1. Lithuanian case: The challenges of user friendly questionnaire and data validation
Laura Perevičiūtė

2. Collecting data
Participant’s questionnaire form
User friendliness
Calculating the indicators
Completeness and validation checks

3. Collecting data
Data for output is being collected on the first day of participation
Data for immediate result indicators is being collected 28 days after the end of participation
Beneficiary collects the questionnaires and enters the data to IT system.

4. Participant’s questionnaire form
Information on a project participant’s gender, status in the labour market, education and belonging to vulnerable groups
General information on a project participant (name, contact information, date of birth)
Start date
Information on project participant’s compliance with the additional criteria

5. Challenge: a user friendly questionnaire
Co-working with NGO‘s to make the questionnaire more understandable (especially household situation questions)
A detailed guideline that helps to fill in the questionnaire
Closed questions
Minimize the scope of information asked
Aiming to put as much burden on the IT system as possible

6. Employment status Employed Self employed (a footnote with examples)
Employed on other grounds (employment contracts, civil servant, etc.)
Unemployed
6 months
6-12 months
More than 12 months
Inactive
Unemployed student or pupil
Unemployed person who is not in education (examples)

7. Education status Education you already have
1 group: primary (4 grades) or lower secondary education (10 grades)
2 group:upper secondary (12 grades) or professional qualification
3 group: With tertiary education (bachelor, master, doctor degree)
Without primary education( a grown up person without primary education)
Your current participation in trainings
At the moment participating in education programs, trainings, learning courses, etc.
At the moment not participating in education programs, trainings, learning courses, etc.

8. Belonging to vulnerable social groups
Everyone at home is unemployed
Everyone at home is unemployed and there are dependent children
Migrants, people with a foreign background, minorities (including marginalised communities such as the Roma)
Disabled
A person who doesn‘t have a home or who is at risk at losing it
Single parents with dependent children
A person who belong in other vulnerable groups (examples)
A person who doesn‘t belong to any vulnerable group
Not providing information

9. Challenge: a user friendly quationnaire
Date of birth
Unemployed for:
6 months
6-12 months
More than 12 months
Long term unemployed

10. Calculating the indicators
One national level IT system managed by managing authority
The micro data is being entered by the beneficiary
It may be seen only by the employees of the implementing agency who are coordinating the implementation of a project – data protection issue
The IT system calculates indicators: a participant is included if it matches a set of characteristics.

11. Example (1)
Common product indicator „Above 54 years of age who are unemployed, including long-term unemployed, or inactive not in education or training“ includes all participants who match one of these sets of characteristics:
Above 54 + unemployed up to 6 months
Above 54+ unemployed 6 to 12 months
Above 54 + unemployed more than 12 months
Above 54 + inactive not in education or training

12. Example (2)
Common product indicator „Long-term unemployed“ includes all participants who match one of these sets of characteristics:
Up to 25 years old + unemployed 6 to 12 months
Unemployed more than 12 months

13. Completeness and validation checks
Who?
When?
What is being checked?
IT system
Beneficiary entering data into IT system
Completeness of data
Validation tests on micro level
In case of erroneous data IT system informs about critical error (the data about a participant can not be saved in the system till the data is corrected.
Implementing agency
Payment claim check
Eligibility of expenditure
In case of erroneous data agency returns payment claim to beneficiary and asks to correct the data. If beneficiary does not correct the errors, expenditure may be declared ineligible.
Planned on spot checks
Data corresponding with the questionnaires
In case of erroneous data beneficiary may be asked to correct the data. In case of infringement, expenditure may be declared ineligible and recovered.
Participants are connected to expenditure eligibility.
Data is being transferred to indicators only after the expenditure is verified by implementing agency
Spot checks include evaluating if the data in IT system correspond with data provided in the questionnaires forms
Validation tests at aggregate level are being carried out automatically by IT system
Second evaluation of data completeness and validation is being implemented while writing annual implementation report

14. Completeness and validation checks
Who?
When?
What is being checked?
Implementing agency
Unplanned on spot checks
The process of collecting data from participants
In case of infringement, a beneficiary may be asked to correct their procedures, a financial correction may be applied.
IT system
Calculating indicators
Validation tests at aggregate level
In case of erroneous data IT system informs implementing body about the inconsistencies of the data. If it is not an IT problem then implementing body identifies a specific project that has erroneous data and informs beneficiary about inconsistencies.
Managing authority
Annual implementation report
Completeness of data
MA informs implementing body about inconsistencies of the data. Implementing body takes actions described in the step above.
Participants are connected to expenditure eligibility.
Data is being transferred to indicators only after the expenditure is verified by implementing agency
Spot checks include evaluating if the data in IT system correspond with data provided in the questionnaires forms
Validation tests at aggregate level are being carried out automatically by IT system
Second evaluation of data completeness and validation is being implemented while writing annual implementation report

15. To sum up Direct contact with the participant
User friendly questionnaire
Calculating the indicators by combining the data collected
Complete and valid data ensured by different checks

16. Thank you for your attention