Evaluation of DG ECHO's Approach to Communication under the Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP)

External communication plays a strategic role in horizontally underpinning DG ECHO’s operational and policy priorities. Even though the DG ECHO (and more generally the EU) backdrop is characterised by fiscal tightening, democratic accountability and visibility of EU as a global actor are of clear importance, thus reinforcing the need to communicate. In 2009, aiming at better impact, information and communication activities implemented by DG ECHO and its partners gradually evolved from a smaller nature linked to individual projects funded through operational Humanitarian Implementation Plans (HIPs) to larger scale communication and outreach campaigns. Thus, since 2010 the implementation of communication campaigns is framed by the HIP for Communication whose objective is to “enhance awareness, knowledge, understanding and support for humanitarian issues”. In 2014, a budget of € 2 million was dedicated to the HIP for Communication.

This evaluation focussed exclusively on communication activities that were funded under the HIP for Communication between 2010 and 2013, with the objective of assessing their relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. The scope of the evaluation also includes an assessment of the two implementation tools used for the HIP, and identifying their main advantages and drawbacks. These tools are 1) joint actions with partners that are financed through grant agreements, and 2) actions that are implemented directly by DG ECHO through service contracts.