IOD PARC were commissioned by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to undertake an ‘External evaluation of the Geneva Centres’. The three centres are the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). Each centre is constituted as a seperate independent foundation under Swiss law but all three are housed at ‘The Maison de la Paix’ (MdP) – owned by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The Swiss Government – via a contribution from the FDFA – remains the biggest funder, and the Swiss Confederation is represented on the governing boards of each of the centres. Each centre is governed by a Council of Foundation, composed of representatives of Member States.
This evaluation looked at the relevance, effectiveness efficiency and sustainability of the GCSP, the GICHD, and the DCAF, and followed on from an earlier more substantive evaluation undertaken in 2018 which informed the federal dispatch for 2020-23. This evaluation was expected to contribute to the drafting of the dispatch of the Federal Council to Parliament for the period from 2024 to 2027. It was also expected to help provide reflections and options to the Comite de Pilotage (CdP) as to how the work and operations of the three centres might be further integrated/ synthesised to help achieve Swiss foreign policy strategic aims.
