Evaluation report: Finland’s Initiatives Focused on Enhanced Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM)
This evaluation focused on Finland’s initiatives on enhanced domestic resource mobilization (DRM). The aim is to help the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) enhance the effectiveness of its support in this area.
Despite the modest level of financing to date, enhancing DRM has been of strategic importance to Finland’s development cooperation. The two Action Plans (AP) on Tax and Development come with an ambitious portfolio and objectives, in line with the government’s commitment to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthen taxation in developing countries, and, as of 2019, uphold corporate tax responsibility principles. The two APs reflect Finland’s pledge to increase official development assistance (ODA) under the Addis Tax Initiative.
Despite some challenges in implementing the Action Plans, MFA has built a credible and balanced portfolio by seizing the right opportunities at the right time, and by carefully selecting its main partners at country, regional, and global levels. There are questions, however, on whether these good stories are sufficient to lead to transformative and lasting results.
The evaluation recommends to prepare a new, rolling Action Plan, based on realistic resource provision, building on Finland’s achievements to date, and taking into account the need for prioritisation and regular monitoring. It states that Finland is well positioned to further demonstrate its commitment to transparent, fair and equitable global tax systems. The evaluation recommends that MFA should ensure that its support remains conducive to synergies and coalition building at country, regional, and global levels, with a continuous emphasis on promoting South-South cooperation.
The evaluation is based on a Theory of Change which outlines how the two Action Plans on Tax and Development (2016-19 and 2020-23) aimed to achieve their objectives. The evaluation evidence was collected and analysed in three blocks:
- Policy and institutional analysis,
- Portfolio analysis and stakeholder mapping,
- Selected partners' achievements and MFA’s contribution.
Evaluation report:
Summary:
Material from the launch event:
Presentation by the Evaluation Team (PDF; 15 sivua; 1 MB)
Policy Messages on Domestic Revenue Mobilization by UNU-WIDER (PDF; 13 sivua; 1,7 MB)