Study of the impact of the work of Save the Children Norway in Ethiopia: Building civil society

This report is part of a series of four reports resulting from a study commissioned by the Evaluation Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 2002. The study examines how Norwegian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) contribute to strengthening civil society in developing countries and assesses the wider impact and the "value added" of their work, in particular with regard to poverty reduction, expansion of democracy and increased respect for human rights. This report focuses on how the current activities of Save the Children Norway (SC Norway) contribute to strengthening civil society in Ethiopia. On the basis of project documentation, interviews with key personnel in the partner organisations, field visits and focus-group discussions with intended beneficiaries as well as community leaders and members of various community based organisations, including school committees, traditional burial societies (iddir), child rights clubs, this study maps outcomes and effects of the SC Norway programme and discusses possible impacts arising from them. Fieldwork was carried out in February and October 2003, as well as March 2004.