Building on a foundation stone: The long-term of a local infrastructure and governance program in Cambodia

The report studies long-term democracy and human rights assistance, the focus in this report is on a specific programme (Seila) for decentralization, local democracy and local economic development. The programme was initiated in 1996, when local democracy in Cambodia was very weak, with the aim to rebuild confidence in government institutions and improve economic welfare from the bottom-up. Supported by Sweden and other donors, the programme was scaled up and institutionalized and achieved nationwide coverage during the 2000s. Nearly 25 years after the pilot, the EBA commissioned this impact evaluation to look at whether the programme contributed to economic development, poverty reduction and strengthened capacity at the local level. The evaluation finds that the programme generated significant socioeconomic benefits and increased economic development in areas reached. The evaluation results suggest that Swedish development cooperation can achieve substantial and long-lasting impacts, even under challenging conditions. The evaluated programme demonstrates that development goals related to local democracy and poverty reduction also can be successfully combined. The evaluation itself finally illustrates that it is possible to assess long-term impact of development cooperation programs using a quantitative, cost-effective, methodology.