Are you aware of the obligations regarding monitoring and evaluation during the management of Operational Programmes and EU-funded projects? Are you able to ensure a high quality of evaluation? Which activities of managing authority have a true added value for applicants and beneficiaries of the individual programmes? What is done unnecessarily in the implementation of the ESI Funds that blocks the administrative capacity? What shall be changed to improve the ESI Funds performance? What is the effect of ESIF funded interventions? Is there an impact on citizens’ life? Do we deliver results?

Evaluation is an essential part of sound management and coordination of assistance from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds). The European Union legislation for the 2014-2020 programming period puts a stronger emphasis on evaluations than before.

Evaluation is a process based on a thorough collection of primary and/or secondary data, their systematic and orderly arrangement, professional processing and subsequent evaluation. Under the ESIF, process evaluations focus on assessing the processes of implementation of programmes in the organisations responsible for their management. The aim of the evaluation and monitoring process is to obtain reliable data for strategic management, management of the Partnership Agreement and coordination of Operational Programmes. The further target is to evaluate effects caused by intervention and improve the quality, efficiency and consistency of aid from the ESI Funds.

The workshop will provide participants with a deeper understanding of what evaluation can/cannot deliver and therefore mainly focus on the presentation of evaluation/monitoring methods and their limits. The goal of the seminar is to increase your ability to design, manage and monitor the evaluations – mainly linked to ESI funds:

• Learn about the inventory of evaluation methods (process evaluation, impact evaluation and counterfactual impact evaluation) and when/how to apply them
• Understand what impact evaluation is and what are the different techniques used for its performance
• Make judgments about the situations (and/or interventions) when impact evaluation is appropriate to use
• Know which kind of evaluation or decision-making questions is best suited to answer the requirements of the European Commission and can ensure the optimal implementation of your programme

Prepare the Terms of Reference for the tender of evaluation services and establish a management plan for cooperation with a sub-contractor