Action Plan for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities

The evaluation collected, analysed and assessed the results of the implementation of the Action Plan in a summative and formative manner. In a summative sense, the evaluation provided information on the extent to which the objectives of the Action Plan were achieved and the effects that the measures of the action plan have or had. In a formative sense, the results of the evaluation were used to derive recommendations for the development of a new strategy for the inclusion of people with disabilities, which was to come into force in 2018 but was not completed until January 2020. In its methodological approach, the evaluation paid particular attention to ensuring that the respective rights-holders were able to contribute their experiences, views and assessments.

Based on the obligations of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the BMZ has drawn up a three-year Action Plan for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities, which has later been extended to five years (2013-2017). The overarching goal of the Action Plan is to ensure that the inclusion of people with disabilities is "systematically anchored in German development policy across the board". It comprises the following strategic goals:

1. We lead by example in our own organisation.
2. We promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in our partner countries.
3. We cooperate with other actors.

The Action Plan provides for an "external review of the implementation of the Action Plan at the end of the period".

The evaluation was theory-based: The evaluation team reconstructed a logic model for the intended impacts of the Action Plan. The participating stakeholders of the Action Plan acknowledged the logic model to be appropriate to the target system and the assumptions of the Action Plan.

The evaluation aimed at a human rights-based approach. At the content level, the UN-CRPD and the norms and principles contained therein served as a benchmark for assessing the measures of the Action Plan and their implementation.

At the procedural level, i.e. in the conduct of the evaluation, the human rights principles – in particular principles of the UN-CRPD, such as the principle of participation – were implemented as far as possible. This meant that in all workshops, focus group discussions and interviews questions of accessibility and non-discrimination, autonomy and acceptance of diversity were taken into account. Thus, people with disabilities themselves or disabled people’s organisations representing their interests were included in the various surveys, but also in the recruitment of national experts.

Within the framework of the evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative survey methods were used within a mixed-method approach and supplemented by the analysis of existing data and documents. In addition, a total of five case studies were conducted in bilateral DC projects in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malawi and Togo.

The data collection took place between June and November 2016. The case studies were conducted between July and September 2016. Newer developments from November 2016 onwards could therefore not be taken into account.