Sida funded an independent review of ecbi for its 2011-2013 activities and found that the ecbi has achieved its overall outcomes as outlined in the report. The ecbi was found to fulfil a need not met by other initiatives, attributed to the fact that it does not push a specific agenda, and allows open discussion amongst negotiators in a setting separate from the negotiations process.

The ecbi has become an established presence in the climate change negotiation field - set apart by its participatory, impartial, developing countryled approach, which is rooted in negotiation experience. ecbi input has enabled developing country negotiators to collaborate and develop joint positions. This has led to impacts on negotiation decisions.

One of the key underpinning goals of the ecbi is to build trust between negotiators, both amongst developing country participants, and between those from the developing country and Europe. Respondents communicated strongly that they believed the ecbi is enabling trust building between participating negotiators, and were able to give examples of how this is manifest.

The evaluation also found that participants did feel they were better informed as a result of the ecbi.

Useful examples were identified of how this resulted in a more level playing field, as developing country negotiators and women negotiators often have less access to information resources than other stakeholders in the climate change negotiations. The ecbi also considers gender in its programming and is fulfilling its gender objectives.