Structural and cohesion funds/ESIF

Monitoring, Indicators and Evaluation Plans for EU Cohesion Policy Programmes, 2021-2027

New Structural and Cohesion Funds programmes for the period 2021-2027 have now been agreed and are being implemented. Many Member States are still setting up monitoring systems and writing Evaluation Plans for the new period. Are Member States clear about what the New Regulations say about the new monitoring and evaluation requirements?

About this course

New Structural and Cohesion Funds programmes for the period 2021-2027 have now been agreed and are being implemented. Many Member States are still setting up monitoring systems and writing Evaluation Plans for the new period. Are Member States clear about 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 Managing Authorities collecting the best possible monitoring and evaluation data? Are they clear about how to measure the impact of interventions and what evaluation methods to use – theory-based or counterfactual?

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 is a webinar over 3 days (mornings and afternoons). We will examine:

  • Monitoring requirements, choice of programme indicators, data challenges and the Performance Framework. A Czech Ministry official will assess the lessons learnt from 2014-2020 and the implications of the new requirements for programmes in 2021-2027.
  • Programme and Reporting templates for the new Structural Funds programmes, highlighting the special link between finance and performance, and how will you report programme progress.
  • How the RRF plans in Member states will be monitored and evaluated
  • How to prepare an Evaluation Plan for the new period. Managing authorities must submit these Plans to Monitoring Committees within a year of programme approval. A leading evaluation consultant-economist will help us plan realistic evaluations – ones that are useful for evaluation stakeholders. We will focus on the timing of evaluation studies, the choices for project or programme evaluations on the ground, and consider the implications for data gathering.
  • How to manage evaluation studies, including preparation of the Terms of Reference, aspects of fieldwork, and typical live issues for your current / planned evaluations.

How we work

Break-out groups, mini-workshops, exercises and videos will be used to develop simulations of essential elements of monitoring systems and evaluation plans, in order to provide a clear view of good practice in the key disciplines involved.

Who will benefit most?

  • officials from central, regional and local government, programme officers and managers, involved with the implementation and evaluation of Structural and Cohesion Fund projects and programmes
  • project managers and developers
  • economic and social partners involved in Structural Funds and evaluation activities, such as NGOs, higher education establishments, and consultants.

Online Course
For this online course we make use of Zoom

Programme Organiser
Ms Nancy Vermeulen
Tel: +31 43 32 96 212
n.vermeulen@eipa.eu

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged € 50 for cancellations received within 7 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 1 week before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed.

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Our experts

robin smail new photo 2024
Project leader

Robin Smail

Robin Smail Training & Consultancy

Programme

DAY 1
Monitoring, indicators and the Performance Framework
08.45Opening of ZOOM platform and gathering of participants
09.00Opening of the course and meeting the participants: introduction to the objectives and methodology of the course
09.05The MFF and Next Generation EU: measuring progress and performance for Cohesion Policy programmes and the RRF

  • Complementarity of Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF)
  • Performance and payments; Monitoring and indicators

Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA, Maastricht, Netherlands

09.30Meeting each other: Tour de Table
09.45Monitoring and reporting context and requirements, 2021-2027

  • Key monitoring tasks, indicators and data requirements
  • The Performance Framework – old and new
  • Reporting in 2014-2020 and 2021-2027: moving to real-time reporting
  • Intervention categories and climate and environment targets

Robin Smail, Visiting Expert EIPA and Consultant (UK/IE) (former National Expert EC, and former Senior Executive within Evaluation Division, Scottish Enterprise)

10.30Virtual Coffee Break
10.50Monitoring and reporting context and requirements, 2021-2027 (continued)

  • The new Programme template – baselines and setting targets
  • the Reporting template – measuring progress
  • Fund Regulation Annexes – common indicators
  • indicators and the impact chain

Robin Smail

11.15Workshop break-out groups and feedback: indicators by sector

  • What are we measuring? Programme-specific indicators by sector
  • Issues for indicators

Robin Smail

11.45Short break
11.55Workshop feedback
Robin Smail
12.30Monitoring requirements for RRF

  • Monitoring data and evidence of results for RRF
  • RRF Scoreboard

Marco Lopriore

13.00Q&A
13.15End of first day
Monitoring, indicators and the Performance Framework (contd).
DAY 2
13.00Opening ZOOM platform
13.15Review of day 1
13.20Management Challenges for Monitoring and Data collection/usage

  • lessons learned from 2014-2020: MIS, best indicators, data collection, interpreting data for reporting, programme amendments, closure of operational programme
  • lessons learned from the preparation and negotiation of 2021 – 2027: programme indicators, methodology, data collection

Ing. Helena Viktorie Barbořáková, Managing Authority, Operational Programme – Research, Development and Education, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Czech Republic

14.10Q&A / discussion
14.30Virtual Coffee break
Evaluation and Evaluation Plans
14.45Breakout groups – exercise – evaluation questions
15.05Evaluation and measuring impact

  • Evaluation-policy cycle, evaluation criteria, measuring impact
  • evaluation methods, techniques
  • evaluation and monitoring requirements, 2021-2027

Robin Smail

15.45Virtual Coffee break and meeting our Evaluation Expert
16.00Evaluation Plans – requirements, rationale, reality and a better reality

  • Once upon a time there was an evaluation… (a real sad story)
  • Planning evaluations and planning interventions
  • Evaluation stakeholders’ needs
  • Evaluation types (formative, summative)
  • A good evaluation plan
  • Strategy on what (not) to evaluate

Dr. Vladimir Kváča, former Director-General, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Prague (CZ), and former President of the Czech Evaluation Society

16.55Workshop – Strategy on what (not) to evaluate
17.35End of Day 2
DAY 3
08.45Opening of ZOOM platform
09.00Evaluation Plan and Evaluation questions

  • Asking the right questions
  • Three kinds of evaluation questions (descriptive, normative, causal)
  • Divergent and convergent phase of questions formulation

Vladimir Kváča

09.30Workshop: How to improve evaluation questions?
09.50Data needs for Evaluations

  • Selection of indicators
  • Data sources and mandates to collect data
  • Typical data challenges (not only GDPR)
  • Data collection and verification

Vladimir Kváča

10.15Exercise: Data needs for Evaluations
10.35Virtual coffee break
10.55Exercise: Unit cost benchmarks

  • setting targets, calculating budgets
  • appropriate benchmarks

Robin Smail

11.20Choice of methods and techniques: a quick road map to choosing best methods

  • What limits the choice of methods?
  • Sample sizes, resources, questions
  • Theory-based evaluations, design of case studies
  • Counter-factual evaluations
  • Other methods: including SROI, EIA, ex post CBA

Vladimir Kváča

11.50Short break
12.00Managing evaluation studies – preparing the ground

  • Stages of evaluation
  • Internal, external and mixed team evaluations
  • The Call for Proposal, Terms of Reference
  • Selection and award criteria

Vladimir Kváča

12.40Workshop:  Managing evaluation studies

  • Selection criteria – how to assess the quality

Vladimir Kváča

13.10Feedback, course evaluation
13.15Close of the course

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Monitoring, Indicators and Evaluation Plans for EU Cohesion Policy Programmes, 2021-2027

25 Apr 2023 - 28 Apr 2023
Online
Register before: 18 Apr 2023

Simultaneous interpretation can be offered. Contact the programme organizer for more information and conditions.

 700 per attendee
 630 for EIPA members
Registration closed

Discount policy

EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?

Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount

For a limited number of training courses, EIPA offers an early bird discount.

For more information please contact us.

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Register before: 18 Apr 2023
Registration closed