Management Response

: Sudan
: 2026 - 2028 , Sudan (CO)
: Evaluation of SIDA Programme Support to UN Women Sudan Country Office (2019-2026)
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Sudan

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UN Women Sudan Country Office (CO) welcomes the independent final evaluation of the three Sida-supported interventions (2019–2026) and appreciates the contributions of Sida, the evaluation team, implementing partners, women-led organizations (WLOs), and the women and girls who shared their experiences under very difficult conditions. Management broadly agrees with the evaluation findings, its overall rating of Satisfactory, and its six conclusions, and accepts all seven recommendations. Management notes in particular that the evaluation recognizes the programme's strong relevance and adaptation to the changing context, including the October 2021 political transition and the April 2023 conflict. The evaluation also recognizes important contributions to women's collective voice, leadership and political agency, while noting that increased presence and consultative influence have not yet consistently translated into formal negotiating or decision-making authority. The HDP nexus was found to be credible, although livelihood gains remain uneven and constrained by access to capital and productive infrastructure. Protection and GBV results were considered credible at process level, while outcome evidence for Project 3 remains preliminary given its stage of implementation. Sustainability was assessed as strongest for normative, network and locally anchored gains, and more constrained where results depend on formal institutions or continued financing. The recommendations will be integrated into the design of the next phase of Sida support, the CO Strategic Note and annual work planning, and, where relevant, the remaining implementation and close-out of Project 3. Implementation will take account of the security, access and funding context in Sudan, as well as safeguarding and fiduciary requirements, and will retain sufficient flexibility to adapt to significant changes in operating conditions. The CO will also follow up on the evaluation's management actions, including completion of outstanding partner advance reconciliation, dissemination of an Arabic summary of the evaluation, and periodic tracking of progress against this management response, including through GATE as required.
: Approved
Recommendation: Consolidate the HDP nexus as an integrated programme model.
Management Response: UN Women Sudan agrees with this recommendation. The evaluation's emphasis on stronger integration is consistent with the Country Office's approach to linking women's leadership and participation with economic empowerment, protection and resilience. Future programme design will seek to make these linkages more explicit while retaining sufficient flexibility to adapt sequencing and implementation to the conflict and access environment.
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Description: Future programming should retain and strengthen the linkage between women's leadership, livelihoods and protection, with explicit sequencing, joint resourcing and shared outcome indicators within a single results framework, ensuring the three components reinforce one another rather than operate as parallel tracks while retaining flexibility to respond to changing conditions.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy, Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM, Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Impact, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Integrated Theory of Change and single results framework. Develop an integrated Theory of Change and a single results framework for the next-phase programme document, with shared outcome indicators across women's leadership, livelihoods and protection. The Theory of Change will explicitly articulate the linkages among the three components, showing how protection and livelihood support contribute to women’s voice and leadership, and will guide the sequencing of community-level programme outcomes. This approach will also inform the 2027 Annual Workplan and be aligned with the relevant outcomes, outputs and indicators of the Country Office Strategic Note. Deputy Representative, with the WPS, WEE and EVAW Programme Specialists and the Planning, M&E team. 2027/05 Not Initiated
Joint resourcing and flexibility in the next-phase budget. Develop a budget for the next-phase programme that reflects the shared outcomes across women's leadership, livelihoods and protection. Identify options for providing women's livelihood groups with additional resources, equipment and facilities to sustain and grow their income-generating activities, subject to available funding. In consultation with Sida, agree on a budget flexibility provision to allow activities and resources to be adjusted in response to conflict-related disruptions and changing needs. Head of Programme / WPS Lead, with M&E and programme leads 2027/05 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Strengthen and progressively localize women-led collective platforms.
Management Response: Management Response agrees with the recommendation in principle. The Peace for Sudan Platform and the Kampala Feminist Declaration are among the programme’s significant results, and participants have expressed interest in taking greater responsibility for managing their activities. In line with the evaluation’s findings that the organizational, financial and fiduciary conditions for transferring greater responsibilities are still developing, UN Women Sudan will explore opportunities to progressively strengthen the capacity and ownership of the Platform and other representative women-led structures, subject to available resources, capacity assessments, applicable partner-management and fiduciary requirements, and safeguarding standards. The evaluation also highlighted the limited participation of women based inside Sudan in some consultations, largely due to security and visa/travel constraints, as well as concerns about the transparency of selection criteria for international delegations. Where feasible and safe, UN Women Sudan will seek to broaden participation, including that of younger women leaders and organizations established during the conflict, while considering digital-security risks, participant safety and the Platform’s cross-factional character.
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Description: UN Women should develop a defined multi-year pathway for transferring convening, agenda-setting and selected management responsibilities to the Peace for Sudan Platform and other representative WLO structures, with appropriate safeguarding and fiduciary oversight, while broadening participation of women based inside Sudan, including younger leaders and organizations formed during the conflict.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and participation in public life, Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership, Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, Youth engagement
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Localization roadmap for Platforms/WLO structures. Develop, in consultation with the Peace for Sudan Platform and selected representative WLO structures, a practical localization pathway identifying responsibilities that could be progressively assumed by these structures, including convening, agenda-setting and selected programme-management responsibilities. The pathway will set out the sequencing of steps and the capacity-strengthening, fiduciary and safeguarding measures and support required, subject to available resources and feasibility. WPS Programme Specialist, with Peace for Sudan Platform/WLO structures leadership. 2027/06 Not Initiated
Strengthening Inclusive and Safe Participation in Platform Convenings and International Delegations. Strengthen participation and selection criteria for Platform convenings and international delegations, and identify practical safety measures to support more inclusive participation by women based inside Sudan and younger women leaders. Measures will consider returnee safety, security and hybrid participation options, as appropriate and feasible. WPS Programme Specialist; Security Focal Point 2027/07 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Deepen localization through sustained investment in trusted national and community structures.
Management Response: The Country Office recognizes the value of trusted local associations and community structures in sustaining programme implementation in conflict-affected settings. The evaluation's concern regarding West Kordofan is based on conflicting partner accounts and should be verified against available risk-management, partner-selection and access records before drawing conclusions about geographic coverage. Subject to due diligence, partner capacity, safeguarding requirements and available resources, the Country Office will seek to prioritize viable local structures and consider continuity arrangements, including flexible follow-on support where conflict, access constraints or disbursement delays disrupt implementation. Engagement in geographically peripheral areas will remain contingent on security, access and the availability of suitable local partners, with remote and partner-led modalities considered where direct implementation is not feasible.
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Description: Future programming should prioritize pre-existing, trusted local associations where viable, drawing on the Green Hands experience, while establishing mechanisms for flexible follow-on support where conflict or access constraints disrupt implementation, with attention to geographically peripheral areas such as West Kordofan.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and participation in public life, Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: National ownership, Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action, Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Relevance, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Partner-selection criteria. Incorporate criteria for locally rooted and trusted national/community structures into the next partnership and programme design process, including provisions for contingency and follow-on support where conflict-related disruption affects implementation. WEE Programme Specialist; M&E team 2027/05 Not Initiated
Access and partner-presence assessment for peripheral areas. Assess the feasibility of engaging trusted, locally rooted partners in geographically underserved areas during the next-phase programme design. Identify suitable partnership arrangements and implementation modalities, taking account of security, access constraints, partner capacity, safeguarding requirements and available resources. Programme Specialist ; Security Focal Point 2027/05 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Strengthen intersectional reach and equitable participation.
Management Response: UN Women Sudan agrees with the recommendation. The Country Office will strengthen attention to intersectionality in programme targeting, participation and monitoring. Given the diversity of Sudanese women and the conflict-related barriers to participation, future programming will seek to make inclusion more deliberate and measurable, while ensuring that relevant programme communications and evidence are accessible to Sudanese women and WLOs, including in Arabic.
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Description: Future programmes should establish explicit inclusion measures and disaggregated monitoring for groups less visible in the evidence base, particularly nomadic women, Beja women and women with disabilities. Programme communications and training should provide appropriate Arabic-language translation, and key findings should be made accessible to Sudanese women activists and WLOs in Arabic.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Ending violence against women, Governance and participation in public life, Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics, Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, Youth engagement
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Monitoring tools. Integrate measures to promote the meaningful inclusion and participation of vulnerable women, with relevant data disaggregation, into the next programme design and monitoring framework. Establish a standard approach for making key programme evidence and learning products available in Arabic, where appropriate. M&E team 2027/06 Not Initiated
Arabic summary and standard Arabic language provision. Translate and disseminate an accessible Arabic summary of the evaluation's key findings and this management response to WLOs, activists and partners, and include a standard budget line for Arabic translation/interpretation in all programme convenings, trainings and key communications. Communication Analyst,WPS program specialist 2027/06 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Consolidate the evidence base for protection and GBV outcomes.
Management Response: Management agrees with the recommendation. At the time of the evaluation, Project 3 had approximately five months of implementation remaining, with completion scheduled for December 2026. Findings on delivery against targets were therefore preliminary, as final monitoring data were not yet available to confirm achievement against several targets, including outreach to GBV survivors and training 400 service providers on GBV/PSEA, with 42 reported to date. The Country Office will complete verification of Project 3 delivery against approved targets and strengthen monitoring of GBV referral, protection and service-access pathways in collaboration with relevant UN partners, within their respective mandates. Monitoring and reporting will distinguish results attributable to UN Women-supported interventions from wider systemic and justice-sector constraints beyond the Organization’s direct mandate, while applying appropriate survivor-centred, ethical and safety standards to GBV-related data.
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Description: Complete verification of Project 3 delivery against approved targets and strengthen end-to-end monitoring of GBV referral, protection and service-access pathways with relevant UN partners, distinguishing clearly between programme-level response capacity and systemic justice-sector constraints beyond UN Women's direct mandate.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Ending violence against women, Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics, Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM, Humanitarian action, UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Verification of Project 3 delivery against ProDoc targets. Complete a documented verification of Project 3 delivery against approved ProDoc targets, including partner data verification and spot checks covering, among others, the four multipurpose women's centres, women and girls reached with GBV services, and service providers trained on GBV/PSEA. In consultation with relevant UN partners, agree on practical monitoring measures for GBV referral, protection and service access within UN Women's mandate. Present the verified results in the final report to Sida, clearly distinguishing programme-level results from wider justice-system constraints. EVAW/GBV Programme Specialist; M&E team 2027/07 Not Initiated
Reconciliation of outstanding partner advances. Complete liquidation and reconciliation of the approximately USD 1.1 million in outstanding partner advances and share updated utilization and delivery figures with Sida. Programme staff, Operations Manager and Finance Associate. 2027/07 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Strengthen outcome-level measurement from programme inception.
Management Response: The Country Office recognizes the need to strengthen outcome-level measurement from the outset of programme design, particularly in an environment where conflict, inflation, displacement and market disruption can significantly affect results. Future programme designs will therefore distinguish between immediate outputs, initial income-generating activity and sustained changes in economic agency and livelihoods.
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Description: Future programmes should establish realistic outcome baselines and indicator protocols at design stage, including standardized measures for civic/political participation, economic agency, income change and market access, distinguishing initial income-generating activity from sustained productive scale and accounting for inflation and conflict-related economic deterioration.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and participation in public life, Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics, Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency, Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Outcome baseline at inception. At programme design, establish standardized indicators and data-collection tools for civic and political participation, economic agency, income change and women’s market access. Conduct a realistic outcome-level baseline using these measures within the first three months of implementation. The measurement approach will distinguish changes in behaviour or performance from output-level results M&E team 2027/09 Not Initiated
Partner M&E capacity strengthening. Develop and deliver a harmonized M&E support package for relevant implementing partners. Include indicator reference sheets, data-collection tools and reporting templates for the agreed outcome indicators. Orient relevant partner staff on using the package and document completion through the finalized materials, orientation records and a review of partner monitoring tools for alignment. M&E team 2027/09 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Strengthen coordination and coherence across existing WPS mechanisms, funding streams and partnerships, building on UN Women Sudan's leadership of the Gender Theme Group and WPS Taskforce.
Management Response: UN Women Sudan agrees with the recommendation. The Country Office will continue to use existing coordination mechanisms, including the Gender Theme Group and WPS Taskforce, to strengthen information-sharing and coherence across WPS initiatives and funding streams. This will build on existing coordination and mapping efforts, avoid parallel structures, and remain responsive to the operational realities of the conflict setting.
More detail
Description: This should include proportionate information-sharing, shared mapping of women-led organizations, and stronger coordination among UN WPS focal points, while linking Sida-supported programming with complementary funding streams where feasible and preserving flexibility to operate in a conflict setting.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Advocacy, Alignment with strategy, Resource mobilization
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Strengthen coordination through existing mechanisms. Use existing WPS Taskforce and Gender Theme Group meetings to strengthen coordination and information-sharing among UN WPS focal points on initiatives, priorities and consultations, and to identify opportunities for greater complementarity among UN partners. Head of Programme / WPS Lead 2027/06 Not Initiated
Strengthen coherence across WPS programming. Undertake a light review of current WPS initiatives and partnerships supported through the Country Office to identify areas of overlap, complementarity and opportunities for better align, and use the findings to inform the next programme planning cycle. Acting Head of Programme / WPS Lead 2027/06 Not Initiated