Ex post evaluation of ERDF and Cohesion Fund DG REGIO MC meeting 24 November 2016 Cohesion Policy

The ex post evaluation 14 work packages, independent experts 63 programme, 20 project case studies Interviewed: 3 000 beneficiaries; 1 000 Managing authority employees; 530 stakeholders participating in 10 seminars to discuss the results State of the art evaluation methods

Net positive impact for all MSs, even net contributors (GDP, % deviation from baseline)

Crucial support to public investment during the crisis

… leading to a long term reduction in disparities (Regional GDP, Theil index)

Selected achievements About 400 000 SMEs supported Over 5 000 km of new roads (2 400 km TEN-T) About 4 000 km of railway upgraded (2 600 km TEN-T built) About 6 million more people connected to drinking water About 7 million people connected to wastewater treatment In Poland, the share of municipal waste going to landfills was reduced from 90% to 53% Reduced energy use in public buildings in Lithuania (=3% of national energy consumption)

Selected achievements[LV]

Key lessons learned

Results & performance Issue Addressed in 2014-20 by… ~90% of FIs in just 1 field (enterprise support) Regulations allow FIs in all themes and volumes are expanding Broad focus programmes, lacking clear goals Thematic concentration, result indicators Project contribution to programme objectives unclear Project selection criteria must take account of result indicators, better monitoring indicators Making it difficult to track programme progress (other than spending) Regular reporting of results and outputs, performance framework linked to a performance reserve Evaluations often focused on delivery and monitoring Impact evaluation for each of the specific objectives, assessing contribution to results

Performance, transparency and accountability Thematic concentration of resources Clear objectives, measurable results including performance framework and reserve Ex-ante conditionalities Expanded use of financial instruments Smart specialization strategies; Strengthened monitoring; Impact evaluations

Transparency and Accountability 2014-20 Open Data Platform: Detailed data on planned and achieved investments (Dec 2016) i

Thank you! Cohesion Policy at work - 2007-2013: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2016/10/10-07-2016-cohesion-policy-at-work-key-outcomes-of-eu-investments-in-2007-2013 ESIF Open Data Platform:  https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/ Evaluation: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/