Finally, it is good practice to evaluate your programme periodically. One way to do this is by conducting exit interviews, which can be useful for funding reports as well as for improving the programme. You may also wish to carry out further interviews after a certain period of time to better assess the impact of the programme. For example, interviews could be conducted six months after defenders have left the programme.

A longer-term challenge is how to build an evidence base for the effectiveness of protection and relocation schemes, and how ‘effectiveness’ is assessed. Universities are well placed to assist in developing methodologies and criteria for such evaluations. These evaluations will then help secure funding and support to continue providing protection and relocation opportunities, and thus enable universities to reinvigorate and stand in solidarity with the extraordinary work that human rights defenders do.