Nearly 400 new Structural and Cohesion Fund programmes for the 2021-2027 period are now being implemented. Member States have set up monitoring and reporting systems, and evaluation plans have been agreed on for the new period. Within this context, are you aware of what the New Regulations say about the new monitoring and evaluation requirements?

Many programme authorities continue to conduct evaluations of their 2014-2020 programmes and projects, as well as planning evaluations for the 2021-2027 period. Are the managing authorities collecting the best possible monitoring and evaluation data? How do we best measure project and programme progress and how do we best measure the impact of interventions? What specific evaluation methods should be used – theory-based or counterfactual? Should we be considering using ex-post CBA?

Member State Recovery and Resilience Fund plans are being implemented rapidly. How do their monitoring procedures and data needs differ from Cohesion Policy?

What you will learn:

This face-to-face course in Prague, over 3 whole days, will cover the following

In Days 1 & 3 we examine the contents of programme evaluation plans and how to conduct impact evaluations (and “evaluations during the programming period”). Dr Vladimir Kváča, a leading evaluation consultant-economist, will help us plan realistic evaluations – ones that are useful for evaluation stakeholders. He will consider the appropriate timing of evaluation studies and the implications for data gathering. We will review a range of evaluation methods – which fall under the broad categories of theory-based and counterfactual evaluations – and consider how the choices made for project and programme evaluations will reflect evaluation questions.
We will also introduce the ex post cost-benefit analysis (ex post CBA) method, which can be used for evaluating infrastructure and other large projects.
Finally, we will consider how best to manage evaluation studies, including preparation of the Terms of Reference, aspects of fieldwork, and typical live issues for your current/planned evaluations.
Day 2 will deal with the new monitoring and reporting requirements, the choice of programme indicators, data challenges and using the new Performance Framework. Helena Barbořáková, a highly experienced Czech Ministry official, will discuss the lessons learnt from 2014-2020 and the implications of the new requirements for programmes in 2021-2027.
We will review a selection of new Programmes and look at the Reporting template for the new Structural Fund Programmes, highlighting the special link between finance and performance, and how will you report programme progress.
We look at how RRF plans in Member States will be monitored and evaluated