External Evaluation of the Disability Rights Fund (DRF)

The DRF is a pooled fund that awards small grants (5,000 to 20,000 $) to grassroots Disabled Persons’ Organizations’ (DPOs) in the global South and in the Ukraine. The grants allow DPOs to raise awareness and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities using the United Nations Convention of the Rights for the Person with Disabilities (CRPD) as their main advocacy tool. The DRF also gives larger grants to National Coalitions of DPOs to advocate for the implementation of the CRPD. DFID, one of the DRF’s major donors, requested that an external evaluation of the fund take place. The evaluation reviewed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, equity and innovativeness of the Fund. In order to achieve this, Universalia conducted a document review using final reports and proposal dockets from 38 different DPOs and National Coalitions of DPOs from 5 different countries (Bangladesh, Ghana, Nicaragua, Peru & Uganda). Field missions took place in Bangladesh and Uganda during which two local consultants conducted in-person interviews and focus group discussions with various stakeholders. Finally, Universalia consultants interviewed dozens of key informants over the phone in the 5 countries mentioned above.