Evaluation is a process based on a thorough collection of primary and/or secondary data, their systematic and orderly arrangement, professional processing and subsequent evaluation. The aim is to obtain reliable data for strategic management, management of the Partnership Agreement implementation and coordination of programmes, evaluate effects implemented by intervention and improve the quality, efficiency and consistency of aid from the ESI Funds. Evaluation, if properly carried out and the results are applied, thus contributes to economy in the use of public funds. As far as evaluations in the area of ESI Funds are concerned, the set-up of policies, programmes and programmes, their intervention logic, implementation and effects are evaluated.
The framework plan of evaluation activities is the Evaluation Plan (EP). Creation of an indicative evaluation plan is the first step in the evaluation process. The EP defines basic mandatory evaluation activities under the EC regulation and defines space for ad-hoc evaluations the need for which will be based on monitoring of funds drawing and the course of implementation of programmes, and finally it keeps in mind the development of evaluation capacities.
The creation, updates and fulfilment of the evaluation plan is ensured by the evaluation unit. Implementation and coordination of the fulfilment of the Evaluation Plan of the Partnership Agreement is ensured by the Evaluation Unit of the National Coordination Authority (NCA EU). In its activities, the NCA EU closely cooperates with all relevant partners, managing authorities and MoRD departments and participates in relevant platforms, always in connection with particular activities of the evaluation plan. The main activities of evaluation stakeholders and platforms are illustrated by the attached figure.
To evaluate the interventions of the ESI Funds, four levels should be taken into account on which relevant evaluations will be created:
Evaluation activities ensured from the level of the NCA EU will focus on horizontal evaluations regarding themes that go beyond one programme (most planned evaluations carried out at the level of the NCA EU will include all programmes or programmes in which the evaluated theme is relevant).
Evaluation activities ensured from the level of programme MAs will cover interventions of these programmes or individual specific objectives or themes. Evaluation sub-plans will be created for the level of individual programmes, which will, among other things, include evaluations of objectives of individual priorities in accordance with Art. 56(3) of the General Regulation.
Evaluation activities at the level of individual projects are meaningful in large systemic projects or in pilot or highly innovative projects.
In addition to these three levels, evaluations will be used to evaluate the results of ESI Funds created outside the ESI Funds; these include for example evaluations of various strategies which expect to use the ESI Funds for some of their measures, or academic research, theses or dissertations with the relevant topics.
Outcomes of the conducted evaluations are published in a library of evaluations, which is a virtual tool for sharing evaluation outcomes with the professional and general public.