial sector stability, and public financial management – to ensure that RBF principles are integrated across the SECO portfolio. This interconnected approach enhances the coherence and impact of SECO’s development initiatives while addressing systemic challenges comprehensively.

Furthermore, cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, climate change, and digitisation are deeply embedded into RBF projects,ensuring that economic interventions contribute to broader societal and environmental goals. For example, climate-resilient budgeting and gender-responsive financial systems are critical issues in which RBF methodologies can drive meaningful change.

The framework contract provides flexibility and allows SECO and GFA to adapt their approaches based on evolving needs and priorities. This adaptability helps the partnership remain relevant over its five-year duration. GFA’s extensive expertise in results-based methodologies in combination with SECO’s commitment to sustainable development positions this partnership to achieve significant and lasting impact.

Contact

Christian Caspar
FWC Unit Manager
E-mail: christian.caspar[at]gfa-group.de

Photo title: YinYang | istockphoto