Final report on the evaluation of the European Commission approach to communication under the humanitarian implementation plan (HIP) for the period of 2010 to 2013

Given the EU's leading role in the global humanitarian landscape and the strong support of EU citizens, external communication plays a strategic role in horizontally underpinning DG ECHO's operational and policy priorities. Even though the DG ECHO (and more generally the EU) backdrop is characterised by fiscal tightening, democratic accountability and visibility of EU as a global actor are of clear importance, thus reinforcing the need to communicate. In 2009, aiming at better impact, information and communication activities implemented by DG ECHO and its partners gradually evolved from a smaller nature linked to individual projects funded through operational Humanitarian Implementation Plans (HIPs) to larger scale communication and outreach campaigns. Thus, since 2010 the implementation of communication campaigns is framed by the HIP for Communication whose objective is to "enhance awareness, knowledge, understanding and support for humanitarian issues". In 2014, a budget of € 2 million was dedicated to the HIP for Communication.