Guidance and methodological resources
Evaluating EU cohesion policy
Performance, monitoring and evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund in 2021-2027 - Staff Working Document SWD(2021)198
The document is intended primarily for national and regional programme authorities. It illustrates how the new rule book provides for a systematic approach to performance and sets out the context in which the common output and result indicators in the fund regulations will be used. The descriptions of the common output and result indicators are annexed to the working document in order to guide the programmes in the use, collection and reporting of reliable performance monitoring data. The indicator targets will be made public on the Cohesion Open Data platform in 2022, after the adoption of the first wave of programmes.
Performance, monitoring and evaluation
- Staff Working Document – including with Annex 1 Common indicator descriptions
ERDF/CF/JTF Common Indicators
Cohesion policy categorisation system
November 2020: Ad Hoc seminar on GHG methodologies 2021-2027 with EIB
- Introduction by DG REGIO
- Introduction by the EIB - Watch the video recording
- EIB: Energy Efficiency in buildings (public buildings, dwellings, SMEs) - Watch the video recording
- EIB: Renewable energy and cogeneration - Watch the video recording
- EIB: Low Carbon Transport & Rail - Watch the video recording
- Wrap up - Watch the video recording
January 2020: Ad Hoc seminar Transport result indicators 2021-2027 with JASPERS
- JASPERS-EIB: Methodological support for ERDF and Cohesion Fund result indicators in the field of transport post 2020
- DG REGIO: 2021-2027 Common result indicators for transport
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR55 Passenger-km
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR56 Passenger-hours
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR64 Cycling
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR60 Freight on Waterways
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR58 Rail Passenger-km
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR101 Rail Passenger hours
- JASPERS-EIB: Indicators - RCR59 Rail Freight
The European Commission has suggested a more results – oriented approach for EU cohesion funding in its legislative proposals for 2014 - 2020.
- Guidance document on evaluation plans
- Concepts and recommendations (revised 2018)
- Additional documents
- Result Indicator Pilot Report
- Task force on outcome indicators – prepared by a team of academics and experts to inform the
reflexions on future cohesion policy :
- Outcome Indicators and targets – Towards a Performance oriented EU Cohesion Policy (Fabrizio Barca, Philip McCann)
- Meeting climate change and energy objectives
- Improving the conditions for innovation, research and development
- Guidance for the Design of Quantitative Survey-Based Evaluation
- Guidance for the design of qualitative case study evaluation
- Good practices in the selection and use of outcome indicators
- Experience of the 2007-2013 Italian Performance Reserve (PR) - measurable objective for public services provision in Mezzorgiorno
- Guide on ex-ante evaluation
- Guidance on the performance framework review and reserve in 2014-2020
- Guidance on evaluation of innovation
- Guidance for the Terms of Reference for Impact Evaluations
- Standardised key terminology
- Approach paper on the common methodology for the evaluation of SMEi in the Member States
- Support to SME initiative evaluation in the Member States
In any programme, the crucial questions are "what do you want to change?" and "how would you know if you have changed it?" These evaluation questions are not just bureaucratic requirements, but the essence of good programming. Impact evaluation mobilises scientific and statistical tools to follow up on these questions.
Impact evaluation in DG Regional Policy falls into two broad categories:
- The "Theory-based" impact approach, which follows each step of the intervention logic and focuses on the mechanisms leading to the observed change, is particularly appropriate for answering the questions "why?" and "how?" and "in what context?" an intervention works.
- The counterfactual impact approach , i.e. the use of control or comparison groups, is particularly useful in answering "how much?" of the change is due to the intervention and comparing the effects of different instruments (or the same instrument applied to different target groups).
The two approaches are complementary and the most useful impact evaluations draw on a mix of methods: counterfactual methods to quantitatively estimate an impact, theory-based methods to understand the underlying mechanisms and the context of an intervention thus helping to modify or generalize it to other contexts.
Conterfactual approach
- Frequently asked questions (FAQS)
- Counterfactual impact evaluations of Cohesion Policy. DG Regional Policy has been working in this field since 2008 and we have a growing body of evidence for impacts. Each evaluation has a non-technical summary.
- Going deeper - reference materials and resources. Includes training opportunities and online reference works
Theory-based approach
- Frequently asked questions (FAQS)
- Guidance on theory- based evaluation
- Going deeper - reference materials and resources .
For further information, support or training opportunities, please contact regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
Evaluating EU cohesion policy
Evalsed – the Guide and the Sourcebook on Methods and Techniques were updated in September 2013. The new versions take account of the Commission's latest Guidance documents for the 2014-2020 funding period and in particular the Working Paper on Concepts and Recommendations. The Sourcebook has major new sections on Impact Evaluation – Counterfactual and Theory Based – and out of date material has been deleted.