Calendar of Evaluation Events for Cohesion Policy
The evaluation community of the EU operational programmes for Cohesion Policy meets regularly to discuss issues of monitoring and evaluation of Cohesion Funds. Please see below the list of upcoming related events organized by the European Commission, other EU Institutions, and the Member States.
Coming Events
Past Events
Better Together 2024: Collaborative Thought and Action for Better Evaluation
23 September - 27 September 2024
Venue: - Rimini - Italy
Organised by: European Evaluation Society
Description: The world is in a state of polycrisis, facing urgent challenges like environmental degradation, social injustice, and economic instability. These complex issues require new approaches beyond siloed, linear thinking. Collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and perspectives is essential to develop innovative, inclusive solutions. At the EES-2024 Better Together conference, we will explore how collaboration can lead to more effective, transformative evaluation and social change. This event offers a timely opportunity to leverage the diverse experience of the EES community to reframe evaluation and promote positive impact. Three Strands Focused on Collaboration in Evaluation Collaborative Action: This strand brings together the distinct perspectives of evaluation commissioners, evaluated parties, evaluation users, and evaluators to understand linkages in their experiences with a common issue or subject. Sessions will provide a space to articulate how different evaluation actors have uniquely different vantage points when faced with the same problem, process, or product. Collaborative Thinking: This strand centers on integrating methodology with theoretical, socio-political, philosophical, and ethical considerations to address real-world issues. Sessions will examine how distinct worldviews and ethical concerns can shape methodological approaches to problem-solving. The goal is to advance understanding of how philosophical frameworks informs methodological choices. Collaborative Practice: This strand focuses on intersectoral collaboration engaging experts across fields to solve complex societal problems like climate change, inequality, and health. Sessions will identify how diverse sectors can work together to evaluate and address shared goals for transformative change. Innovative Session Formats Papers Panels “Meet the Evaluation” discussions “Solution Focused” workshops Fishbowl dialogues Poster sessions Emphasis on Inclusion We aim to include diverse voices, with a focus on young evaluators, the Global South, and intersectional perspectives.
9th Evaluation Conference of the Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic
08 November - 09 November 2023
Venue: Ministry of Regional Development CZ, Academy of Public Investments, Pařížská 4, 110 00 - Prague - Czechia
Organised by: Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic
Contact: evaluation@mmr.cz
Description: The Evaluation Conference, which is organized by the Evaluation Unit of the Ministry of Regional Development CZ – the National Coordination Authority, is the largest annual meeting of experts devoted to the topic of evaluations in the field of European funds. The Evaluation Conference annually attracts almost two hundred professionals not only from the Czech Republic, but also from other countries of the European Union. This year's conference will focus on results and impacts of the Cohesion Policy for the period 2014-2020, both at the national and regional level, and from the perspective of selected thematic areas. In the main conference block, one of the largest evaluations that has been carried out in the field of European funds in the Czech Republic will be presented. Simultaneously, current trends and other interesting news from the world of evaluations will be discussed. For more information including the programme, please visit the conference website.
REGIO Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
15 December - 16 December 2022
Venue: ALBERT BORSCHETTE Conference Centre, rue Froissart 36, Brussels (room tbc) - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
ESF+ Evaluation Partnership Meeting
24 November 2022
Venue: tbc - tbc - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Better Regulation Unit
Contact: EMPL-G5-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
8th Evaluation Conference in Prague: Focused on Regions, Cohesion Policy Facts for Evidence Informed Policymaking
03 November 2022
Venue: Ministry of Regional Development CZ, entrance from Pařížská 4, 110 00 - Prague - Czechia
Organised by: Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic – National Coordination Authority
Contact: katerina.gregorova@mmr.cz
Description: This year's conference will discuss evaluation as a basis for evidence-informed decision-making as well as Cohesion policy as a tool for the development of all regions. The conference will be attended not only by representatives of the Czech evaluation community and decision-makers especially at the level of deputy ministers but also international guests (e.g. European Commission, OECD, the European Court of Auditors or representatives of other EU member states). On November 4, 2022, English-speaking conference participants can take part in a workshop focused on the Most Significant Change Technique, lectured by Inka Bartošová (Píbilová).
The 14th European Evaluation Society Conference
06 June - 10 June 2022
Venue: tbc - Copenhagen - Denmark
Organised by: The European Evaluation Society
Contact: eesconference2022@gmail.com
ESF+ Evaluation Partnership
19 May 2022
Venue: CCAB Borschette and online via INTERACTIO - Brussels and online - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Better Regulation Unit
Contact: EMPL-G5-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
REGIO Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States (hybrid event)
19 May - 20 May 2022
Venue: CCAB Borschette, room 4.A and online via INTERACTIO - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
International evaluation conference "Evaluation of ESIF interventions in Europe. Between tradition and innovation" (hybrid event)
05 May - 06 May 2022
Venue: Hotel Radisson Blu-Bucharest and online - Bucharest - Romania
Organised by: The Romanian Ministry of Investments and European Projects, together with the Romanian Evaluation Network
Contact: office@conferintaevaluare.com
Description: The event is dedicated to representatives of the public administration, academic and research environment, experts involved in the public policy and programme evaluation, as well as Romanian civil society representatives interested in aspects related to the evaluation practice. The event will gather around 300-400 participants from Romania and from the European Union Member States. The conference purpose is to support the European approaches to the evaluation of public policy interventions financed during the programming period 2021-2027, based on the lessons learned from 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds evaluations.
REGIO Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
17 September 2021
Venue: Alfandega Conference Center - Porto - Portugal
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
9th Conference on the Evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy
"Shaping Transitions with Evidence"
16 September - 17 September 2021
Venue: Alfandega Conference Center or online participation, hybrid event - Porto - Portugal
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL-CONFERENCE@ec.europa.eu
Description: The Conference will be an opportunity to review the lessons learned from the evaluations carried out in the Member States and by the Commission. It will also be the occasion to discuss the Commission’s own approach to the ex post evaluation of the period 2014-2020. The conference will be held in a hybrid format and will bring together policy makers, national, regional and local authorities, managing authorities, evaluation experts, academics, civil society and other stakeholders from across Europe. It continues the series started in 1995 in Brussels and follows the 8th conference [https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/conferences/cohesioneval2019/] organised in 2019 in Bucharest.
European Social Fund plus (ESF+) Evaluation Partnership
08 June 2021
Venue: virtual meeting - - Other
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The European Social Fund plus (ESF+) Evaluation Partnership is a forum whose main objectives are steering and capitalising on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: a) to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+ b) to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF+ to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments and c) to facilitate the use of results in policy design and implementation.
14th International Evaluation Conference: New reality. Challenges for cohesion policy and evaluation in the post-pandemic era.
27 May - 28 May 2021
Venue: online event - - Other
Organised by: Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development
Contact: ewaluacja@mfipr.gov.pl
Description: The 14th IEC will focus on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the implementation of public interventions, including the evaluation process. The context of the new perspective of the cohesion policy 2021-2027 and the response to economic and social challenges in the near future will also be important. As in previous years, the conference will be attended by national and international academics and experts, as well as representatives of public administration.
European Social Fund plus (ESF+) Evaluation Partnership
21 April 2021
Venue: virtual meeting - - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The European Social Fund plus (ESF+) Evaluation Partnership is a forum whose main objectives are steering and capitalising on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: a) to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+ b) to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF+ to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments and c) to facilitate the use of results in policy design and implementation.
REGIO: Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
19 April - 20 April 2021
Venue: Virtual meeting - Virtual meeting - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
ESF Evaluation Partnership (June 2020)
09 June 2020
Venue: online event - / Virtual meeting - Croatia
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The European Social Fund plus (ESF+) Evaluation Partnership is a forum whose main objectives are steering and capitalising on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: a) to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF+ b) to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF+ to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments and c) to facilitate the use of results in policy design and implementation.
REGIO: Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
26 March - 27 March 2020
Venue: Albert Borschette (CCAB ), room 0C, 36 rue Froissart - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
ESF Evaluation Partnership
11 February 2020
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB) - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The ESF Evaluation Partnership is the major forum for discussion and coordination of ESF and YEI evaluations. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: - to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF - to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments.
XIII International Evaluation Conference
09 December - 10 December 2019
Venue: Q Plus Hotel, - Crakow - Poland
Organised by: Ministry of Investment and Development and Agency for Enterprise Development, POLAND
Contact: Ewaluacja@mr.gov.pl
Description: The main topic for this year’s meeting is: "Innovation, social inclusion and territorial cohesion – preparing for 2021-2027."
8th International Evaluation and Monitoring Conference -
Innovation, Sustainability and Social Inclusion - Preparing for EU 2021 - 2027
21 November - 22 November 2019
Venue: TBD - Budapest - Hungary
Organised by: Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology
Contact: brigitta.sivado@itm.gov.hu
Description: Invited experts in evaluation and monitoring from the European Commission (Directorates-General Regio, Employment, Climate and Environment), from the Member States and international organizations will present their evaluation and monitoring results with a perspective of planning the 2021-2027 round. The conference will primarily focus on evaluations of three key development areas (innovation, sustainability and social inclusion), however monitoring and data security issues will also be discussed.
The Fifth Conference of the NCA Evaluation Unit: Communication of Evaluation Results
24 October 2019
Venue: Ministry of Regional Development, Entrance: Parizska 4 - Prague - Czechia
Organised by: Ministry of Regional Development, Czechia
Contact: lenka.jansova@mmr.cz
Description: This year's conference will look at the issue of “COMMUNICATION OF EVALUATION RESULTS”.
ESF Evaluation Partnership
22 October 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB) - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The ESF Evaluation Partnership is the major forum for discussion and coordination of ESF and YEI evaluations. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: • to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF • to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments.
REGIO: Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
11 October 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette (CCAB ), room 3C, 36 rue Froissart - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE) summer week 2019
26 June - 28 June 2019
Venue: European Commission, Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy - Ispra - Italy
Organised by: The Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation (CC-ME)
Contact: enkelejda.havari@ec.europa.eu
Description: Objective: to share good practices of evaluation of public programmes. Format: June 26-27: Training sessions on CIE techniques with case studies and applications using the Stata software; June 28: Workshop “Impact Evaluation in developed and developing countries” (CIE@JRC), with the participation of experts from international organisations such as the World Bank, European Commission, OECD, academia. Who: The course is designed for practitioners with a basic knowledge of programme evaluation, who would like to advance to intermediate level. Registration deadline: May 24th, 2019
REGIO Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
21 June 2019
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Calea Victoriei 63 - 81 Sector 1 - Bucharest - Romania
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Description: This meeting is dedicated to evaluation of ERDF interventions
Investing in Our Shared Future,
The 8th Conference on the Evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy
20 June - 21 June 2019
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Calea Victoriei 63 - 81 Sector 1,10065 Bucharest, Romania, Tel: +40 21 311 9000, Fax: +40 21 313 9000 - Bucharest - Romania
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL-CONFERENCE@ec.europa.eu
Description: In this event, we invite policy makers, national, regional and local authorities, managing authorities, evaluation experts, academics, civil society and other stakeholders to reflect on the role and exchange views on the contribution of the policy to promoting performance-oriented public investments and to developing a culture of evaluation in Member States. Join us in this dialogue on how the policy can contribute further to the consolidation of a result-oriented approach of EU-wide investments to the benefit of European citizens.
ESF Evaluation Partnership
06 June 2019
Venue: Gibson Hotel - Dublin - Ireland
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The ESF Evaluation Partnership is the major forum for discussion and coordination of ESF and YEI evaluations. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: • to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF • to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments.
8th bi-annual international evaluation conference "Evaluation post 2020: evolution or revolution?"
23 May - 24 May 2019
Venue: Conference and arts centre “Arkangelas“ - Vilnius - Lithuania
Organised by: The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania
Contact: aiste@visionary.lt
Description: The international evaluation conference in Lithuania is a renown forum, attracting speakers and participants from the European Commission, OECD, and the EU countries. The conference provides an international platform for sharing the best ideas and practices, networking, and mutual learning. This year's conference will focus on three main themes: 1) The future of investment evaluation; 2) Changing methods of data collection and analysis for evaluations; and 3) Evidence-based policy making and effectiveness of public interventions. A half-day seminar on the use of big data for monitoring and evaluation will be organised on the second day of the event. There is no participation fee. Agendas and the registration can be found on the conference website
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
20 May - 21 May 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB), room 4D, Brussels - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Description: This meeting is dedicated to the common indicators 2021+
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
11 April - 12 April 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB), room 1A - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Description: This meeting is dedicated to the common indicators proposed for policy objective 2 GREEN EUROPE
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
07 March - 08 March 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB), room 2D - 1040 Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Description: This meeting is dedicated to the common indicators proposed for Smart Europe 2021+
ESF Evaluation Partnership
18 February 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Description: The ESF Evaluation Partnership is the major forum for discussion and coordination of ESF and YEI evaluations. Partnership members are officials in Member States' regional or national administrations involved in evaluation activities. The main objectives of the Partnership are: • to steer and capitalise on evaluation work of actions supported by the ESF • to assess the contribution of actions supported by the ESF to objectives also pursued by other EU instruments.
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
29 January - 30 January 2019
Venue: Albert Borschette Conference Center (CCAB) - 1040 Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: REGIO-EVAL@ec.europa.eu
Description: This meeting is dedicated to the common indicators proposed for Smart Europe 2021+
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
29 November - 30 November 2018
Venue: CCAB, room 3C, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
ESF Evaluation Partnership
08 October - 09 October 2018
Venue: TBC - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
13th European Evaluation Society Biennial Conference - Evaluation for more resilient societies
01 October - 05 October 2018
Venue: Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Centre 154 Egnatias Street, 546 36 THESSALONIKI - Thessaloniki - Greece
Organised by: EES
Contact: registration@ees2018.eu
Description: The leading theme of the EES2018 Conference is “Evaluation for more resilient societies”. The Conference offers 5 days of debates on evaluation in times of financial, geopolitical, environmental and humanitarian crises.
ESF Evaluation Partnership
21 June 2018
Venue: TBC - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
20 June 2018
Venue: CCAB, room 4A, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
Evaluation Summer school - 3 days specific
23 May - 25 May 2018
Venue: Anna Grand Hotel, Balatonfüred, Hungary - Balatonfüred - Hungary
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
Description: Theory Based and Counterfactual Evaluations
Evaluation Summer school - 2 days general
17 April - 18 April 2018
Venue: DG REGIO, BU1 Vip Room - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
Description: Training on Theory Based (TBE) and Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE)
ESF Evaluation Partnership
11 April - 12 April 2018
Venue: TBC - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
05 March 2018
Venue: CCAB, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
ESF Evaluation Partnership
07 December 2017
Venue: TBC - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG EMPL, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Unit
Contact: EMPL-G4-ESF-EVALUATION-PARTNERSHIP@ec.europa.eu
Evaluation Network Meeting with Member States
01 December 2017
Venue: CCAB, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 - Brussels - Belgium
Organised by: DG REGIO, Evaluation and European Semester Unit
Contact: regio-eval@ec.europa.eu
Description: Dedicated meeting on indicators