Lithuanian Standards for Evaluation of EU Structural Funds Danutė Burakienė, Head of Evaluation Division of EU Structural Assistance Management Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania 4 July 2013

Evaluation Standards: Higher Quality or a Straitjacket?

The Purpose of Evaluation Standards To improve the evaluation process To enhance the evaluation quality To improve the use of evaluation results

The Context of the Standards About 40 evaluations were carried out during the 2007-2013 period; Presentations of evaluation results were made; Different evaluation capacity building measures were organized; 2 thematic evaluations completed: The Quality of Evaluations of the EU Structural Funds and The Use of Evaluation Findings in 2008-2012;

The Nature of the Standards Standards as methodological guide; Standards include all evaluation implementation stages; Standards define distinguishing features from other evidence-based management tools;

The Content of Evaluation Standards (1) Functions and regulation of evaluation of EU Structural Funds in Lithuania: General and specific evaluation procedures; Sufficient human resources; Effective coordination; Drawing up of an evaluation plan Evaluation of the effectiveness, efficiency and impacts of an operational programme is ensured The relevance of evaluations and proper timetable; Wide cooperation with stakeholders; Partnership in evaluation of EU Structural Funds;

The Content of Evaluation Standards (2) Preparation of an evaluation project: Specification of the need for evaluation; Drafting and structuring the Terms of Reference; Formulation of evaluation aims, objectives, criteria and the object; Implementation of an evaluation project: Data collection, analysis and interpretation; Applying quality control measures; Cooperation between the contracting authority and service provider;

The Content of Evaluation Standards (3) Results of evaluation of EU Structural Funds: Evaluation Report produced in accordance with the Style Guide for EU Structural Funds Evaluation Reports; High quality recommendations; Clear and easy to read Summary of the Report;

The Content of Evaluation Standards (4) Using Evaluation Standards: Using the knowledge created in evaluations; Using insights and proposals presented in evaluations for validating decisions to be made; Implementing recommendations produced in evaluations; The assessment of the Use of Evaluation Findings in 2008-2012 showed that evaluation recommendations stimulated: Administrative changes; Investment/financial changes. Improvement of monitoring system. More active coordination.

The Content of Evaluation Standards (5) Dissemination of evaluation results: Discussion of evaluation findings during the project implementation; Dissemination of evaluation results according to the needs of target groups; All evaluation reports are made available to the general public on the following website: http://www.esparama.lt/vertinimo-ataskaitos

Lithuanian Standards for Evaluation of EU Structural Funds – Higher Quality of Evaluations The Evaluation Standards define high requirements for evaluation and it is likely that they will raise this process to a higher level.

Will the Evaluation Standards Not Become a Straitjacket?

Thank you. Now you are invited to discuss!