Do aid-for-trade-related evaluations tell us more?

This chapter presents the outcomes of the qualitative analysis which are largely consistent with the conclusions reached through the quantitative analysis. It finds that the impact of programmes and projects on trade was clearly not the evaluators’ intended focus, although this is partly due to the absence of trade-related objectives in the initial mandate of programmes and projects. Instead they have referred extensively to broad, development-related concepts such as gender or poverty reduction, but without clearly defining these concepts. Evaluations have also often lacked an adequate or realistic timeframe for measuring results, rarely distinguishing between what is achievable in the short and longer terms, thus providing little insight into whether aid for trade works or why.