Within the framework of its intermediate evaluation of the ESF in the Italian Objective 1 regions, the ISFOL gathered and interpreted a series of monitoring indicators. In certain cases, the comparisons made between these indicators led to strong and clear conclusions. For example, the part of the programme benefiting the long-term unemployed can be measured by means of three indicators:

• planned expenditure on the long-term unemployed: 18% of the total planned expenditure
• funds committed to the long-term unemployed: 11% of the total funds committed
• funds actually spent for the long-term unemployed: 8% of the total funds spent.

The comparison of these figures clearly shows that the long-term unemployed were successively disqualified at each step of the programmes implementation. For a reader who glances at the table of indicators and sees these three figures in isolation, the information would be meaningless. To identify the problem of the funding not reaching the long-term unemployed, it was necessary to break down these three indicators in terms of the length of unemployment of the direct beneficiary, and for the ISFOL to compare the three pieces of information alongside each other.