The Republic of Lithuania STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL The Republic of Lithuania COUNTERFACTUAL IMPACT EVALUATION (CIE) IN LITHUANIA Presentation for Expert Hearing on Member States Experience on Using Control Groups in ESF Evaluations 25 October 2011, Brussels

First experience on using CIE in Lithuania CIE has been successfully used in the study (July, 2011): “Evaluation of Social Integration Services for Socially Vulnerable and Socially Excluded Individuals for the Effective Use of the EU Structural Assistance for the Period of 2007-2013” Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania

Challenges regarding the use of CIE in Lithuania Lack of awareness by the evaluation community in Lithuania about the essence and purpose of CIE, about the methods – how and when to apply them; Lack of experience in using CIE (only one study was carried out); Insufficient capacity of service providers; Data availability and confidentiality.

Future activities and initiatives to encourage the use of CIE in Lithuania (1) Study on “The Applicability of CIE Methods and Statistical Data Availability for Evaluation of the Impact of EU Structural Assistance for the Period of 2014-2020” Starts in 2012 – Ministry of Finance (MA). Key objectives of the study: Summary of the theory of CIE (what is the essence and purpose of CIE, what are the methods, what are the common areas where CIE is used); Analysis of practical use of CIE methods in Lithuania: real possibilities, data availability, potential practical problems, difficulties or limitations; Case studies of at least 2 EU countries in applying CIE methods; Recommendations on the application of CIE methods for evaluation of the impact of EU structural assistance for the period of 2014-2020.

Future activities and initiatives to encourage the use of CIE in Lithuania (2) 2. Methodological guidelines on CIE methods (provision of practical recommendations to other ministries on how and when to apply CIE methods). 3. Trainings on CIE methods for other ministries will be conducted by international evaluation experts. 4. Discussions with national evaluation experts (service providers) about possibilities and difficulties in applying CIE methods.

Thank you for your attention! STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Thank you for your attention! Laura Miškinytė, Chief Specialist of Evaluation Division EU Structural Assistance Management Department Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania E-mail: l.miskinyte@finmin.lt