A joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Union, the Spotlight Initiative is one of the largest targeted efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls. UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office seconded a senior evaluation specialist to the System-Wide Evaluation Office to manage the final evaluation of the Spotlight Initiative’s first phase (2017-2023). 

The evaluation assessed how the Initiative shaped and influenced programming to address violence against women and girls, the effectiveness of management and operational systems in achieving results at all levels, the quality of partnerships and decision-making processes, the Initiative’s impact on the reform process, including its role in driving transformative change.

Overall, the evaluation found proof of concept for the Spotlight Initiative model while also highlighting areas for improvement. The comprehensive design demonstrates the ability of an integrated, inter-agency approach to ending violence against women and girls, contributing to higher-order changes at regional, national and local levels. The Initiative was able to respond to contextual changes to deliver important results across pillars. The governance model brought together expanded stakeholders with an elevated role for civil society engagement. At the same time, the evaluation found that programme delivery was significantly challenged by a complicated operational model and by limitations in the compatibility of United Nations administrative and financial systems. While some elements and activities of the Initiative show signs of continuation, the sustainability of the overarching approach is still to be determined.