European Refugee Response Independent Evaluation
In 2015, the Start Network members began three collaborative responses to large-scale crises: the Central African Republic (CAR) Refugees in Cameroon Response (Cameroon); the Ebola Preparedness Programme (Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast); and the European Refugee Crisis (Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia).
As part of the Start Network Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) services, provided by ACF-UK, an independent, external final evaluation of the European Refugee Response was commissioned and conducted by Groupe URD.
The evaluation assesses the performance of the Start Network Response in achieving results, and contributes to the existing knowledge base on how to effectively and efficiently respond to crises in a collaborative manner. It covers the period from October 2015 to March 2016, and is framed around the evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and collaborative advantage.
The evaluation consisted of interviews with key informants, a documentary review and an online survey with project staff working on the Start Network European Refugee Response.
Fieldwork included interviews and observations in Greece (islands and mainland), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia, and an information-gathering mission to Germany to interview refugees who had potentially been beneficiaries of Start Network agencies due to their transit during the time period and through the countries in which agencies were operating.