Both evaluation reports (of the Justice and REC programmes) present an overview of how the funding was distributed and what the programmes have achieved to date. In 2024, a second report will complete the evaluation and assess the long-term impacts and sustainability of the effects of the two programmes.

The evaluations reported very positive and encouraging findings:

• Both programmes were found to continue to be relevant to the changing needs of stakeholders and the general population;
• Nearly all the finalised projects of both programmes achieved the expected results. 95% of the sampled REC projects met their objectives;
• Quantitatively, both the Justice and REC programmes had a staggering impact. In 2018 alone, the Justice programme helped train thousands of legal practitioners. Through information and dissemination campaigns, REC-funded projects reached at least 80 million people;
• Both reports found that the benefits of the programmes outweighed their costs.

To build on these successes, the reports found three main areas for improvement:

• First, the programmes can strengthen the monitoring framework to collect critical data more systematically;
• Second, the programmes should implement additional measures to widen the spread of participation;
• Third, programmes should dedicate even more attention to cross-sectional issues, including gender mainstreaming, children's rights, and the rights of people with disabilities.