1. Support Tools for ESF Evaluation
Jeannette Monier
DG EMPL - Impact Assessment and Evaluation Unit
ESF Evaluation Partnership meeting, Brussels, March, 2015

2. Overview Evaluation Helpdesk run together by DG EMPL and DG REGIO
Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation
Evaluation competition
Thematic networks

3. 1. Evaluation Helpdesk
Preparatory Work underway inter alia on structured approach to assessing evaluation plans
Helpdesk and will provide assessment and summary of Evaluation Plans and later of evaluations
Feeding into reports from 2016 onwards to Council and Parliament on performance based on AIRs and MS Evaluations (article 53 CPR)

4. 2. Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation (CRIE)
Supports Member States by:
Setting up and running Regional Workshops
Preparing and carrying out counterfactual impact evaluations
Providing methodological support to the pilot projects on counterfactual evaluations

5. 3. Evaluation Competition
A greater imperative than ever to ensure that every euro of Cohesion Policy resources is spent to the best effect.
We want to create an incentive for more good quality evaluations on the effects of Cohesion Policy so that we can accumulate evidence about what works for whom, in what context, and why?
And we want to understand better what makes a good evaluation.
Background:
New, stronger requirements for evaluation in , including more impact evaluations.
Great diversity in practice and quality among 721 evaluations of ESF supported interventions carried out between
Limited numbers of evaluations dealing with effects and impact – 5% out of these are for example CIEs

6. Strand A: Best completed evaluations
Scope: Evaluation by any individual or company of the effectiveness of EU Cohesion Policy interventions supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund or the European Social Fund, completed by 31 December 2015
Use at least one of 3 methods:
Ex post cost benefit analysis
Theory based evaluation
Counterfactual evaluation

7. Strand A: Best completed evaluations
Themes:
Research and Innovation
ICT
Enterprise Support
Employment, Skills and Social Inclusion
Large Infrastructure (e.g., environment, transport)
Institutional Capacity Building

8. Strand B: Best evaluation proposal
Proposal for an impact evaluation of Cohesion Policy concentrating on the same themes
Evaluation not started
Preferably using data in a new way – data on the DG REGIO or EMPL websites or data from a national or regional authority
Open to all individuals and participation of young researchers and PhD students is strongly encouraged
Prizes:
Acknowledgement of excellence by recognised international evaluation experts
Invitation to present at a Cohesion Policy Evaluation Conference in May 2016 (expenses paid)
Winners:
At least the 6 best contributions for each strand
But maybe more
Selection criteria:
Quality of methodology
Practical Relevance
Jury of international evaluation experts to be established

9. Conference in 2016 May 2016 – location to be decided Topics:
EU Ex post evaluation results
Best Evaluations & Evaluation Proposals
Best Evaluation Plans
Reflection on usefulness of ex ante evaluations
Please publicise in your networks….

10. 4. Thematic Networks
Art 10 of the ESF Regulation 1304/2013 provides that Member States shall implement transnational cooperation in three different ways:
on the basis of common themes proposed by the Commission and endorsed by the ESF Committee, whereby Member States benefit from an EU-level platform established and operated by the Commission (common framework)
without central coordination (flexible approach)
through a combined approach of the above

11. Key elements of the common framework
The identification of common themes
The establishment of Thematic Networks
The launch of Coordinated Calls
The development of tools which will consist of:
An EU-level partner-search database
A central EU-level website

12. Common themes
We encourage you to start thinking about embedding into the thematic networks how evaluation could support policy in the following areas:
Employment
Inclusion
Youth employment
Learning and skills
Social economy
Governance and Public administration
Simplification
Partnership