Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee - The European Training Foundation
Date: 2003-05-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, European Training Foundation, operation of the Institutions, report, vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 22.5.2003
COM(2003) 287 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

The European Training Foundation

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

The European Training Foundation

1. 

INTRODUCTION

This  report  is  being  presented  under  Article  17  of  the  Council  Regulation  establishing  the
European Training Foundation (hereafter the Foundation) which requires that the Commission
creates a monitoring and evaluation procedure for the Foundation and reports on the results of
this  procedure.  This  was  also  the  case  following  the  last  external  evaluation,  completed  in
1997,  which  resulted  in  a  Commission  Communication  to  the  European  Parliament,  the
Council and the Economic and Social Committee1.

This  report  aims  to  provide  an  overview  of  experience  acquired  by  the  work  of  the
Foundation since 1997. In doing so, it takes into account changes in the role, the geographical
coverage, the Community's external relations environment and the activities of the Foundation
since 1997, the consequences of which were reflected in the decisions taken in the Governing
Board meeting held on 27 November 2000 (see section 2).  As its basis, the report draws on
the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the independent evaluator's report provided
by  ITAD,  the  external  contractor  (see section 3).  The  Commission's  experience  in  activities
and  cooperation  with  the  Foundation  has  also  been  taken  into  account,  as  have  the
recommendations  made  by  the  Commission  in  its  1997  Communication.  It  should  be  noted
that the report has been drawn up jointly by all services of the Commission working with the
Foundation, namely DGs Education and Culture (as the responsible DG), External Relations,
Enlargement and EuropeAid.

This report addresses the following topics:

2

3

4

5

1 

Evolution of the Foundation from 1997-2002

Overview of external evaluation process

Main recommendations of the external evaluation report with Commission's reaction
and recommendations, under 6 themes:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

The Foundation's support to the Community's external policies

Communication and transparency

Consequences of enlargement

Internal efficiency and communication

Statutory bodies

Tempus Technical Assistance

Conclusion

COM(97) 379 final of 18.07.1997.

2

                                                
2. 

EVOLUTION OF THE FOUNDATION FROM 1997-2002

2.1. 

Legal basis

The Foundation is a Community Agency legally established by Council Regulation (EEC) no.
1360/90 of 7 May 1990 establishing a European Training Foundation, that entered into force
in October 1993 when the European Council decided on Turin as the seat of Foundation. The
Agency's overall objective, as described by Articles 1 and 2 of the Regulation, is to contribute
to the development of vocational training systems in the eligible partner countries. Vocational
training is described in the Regulation as comprising initial and continuing vocational training
as well as retraining for young people and adults, including management training.

The  Foundation  began  its  activities  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  including  the  current
candidate countries2 and several of the current countries of the Western Balkans region. The
Foundation's Council Regulation was amended in 1994 (by Council Regulation 2063/94 of 27
July 1994) to add the Tacis countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to the geographical
scope3 and then again in 1998 to add the Meda countries (by Council Regulation 1572/98 of
17 July 1998)4. In the Western Balkans region, it was  only  when  the  Regulation  setting  out
the CARDS assistance programme itself was adopted in 2000 that the Foundation extended its
activities to all Western Balkans countries5.

2.2. 

Centre of Expertise development

During the period from 1997 to 2000 the Foundation provided management, technical support
and monitoring of projects and programmes under Phare and Tacis as its main activity. In this
context, it also provided the technical assistance for Tempus.

During 2000, an extensive structured dialogue took place between Commission services (DGs
Education and  Culture,  External  Relations,  Enlargement)  and  the  Foundation.  The  origin  of
this dialogue lay in the need to outline more specific priorities for the Foundation in view of a
fundamental revision of the Community's external relations assistance programmes with third
countries,  this  in  a  climate  of  budgetary  constraint.  There  was  also  a  need  to  identify  more
clearly  the  added  value  of  Foundation  activities  in  accordance  with  the  organisational
arrangements  of  the  new  Commission  that  now  would  include  a  new  actor,  the  EuropeAid
Co-operation  Office.  Finally,  the  Foundation's  role  in  the  candidate  countries  required
revision  in  view  of  the  significant  reorientation  of  the  Phare  programme,  including  the
decentralisation of responsibility for management of funds to the countries themselves.

Within this context, the operational objective of the structured dialogue was to set a medium
term  framework  for  financial  and  staff  resources  at  the  Foundation,  based  on  a  re-focussed
role  and  with  a  clear  delineation  of  activities  and  resources  envisaged  in  each  of  the  four
regions.  This  was  achieved  with  the  adoption  by  the  Foundation's  Governing  Board  in
November 2000 on the Mid-term perspective on staff and financial resources.  According to

2 

3 

4 

5

Bulgaria,  Czech  Republic,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  Hungary,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Malta,  Poland,  Romania,
Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Turkey.
Armenia,  Azerbaijan,  Belarus,  Georgia,  Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Moldova,  Russian  Federation,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
Morocco,  Algeria,  Tunisia,  Egypt,  Jordan,  Israel,  the  Palestinian  Authority,  Lebanon,  Syria,  Turkey,
Cyprus and Malta. The latter 3 countries are candidates for membership of the European Union and as
such are covered by the Foundation‘s activities for candidate countries.
Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Croatia,  Serbia  and  Montenegro,  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of
Macedonia.

3

                                                
this,  the  Foundation  was  to  change  its  profile  and  focus  on  development  as  a  centre  of
expertise  supporting  Community  external  policies  rather  than  a  provider  of  programme
management services, except for Tempus. The Foundation's subsidy and the number of staff
per regional department were also programmed. As a result, staff  numbers were  reduced by
nearly 25%  over  the four-year period, from a total  of 125  down  to  99;  the  profiles  of  these
staff  members  were  also  to  be  adjusted  given  the  new  expertise  role.  There  was  also  a
reallocation  of  budgetary  and  human  resources  away  from  administrative  departments,
Central Services and traditional programme management towards the operational departments
with  content-related  and  regional  expertise.  In  relation  to  the  regions,  there  was  a  shift  in
resources away from the Candidate Countries department towards those for the other regions,
in particular Meda (added to geographical mandate in 1998 only). Within this framework, the
Tempus technical assistance provided by the Foundation to the Commission was to continue,
but with fewer staff resources given the planned end to activities in the Phare region in 2002.

2.3. 

Current priorities and activities

Subsequent  to  this  major  decision,  the  Foundation  has  developed  its  centre  of  expertise
function,  adapting  to  the  Community's  changing  external  policy  priorities,  being  concerned
overall with VET reform as a lever for economic growth, employment and social cohesion in
the partner countries in each of the four regions:

– 

– 

– 

for the candidate countries, preparation for likely accession has been central to
the  Community's  policies.  Human  Resource  Development  is  an  important
priority  in  the  framework  of  the  preparations  and  capacity  building  for
management  of  the  structural  funds;  analysis  of  the  progress,  gaps  and
investment  needs  in  vocational  training,  active  labour  market  policies  and
employment  services  contribute  to  this.  Through  its  Lisbon  strategy,  the
Community has raised the importance of investment in human capital in its aim
to become the most competitive and knowledge-based economy and this is also
reflected in Community activities;

the main objectives of Community assistance to the Western Balkan countries
as  expressed  in  the  CARDS  programme  are  reconstruction  and  democratic
stabilisation,  institutional  and  legislative  development,  sustainable  economic
and  social  development,  and  finally,  promotion  of  regional  co-operation.
Reforms  of  VET  systems,  based  on  the  principles  of  lifelong  learning  and
enhancing  responsiveness  to  local  and  global  socio-economic  needs  and
democratic  values,  contribute  to  democratic  stabilisation  and  to  sustainable
economic  and  social  development.  In  particular,  in  order  to  develop  the
employment potential of the region, underpin economic restructuring and foster
social cohesion, priority is given for example to the reform of initial vocational
education,  promoting  democratic  principles,  quality  education  and  training
opportunities  for  all  and  to  the  re-training  of  the  labour  force  to  increase
qualification levels, adaptability, and entrepreneurship;

the  overarching  objective  of  Community  policies  and  intervention  in  the
Mediterranean  region  is  to  develop  a  shared  area  of  peace  and  prosperity
through  dialogue  and  partnership.  This  integration  process,  supported  by  the
gradual activation  of Association Agreements with each  country,  can  only  be
achieved  by  reinforcing  the  competitiveness  of  productive  sectors  and
increasing the employability of workforces while, at the same time, preserving
a  fragile  social  balance.  In  that  framework,  VET,  as  an  active  labour  market

4

instrument,  needs  to  be  adapted  to  meet  the  requirements  of  cost-efficiency,
effectiveness and relevance when providing the skills needed in the productive
sectors  and  maintaining  social  inclusion.  These  objectives  are  also  amongst
those identified in the recently published and UNDP sponsored ‘Arab Human
Development Report';

– 

Community  policy  for  the  region  of  Eastern  Europe  and  Central  Asia  as
outlined  in  its  Partnership  and  Co-operation  agreements  and  in  the  2000-06
Tacis  programme  indicates  three  main  priorities  for  intervention,  namely
support to institutional and administrative reform in the partner countries of the
region;  support  for  private  sector  and  support  for  addressing  the  social
consequences of transition (including poverty  reduction  measures).  Education
and  training  is  seen  as  a  key  component  in  support  to  these  priorities  and  in
particular,  training  as  part  of  active  labour  market  policy  is  considered  a
significant factor for economic development  and restructuring, with particular
reference  to  management  training  and  training  for  SMEs.  Skills  development
policies are also considered important tools for job creation, income generation
and local development in a poverty alleviation context.

In accordance with these priorities, the Foundation now provides services to five Directorate
Generals  of  the  Commission  (Education  and  Culture,  External  Relations,  EuropeAid,
Enlargement  and  Employment  and  Social  Affairs)  and  as  such  contributes  to  the
programming cycle of the Phare, CARDS, Tacis and MEDA programmes by:

– 

– 

– 

supporting  the  identification,  engineering,  design  and  implementation  of
projects  upon  request  from  the  Commission,  this  differing  substantially  from
the programme management activity carried out before 2000;

piloting activities in key thematic areas linked to the development of vocational
education  and  training  reform  policies  in  selected  countries  in  transition,
including  labour  market  and  management  training  related  issues,  such  as  the
analysis of systems and expert workshops;

spreading information in partner countries concerning policy development, best
practice and innovation in the Member States and at the European level and in
particular,  ahead  of  accession,  the  assessment  of  candidate  countries'  systems
and  their  familiarisation  in  Community  polices,  priorities  and  benchmarks  in
vocational training and lifelong learning; and

– 

facilitating contacts amongst key actors.

2.4. 

Subsidy

A  key  part  of  evolution  of  the  Foundation  from  1997  to  the  present  has  been  the  level  and
nature of its subsidy. This comes from the external relations chapter of the Community budget
and, since 2000, has been split between two budget lines - one from DG External Relations
(B7-664) and one from DG Enlargement (B7-033). The subsidy drawn from B7-664 is itself
drawn  from  the  budgetary  envelopes  of  the  3  external  relations  programmes  relating  to  the
geographical  regions  of  the  Foundation's  mandate,  namely  the  Western  Balkans,  Eastern
Europe and Central Asia and the Mediterranean.

5

The level of subsidy for each  year in the period 2000-2004 was planned in November 2000
under the Governing Board agreement on the mid-term perspectives (see 2.2 above), subject
to  the  annual  budgetary  procedure.  This  subsidy,  constituting  almost  exclusively  the
Foundation's  revenue,  serves  to  fund  the  Foundation's  personnel  (Title  1),  its  infrastructure
and running costs and overheads ensuing  from the execution of statutory tasks (Title 2) and
operational expenditure relating to its specific missions (Title 3).

The  table  below  shows  the  evolution  of  the  subsidy  from  1998-2003  including  the
modification of the  source  of the subsidy away from Phare towards the  other  regions  under
the external relations framework. Annexes 2 and 3 show the full budget evolution (including
funds  committed,  carried  over  and  unused)  and  Activity  Based-Budgets  2000-2004,  to
illustrate in a more representative way how funds have been allocated.

Year

1998

1999

20006

2001

2002

2003

Community subsidy

15.4m

16.2m

16 2m

16.8m
B7-664: 9.24m
B7-033: 7.56m
16.8m
B7-664: 12.8m
B7-033: 4.0m
17.2m
B7-664: 13.7m
B7-033: 3.5m

Number 
temporary agents)

of 

staff 

(all

119

124

119

115

105

104

3. 

OVERVIEW OF EXTERNAL EVALUATION EXERCISE

As stipulated by Article 17 of the founding Regulation, modified by the Council Regulation
of 1998, the Commission's procedure of monitoring and evaluation of the Foundation should
be carried out with the help of external experts, with the first results of this procedure to be
submitted in a report to the European Parliament, the Council, and the Economic and Social
Committee before 31 December 2000 and thereafter very three years. The present report was
postponed  due  to  the  strategic  reorientation  in  1999-2000  of  the  role  and  direction  of  the
Foundation,  as  expressed  in  the  key  decisions  on  the  mid-term  perspectives  taken  by  the
Governing Board in November 2000. At that time, the Commission considered it important to
allow  the  Foundation  a  period  of  consolidation  of  its  new  role.  Thus,  experiences  could
develop on which to base the next evaluation process. Duly, in December 2001, after a year's
operation under the new role, DG Education and Culture contracted ITAD Ltd to carry out an
independent  external  evaluation  of  the  Foundation.  This  was  based  on  terms  of  reference
agreed  between  the  Commission  services  and  with  the  Governing  Board.  A  Steering
Committee was established, chaired by DG Education and Culture with representatives from

6 

B7-664 indicates subsidy from the external relations chapter and B7-033 from the Phare chapter.

6

                                                
DGs  External  Relations,  Enlargement,  EuropeAid,  two  Member  States  (Governing  Board
members) and the Foundation.

The  context  of  this  contract  was  the  Foundation's  shift  towards  a  centre  of  expertise  for
vocational  training/human  resources  development  in  partner  countries  considering  the
changes in the Community's external relations programmes and environment. Taking this into
account,  the  main  evaluation  questions  set  out  in  the  terms  of  reference  concerned  the
effectiveness  of  the  Foundation's  activities  and  the  efficiency  of  their  internal  organisation.
On  effectiveness,  the  evaluators  assessed  the  achievement  of  objectives  through  the
Foundation's  various  functions;  stakeholders'  perceptions  of  these  achievements  and  their
added  value,  in  particular  in  support  to  the  Commission;  cooperation  with  CEDEFOP  (in
terms of preventing duplication and ensuring synergy and complementarity)7 and other bodies
and partners; and the information, communication and publications strategy. The provision by
the Foundation of Tempus technical assistance was assessed in the evaluation specifically in
terms  of  its  use  of  staff  resources  and  impact  on  the  Foundation  in  organisational  terms.
Under  efficiency,  the  main  questions  related  to  Work  Programme  preparation  and  quality,
monitoring  and  evaluation,  internal  decision-making,  management  and  resource  allocation
and  staff  development,  and  finally  the  coordination  and  communication  with  the  statutory
organisms, the Governing Board and the Advisory Forum.

The  external  evaluator  used  several  methodological  tools.  A  detailed  evaluation  matrix  was
drawn  up  in  order  to  breakdown  the  main  evaluation  questions  summarised  above  and  in
order for the Steering Committee to see exactly how each question was to be answered. The
evaluators reviewed a significant number of documents relating to the Foundation's activities
and  own  evaluations  over  the  5-year  period.  Interviews  were  carried  out  with  Commission
staff, with MEPs and  with the majority  of  Foundation staff.  Complementing this qualitative
information  were  two  surveys:  one  aimed  at  stakeholders  in  the  Commission,  the  European
Parliament,  the  Member  States,  partner  countries  and  in  other  bodies  and  a  separate  survey
aimed at Foundation staff. In addition, four case studies that represented the different regions,
types of activity, thematic area and period of implementation were selected and visits made to
three partner countries to explore these cases in depth.

The external evaluator submitted three reports to the Commission: their inception report was
accepted on 8th May 2002, their interim report on 25th June 2002 and their final report on 18th
November 2002. The Governing Board discussed the final report, focussing in particular on
the executive summary, at its meeting of November 26 2002.

The aim of this report is to set out the Commission's own reaction to the external evaluator's
final report and recommendations: this is done under six key themes in section 4 below.

4. 

MAIN  RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  EXTERNAL  EVALUATION
REPORT WITH COMMISSION'S REACTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The  Commission  invites  the  Foundation  to  analyse  and  act  upon  all  of  the  evaluator's
recommendations. To contribute to this, under six themes below the Commission summarises
and analyses those findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluator which, in its

7 

CEDEFOP supports the development of vocational education and training (VET) in the Member States
and in the EEA countries by providing research, comparative analyses and exchange of information to
various actors in the field of VET in the Member states within the Community’s vocational education
and training policy.

7

                                                
view,  deserve  highlighting.  In  addition,  the  Commission  gives  where  appropriate  specific
details or proposals for implementing the recommendations.

4.1. 

The Foundation's support to the Community's external relations policies 8

The  evaluator  found  that  the  Foundation  is  a  recognised  EU  centre  of  expertise  among  the
institutional vocational training stakeholders in several partner countries and is an important
partner for the Community in the field of vocational education and training and labour market
reform. The Commission considers from its  own experience that  the  Foundation  has  indeed
been  able  to  build-up  a  solid  reputation  with  regard  to  its  capacity  to  deliver  expertise
services.  However,  there  are  areas  for  improvement  in  the  Foundation's  effectiveness  and
support to the Commission.

4.1.1.  Coherence with Community priorities and policies

The evaluator found that the Foundation, as a Community Agency, must better ensure that its
activities are  coherent at  all times with  Community  strategies  and  Commission  requests  per
region  and  country.  The  Commission  agrees  and  considers  this  to  be  a  priority  for  the
Foundation,  in  order  to  make  certain  that  the  scale  of  its  effort  in  partner  countries  fully
reflects  the  Commission's  programming.  This  implies  more  focus  on  the  Foundation’s
established expertise, notably in VET and labour markets, and on certain priority countries.

It is largely through the elaboration of the Foundation's annual Work Programmes and three
rolling regional frameworks (for Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the
Mediterranean regions) that the expertise offer of the Foundation and the expected activities
can be agreed with the Commission.

In  particular,  the  Commission  recommends  that  these  Work  Programmes  and  rolling
regional frameworks:

- streamline sectoral and geographical initiatives on the basis of Community policy and
operational priorities and the evolution of related approaches. All activities, including the
Foundation's  own  development  activities,  should  be  elaborated  following  closer  ex-ante
coordination  and  cooperation  with  Commission  services,  to  also  create  better  synergy
between  the  Foundation's  planning  cycle  and  that  of  the  Commission.  It  should  also  be
ensured that no activity is a source of ambiguity or confusion in the partner countries that may
not  clearly  see  the  difference  between  the  work  and  role  of  the  Agency  and  that  of  the
Commission;

- are more readable and consistent year-on-year for improved clarity, given that they set
out  vital  information.  They  should  clearly  specify  Agency-wide,  country  and  thematic
objectives and activities in such a way so as to support increased accountability of activities
and  resources.  The  Commission  suggests  the  development  of  more  systematic  and  periodic
reporting,  in  particular  to  its  own  services,  on  the  implementation  of  Work  Programme
activities  during  the  year  and  the  sharing  of  information  on  additional  activities  that  are
introduced or requested.

For  its  part,  the  Commission  is  committed  to  supporting  where  possible  the
Foundation's  contribution  to  vocational  education  and  training  reform  in  partner

8 

See Section 4.3 for specific analysis of the Foundation's support to the Community's external relations
priorities as part of the accession process.

8

                                                
countries and will regularly specify, via the rolling regional frameworks, its expectations
in  terms  of  Community  priorities  to  follow  and  the  focus  for  the  Foundation's  efforts
and  knowledge  development  in  each  region.  The  rolling  regional  frameworks  should  be
used  more  systematically  to  clarify  with  the  Commission  what  constitutes  the  appropriate
level of activity and type of knowledge required in each of the regions where the Foundation
has  a  mandate.  The  Commission  expects  that  this  will  increase  the  effectiveness  of
interventions and support in those countries as well as the level of predictability and planning.

4.1.2.  Links between Work Programme and Budget

The  evaluator  concludes  that  annual  Work  Programmes  should  contain  better  links  to  the
Budget, agreed at same time by the Governing Board. The Commission expects operational
activities to be more explicitly linked to a budgetary allocation so as to ensure a "visibly
responsive  approach  to  budgetary  allocations  of  title  3  funds"9  fully  in  line  with
Community policy priorities.

The Foundation has a solid relationship with the partner countries, but in terms of activities, it
should avoid consuming high levels of resources for one-off initiatives such as seminars and
conferences upon the request of these countries. Such events should be more systematic and
should only address, with close consultation of the Commission, specific issues according to
overall  Community  policy  and  operational  strategies  in  VET  and  labour  market  upgrading
processes in the partner countries.

4.1.3.  Added value and expertise

The  Commission  welcomes  the  evaluator's  conclusion  that  the  Foundation  is  perceived  to
have provided a valuable service and that the comparative advantages of the Foundation as a
Community  Agency  are  complementary  to  the  needs  and  capacity  of  the  Commission
services. The evaluator found that, in particular through activities such as building of capacity
in  partner  countries,  designing  and  implementing  innovative  projects  and  the  definition  of
training needs, the Foundation's operational objectives have been met. Thus, the evaluator, in
analysing  the  expenditure  of  the  Foundation,  found  that  it  has  usefully  allocated  its
operational resources to provide this service.

The evaluator noted evidence of  contrasting perceptions  among Commission services of  the
nature  and  value  of  the  Foundation's  support:  these  vary  both  according  to  the  type  of
provision  to  the  Commission  and  according  to  the  Foundation's  activities,  management  and
degree  of  communication  with  individual  Commission  services  (see  also  section  4.2.1  on
improving  communication  and  transparency).  In  general,  the  Commission  services  see  the
comparative  advantage  of  the  Foundation  as  comprising  networking  abilities,  knowledge  of
the national context of vocational education and training reform and labour markets in partner
countries  and  continuity  of  experience  in  the  partner  countries  and  with  the  Commission.
However, the Foundation's own perception includes additional elements, also in line with the
founding Regulation, such as its role as a clearing house for best practice, the advantage of a
long  term  pragmatic  approach  in  terms  of  understanding  the  needs  in  partner  countries,
practical expertise, a change agent and an important corporate memory.

9 

From  the  ITAD  external  evaluation  report,  volume  I.  Title  3  of  the  Foundation's  budget  covers
operational expenditure, in three parts; Support to the Commission, information activities (the National
Observatories in the main) and Development activities.

9

                                                
Consequently,  to  improve  the  provision  of  expertise,  the  Commission  endorses  the
evaluator's view that the Foundation should research, document and agree its range of
services and knowledge offer in order for this to be coherent with recognised priorities
and expectations at Community level. The Commission encourages the Foundation to focus
on the role it can best play in project identification to support programme implementation and
as a catalyst and policy advisor in the reform of systems in the partner countries of the  four
regions in their mandate, in particular in those where VET has been selected as a core area.

In all three external relations regions, the inclusion of vocational education and training
in country and regional strategies is increasing. In line with Community strategies and
Commission  requests  per  region  and  country,  the  Foundation  should  develop  its
expertise and knowledge in human resources development approaches and best practice,
with regard to active labour markets and employment policies in the overall context of
economic reform. This is of particular importance, for example, for the MEDA region where
the setting  up  of  an  EURO-MED  free  trade  zone  over  the  medium-term  presses  the  partner
countries to make some important structural adjustments that will have an impact in terms of
social and labour market inclusion. The Commission would welcome the development in the
Foundation of more analytical capacity and information on social protection and active labour
market  policies,  in  particular  vocational  education  and  training  in  this  context,  as  a
contribution  to  the  implementation  of  regional  and  country  strategy  papers,  as  well  as  for
example to papers on the Stabilisation and Association process in the Western Balkans region.
These approaches should always take into account the need for sustainability, feasibility and
impact, for example, in countries under the Tacis programme where the structure of the sector
requires comprehensive and long-term reform.

4.1.4.  National Observatories

The National Observatories, set up or strengthened with the Foundation's contribution, are key
instruments in terms of information gathering and exchange in the partner countries10. Their
main functions are to identify priorities and to advise on policies for the further development
of  vocational  education  and  training.  This  also  involves  the  collection  and  dissemination  of
data, in particular for annual reports, and cooperation between partners.

The  Commission  notes  the  evaluator's  conclusion  that  the  National  Observatories  are  well
regarded  by  each  partner  country,  good  value  given  their  co-funded  status  and  that  their
reports are considered to be effective in terms of contributing to the vocational education and
training  reform/development  of  system  process.  This  puts  the  National  Observatories  in  an
important  position  in  terms  of  the  provision  of  information  and  analysis.  The  Commission
welcomes the  Foundation's  flexible approach towards tailor-made  solutions  for  the  National
Observatory  functions  in  each  partner  country,  for  example  in  the  Meda  region,  where  the
function  has  been  provided  through  a  network  of  existing  bodies  and  that  new  dedicated
structures were not required, unlike in the other regions.

The  Commission  will  examine  with  the  Foundation  the  implications  of  the  evaluator's
recommendation  to  establish  a  cross-country  sustainability  strategy  for  the  National
Observatories in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Western Balkan regions.

10 

National Observatories, currently located in 25 partner countries, are independent bodies (some located
in Ministries), co-funded by the Foundation as vital local links for information and assessment of VET
systems. They support the exchange of information between countries, the  collection  of  data  and,  the
dissemination of good practice.

10

                                                
4.2. 

Communication and transparency

The issue of the Foundation's external communication and transparency is intrinsically linked
to the points made above on increasing the effectiveness of support to the Commission. The
improvement of external and strategic communication will help ensure that the Foundation's
activities are always coherent with Community regional and country priorities and strategies.
It  will  also  ensure  greater  clarity  of  the  position  and  role  of  the  Foundation  as  a  centre  of
expertise in particular in the light of the increasing devolution to the Delegations.

4.2.1. 

Improving communication and transparency

The Commission underlines the evaluator's finding that, whilst the Foundation is an effective
organisation, "it has been inefficient in the way it has engaged with its customers and clients
and  in  the  way  it  has  responded  to  changes  in  the  operating  environment."11  Whilst  the
Commission  welcomes  the  Foundation's  recent  efforts  to  promote  itself  and  to  increase  the
efficiency of engagement with Commission, it believes that the Foundation should now put in
place  concrete  measures  to  ensure  the  consolidation  of  this  approach,  both  at  management
level and for all staff. These should focus on a revised more dynamic external communication
strategy, with increased personal communication; it should be also carefully designed so as to
avoid any misunderstandings as to the nature of the Foundation's work as an EU Agency in
support to external policies implemented by the Commission.

A new communication strategy should include:

- a new clear statement of the overall mission of the Foundation. The Commission notes
the evaluator's finding that, at times, Commission services see the expertise in the Foundation
as being individual and not corporate, belonging to the Agency as a whole. This illustrates the
need for a review of the mission statement alongside increased transparency of the know-how
and services the Foundation can offer, for example its experience in partner countries, tested
reform approaches, networking and facilitation, continuity of expertise, local knowledge and
good administration skills;

- systematic and focussed contact management. In order to build on the recognition of the
comparative advantage of the Foundation as a centre of expertise, the Foundation must adopt
a clear Agency-wide approach to establishing, where still necessary, and then maintaining key
contacts, in all Directorates General but in particular External Relations, EuropeAid and the
Delegations.  This  implies  regular  meetings  and  correspondence  at  all  levels,  including  with
senior  Commission  management  in  all  relevant  services.  Furthermore,  this  approach  should
be applicable to  Foundation staff,  who must be  mobilised  by  senior  management  to  convey
the same Agency-level mission statement to all stakeholders. The Commission considers that
this  approach  should  aim  to  reduce  the  gap  between  expectation  and  delivery,  noted  by  the
evaluator, and will strengthen the credibility of the Foundation in all regions of its work.

The Commission is playing its part by establishing a framework for structured dialogue
between  all  relevant  Commission  services  and  the  Foundation;  this  network  of  contact
persons should be utilised systematically by both sides.

11 

From ITAD external evaluation report, Volume I.

11

                                                
4.2.2. 

Information products

The Commission  endorses the evaluator's  recommendation that both the effective  collection
of information and  dissemination of information products are  crucial for the sharing of best
practice  and  for  providing  support  to  the  Commission  and  to  beneficiaries  in  partner
countries. The Commission welcomes initiatives in this direction already undertaken, such as
documents  highlighting  concrete  activities  undertaken  and  the  re-launched  website:  the
development of a light and regular electronic newsletter should also be considered.

The Commission  recommends  that  the  Foundation,  building  on  its  good  dissemination
infrastructure, review the quality and number of reports and information products. The
Commission  agrees  with  the  evaluator  that  these  should  always  be  clearly  linked  to  the
Foundation's  goals,  whilst  also  in  line  with  Community  priorities  and  Commission  requests
and needs and providing operational conclusions. There should be fewer information products
but each should be more analytical and be part of a focussed dissemination strategy aimed at
the key target stakeholders.

4.2.3. 

International bodies

The Commission supports the evaluator's recommendation that the Foundation should pursue
cooperation  and  contact  opportunities  with  other  bodies  so  as  to  maintain  an  up  to  date
knowledge basis in the field of vocational education and training and labour market reform in
third countries. In the case of concrete collaboration in a partner country with an international
organisation such as the World Bank, the Commission encourages the Foundation to keep it
informed.  Such  communication  and  dialogue  will  help  maintain  clarity  between  the
Foundation's  main  role  as  a  centre  of  expertise  in  support  to  the  Commission,  and  the
Commission's own lead role in negotiating areas for donor cooperation.

4.3. 

Consequences of Enlargement

4.3.1. 

Support to the Commission during the accession process

In  the  candidate  countries,  the  Foundation  has  long  assisted  the  Commission  in  preparing
candidate countries for compliance with the acquis communautaire in the area of vocational
education and training and regarding labour market issues.

Foundation activities encompass the provision of input into the design of Phare programme,
as  well  as  to  a  limited  extent  in  their  implementation,  monitoring  and  evaluation:  a
substantive part of the Foundation support has been provided directly to the Delegations in the
candidate countries. The Foundation's reports have been a valuable source of information for
the  Commission's  regular  reporting  on  the  candidate  countries’  progress  towards  accession.
Nevertheless 
operational
recommendations from the Foundation as part of the programming process of the pre-
accession instruments.

the  Commission  would  welcome  more 

specific 

In the light of the likely accession of ten countries in 2004, the Foundation's activities in these
candidate  countries  have  recently  been  decreasing,  leading  to  a  progressive  focus  on  the
priority countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Pre-accession financial assistance in these
priority  countries  will  be  increased  substantively  as  from  2004.  In  this  framework,  the
Commission expects the Foundation to continue to support the design and implementation of
vocational  education  and  training,  human  resource  development  and  labour  market
programmes  under  the  economic  and  social  cohesion  chapter  of  the  pre-accession

12

programmes as well as the in the area of institution building for the management of European
Social Fund-type measures. The Commission recommends that the Foundation establish a
specific work plan to identify the main challenges and intervention areas.

Given the possibility that, in the future, further countries might begin a process of accession
to the European Union, it is of particular importance that the Foundation be in a position to
build on its experience acquired in the context of the current enlargement process. Thereby,
an efficient transfer of knowledge towards these potential new candidate countries should be
guaranteed.

The evaluator confirms that the excellent country monographs the Foundation produced were
well received by the Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs, which was able
to  take  advantage  of  the  Foundation's  established  contacts  in  the  accession  countries,  in
particular in the National Observatories. The monographs are in-depth studies on vocational
training  and  employment  services  in  the  candidate  countries  aimed  at  supporting  the
monitoring  of  the  Joint  Assessment  Papers.  The  Commission  encourages  the  Foundation  to
continue  this  collaboration,  in  particular  as  regards  the  development  of  human  resource
strategies, as the monograph exercise naturally leads the Foundation into further activities to
assist in the preparation of the accession countries for the European Social Fund.

4.3.2.  Policy development in vocational education and training and lifelong learning

The  Foundation  has  maintained  good  cooperation  with  Directorate-General  Education  and
Culture, for example with its valuable contribution to the Commission's consultation process
on  the  Memorandum  on  Lifelong  Learning  in  2000.  As  part  of  its  expertise  development
during  accession,  the  Foundation  should  prioritise  the  familiarisation  of  candidate  countries
with  Community's  current  policy  development  in  the  field  of  lifelong  learning12  and  in
particular  vocational  education  and  training,  such  as  the  Copenhagen  process  in  vocational
education  and  training13.  For  its  part,  the  Commission  will  establish  a  Cooperation
Memorandum with the Foundation for  the  accession period,  with the objective  of  clarifying
when and how the Foundation can concretely support the Commission in the implementation
of these priorities.

4.3.3.  Cooperation between the Foundation and CEDEFOP

Both  CEDEFOP  and  the  Foundation  cover  the  area  of  vocational  training,  but  each  has  a
separate geographical coverage and their missions and tasks are quite different. As such, the
Foundation uses CEDEFOP as a resource for  best practice in Member States in the field of
vocational  education  and  training  and  labour  market  in  the  context  of  third  countries'
economic  reform  whilst  CEDEFOP,  being  an  actor  in  policy  development  in  the  Member
States  can  benefit  from  the  Foundation's  experience  to  date  both  in  the  candidate  and  in
partner countries.

The Commission has always insisted that no overlap or duplication exists between the work
of  the  two  Agencies  and  has  ensured  that  tools  are  in  place  for  the  Agencies  to  achieve
maximum  synergy  and  complementarity.  Prior  to  the  establishment  of  a  firm  timeline  for

12 

13 

Communication  from  the  Commission:  Making  a  European  Area  of  Lifelong  Learning  a  Reality
(COM(2001) 678 final of 21st November 2001)
Declaration  of  the  European  Ministers  of  Vocational  Education  and  Training,  and  the  European
Commission, on enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training (Copenhagen 30
November 2002)

13

                                                
accession,  the  first  phase  of  this  cooperation  began  in  1997  and  aimed  at  ensuring  that  the
Foundation used CEDEFOP as a resource, for example on best practices in Member States. A
second  phase  began  in  2001,  when  the  Commission  and  both  Governing  Boards  agreed,  in
view of the accession process, a Framework for Cooperation between the two Agencies. This
sets  out  the  scope,  principles,  priorities  and  modalities  for  their  cooperation  with  a  view  to
preparing countries for accession whilst also clarifying for them the role of each Agency. The
Framework  for  Cooperation  also  aims  to  avoid  any  possibility  of  duplication  and  to  ensure
maximum synergy and complementarity between the Agencies.

The  Commission  invited  the  two  Agencies  to  put  in  place  several  instruments  to  facilitate
better co-operation - namely, the Framework for Cooperation, the joint annex to each annual
Work  Programme,  the  semi-annual  joint  reports  and  the  Working  Group.  The  Commission
welcomes the evaluator's assessment that these instruments strengthen  cooperation and  have
been effective in providing a clearer basis for cooperation.

The Commission welcomes  the evaluator's  conclusion that the cooperation between the two
Agencies,  as  a  result  of  the  above,  is  largely  adequate  but  considers  there  is  still  scope  for
progress.  There  should  now  be  a  joint  effort  to  intensify  and  accelerate  cooperation  and
communication  in  the  period  leading  up  to  the  likely  accession  of  ten  countries  so  that  the
Framework  and  joint  activities  are  fully  implemented  and  the  preparation  for  accession  of
these  countries  is  efficiently  achieved.  In  addition,  the  Commission  suggests  that  effective
communication  be  improved  both  via  the  Working  Group,  that  should  oversee  cooperation,
but also on a day to day basis on ad hoc and thematic issues.

To  this  end,  the  Commission  recommends  that  the  two  Agencies  together  establish
immediately an exit-entry strategy for each candidate country likely to join in 2004, as
these  would  cease  to  be  partner  countries  for  the  Foundation  but  instead  upon  accession
become members of CEDEFOP. This strategy should include a clear timetable and be based
on the following principles/guidelines:

– 

each Agency should capitalise on each other's investment. This is the case
with the National Observatories established by the Foundation in the candidate
countries  that  already have  valuable  experience  as  structures  in  trans-national
cooperation.  These  represent  a  long-term  investment  of  the  Community  and
should,  before  likely  accession  in  2004,  be  prepared  and  adapted  by  the
Foundation  so  as  to  facilitate  where  appropriate  their  integration  upon
accession  as  national  points  into  CEDEFOP's  ReferNet14.  For  the  remaining
candidate  countries,  the  Foundation  should  build  on  its  experience  following
the  possible  integration  of  the  first  wave  of  countries  into  the  ReferNet.  It
should prepare appropriately and familiarise Observatories in these countries to
the functions and activities of the ReferNet in order to maximise the possibility
of their selection by CEDEFOP upon their accession;

– 

thematic cooperation be further strengthened. Although CEDEFOP and the
Foundation  are  not  internally  organised  in  the  same  way  (along  thematic  and
geographic  lines  respectively)  it  would  be  beneficial  in  particular  for  the

14 

ReferNet is a structured, decentralised, networked system of information collection and dissemination
established by Cedefop. ReferNet comprises a  national consortium in each Member State  made up of
organisations  representative  of  vocational  education  and  training  institutions.  The  network's  tasks  fall
into  three  categories:  documentation  and  dissemination,  collection  and  analysis  of  information  and
research.

14

                                                
Foundation  to  take  advantage  of  the  expertise  of  CEDEFOP  in  its  own
activities  not  just  in  the  candidate  countries  but  in  all  partner  countries.
Thematic  networks  should  be  extended  to  include  candidate  countries
whenever  possible  or  their  expertise  made  available.  This  is  the  case,  for
example, with CEDEFOP's Training of Trainers Network15;

– 

the  Foundation  should  make  available  to  CEDEFOP  its  information,
know-how  and  information  resources  on  candidate  countries  likely  to
accede  in  2004  (such  as  databases  on  vocational  education  and  training
organisations in the candidate countries, social partner organisations lists, etc.).

In  addition to their half-yearly  progress  report  and  on  the  above  basis,  the  Agencies  should
submit to the Commission their exit-entry strategy by mid 2003.

4.4. 

Internal efficiency

4.4.1.  Communication and motivation

The  Commission  endorses  the  evaluator's  conclusion  that  the  overall  vision  of  the
Foundation's  role  as  a  centre  of  expertise  in  support  to  the  Commission  should  be  firmly
established  by  the  Directorate  and  communicated  to  all  staff.  This  should  be  done  both
externally, as set out under the sections on Support to the Commission  and  Communication
and Transparency above, but also with concrete measures internally.

The Commission's opinion is that one of the major effects of staff cuts since 2000 has been to
create a somewhat introspective attitude as regards change, where major issues of policy or of
strategic direction are addressed and discussed without sufficient regard towards the demands
or expectations of stakeholders. Therefore, there must be improved internal communication to
lead  to  the  joint  and  mutual  development  of  a  centre  of  expertise  with  all  staff  having  the
necessary  competences  and  mobilised  to  contribute  to  the  activities  and  products  that  will
illustrate this. Whilst there has been progress in this direction in recent months, notably with
the  change  management  process  that  the  Foundation  brought  in,  the  Commission
recommends that further effort be  made by the Foundation's management to establish
an Agency-wide identity and mission for all staff. The Commission is convinced that with
such an approach and with full management support, staff will see opportunity in change.

4.4.2.  Human resources

The Commission appreciates  the  efforts  made  by  the  Foundation  during  the  difficult  period
following the agreement on the mid-term staff and financial perspectives 2000-2004, cutting
25%  of  staff  and  significantly  changing  the  profile  of  the  99  full  time  statutory  staff
remaining.

The current organigramme of the Foundation is adequate for the tasks and activities in terms
of  its  development  as  a  centre  of  expertise  supporting  Community  external  policies  in  the
fields of VET and labour markets (see Annex 1). The streamlining of the Foundation's central
services  (legal  and  financial)  following  the  November  2000  agreement  has  ensured  that  the
internal management systems are as lean and efficient as possible. The Foundation has put in
place a geographical structure of departments, but has also sought to ensure thematic expertise

15 

TTnet is a Training of trainers network, comprising over 100 organisations in the Member States and
providing analyses and disseminating innovative experience in the area of teacher trainer training.

15

                                                
is developed  across these,  as  exemplified by the  thematic  working  groups  and  tandems  that
form the overall matrix of the Foundation as a centre of expertise. It is crucial however that
thematic expertise is developed in line with that needed for support for the Community's
regional and country strategies and that, to complement this, the expertise of CEDEFOP
is  drawn  on  in  a  systematic  way  (see  4.3  above),  in  particular  by  the  Foundation's
Thematic Focus Groups.

The  Commission  notes  the  evaluator's  recommendation  that  the  recently  completed
competency assessment should be used in a transparent way to illustrate how the Foundation
will  meet  the  staffing  and  resource  development  needs  of  the  new  centre  of  expertise.  The
Foundation should ensure that,  in dialogue  with the Commission, the knowledge base of  its
human  resources  meets  these  needs.  If  necessary,  the  Foundation  may  need  to  revise  its
overall training strategy and the use of competency assessments.

4.4.3.  Monitoring and evaluation

In  terms  of  improving  the  effectiveness  of  activities,  the  evaluator  concludes  that  useful
monitoring and evaluation is vital, even though it is not always easy to track the influence or
contribution  of  the  Foundation  given  its  sometimes  intangible  outputs.  To  this  end,  the
Commission  believes  proactive  steps  should  be  taken,  in  response  to  the  evaluator's
recommendation and to the concern of staff: it recommends that the Foundation reviews its
monitoring  and  evaluation  policy,  embedding  it  into  the  Agency-wide  approach  of
ensuring satisfaction from stakeholders.

The new monitoring and evaluation strategy  must take account  of  the  requirements of
the new Financial Regulation and should also:

-  include  specific  measures  to  assess  thematic  and  country  activities.  The  Commission
endorses  the  evaluator's  recommendation  that  consultation  of  the  EuropeAid  Co-operation
office  on  this  should  be  sought,  so  as  to  ensure  coherence  with  the  Commission's  own
strategies and approaches;

-  incorporate  an  assessment  of  the  collective  performance,  which  could  contribute
significantly  to  the  visibility  of  the  Foundation's  activities  and  of  its  support  to  the
Commission;

- contain standard guidelines for all evaluations undertaken by the Foundation to contribute
to the comparability of findings;

- be endorsed by the entire staff and overseen by the Foundation's Planning, Monitoring and
Evaluation unit to ensure quality assurance and relevance for overall objectives.

4.4.4. 

Internal management and resource allocation

The  Commission  welcomes  the  evaluator's  view  that  the  Foundation  has  good  management
and  information  systems  and  that  this  brings  the  Agency  good  financial  solidity  and
transparency. The Commission also welcomes the fact that the Foundation has good content-
based and financial reporting techniques  that  are useful for  accurate  resource allocation and
planning.  The  internal  planning  for  the  Foundation,  in  particular  the  use  of  Activity-Based
Budgeting (ABB), has been successfully achieved despite the complex matrix of regions and
budgetary titles that the Foundation must cover (see Annex 3).

16

4.5. 

Statutory bodies

4.5.1.  The Governing Board

The Commission welcomes the evaluator's conclusion that the Governing Board feels that it
has  been  well  served  by  the  Foundation  in  terms  of  the  necessary  information  to  fulfil  its
statutory role and to take the decisions needed - mainly the adoption of the Foundation's Work
Programme and Budget each year. Members of the Governing Board consider that the annual
Work  Programmes  adequately  reflect  their  concerns  and  recommendations,  and  that  the
Foundation's  achievements  and  outputs  meet  their  expectations  and  are  of  good  value  for
money. However, the Commission notes with concern that evaluator also concludes that the
Governing Board is largely a passive body, not finding a role for itself outside the minimum
statutory requirements.

The  Commission  invites  the  Foundation's  directorate  to  make  specific  proposals  to
increase  the  engagement  of  the  Governing  Board  with  its  activities.  This  could  be
achieved  with  measures  like  the  development  of  ad  hoc  working  groups  on  chosen  themes,
regions or administrative matters  and  a review  of  the  timing  of  meetings  to  allow  for  fuller
discussions  on  the  substance  of  Work  Programmes  and  on  strategic  issues.  However,
the  Governing  Board  should  also  result  from  other
increased  dynamism  within 
recommendations, such as an improved Agency-wide mission statement and communication
strategy and clearer, more digestible Work Programmes and Budgets (showing links between
the two) with objectives for activities.

With regards to the composition of the Governing Board, according to Article 5 of the basic
Regulation,  the  Commission  agrees  that  this  currently  does  not  fully  reflect  the  interests,
responsibilities  and  the  separation  of  competencies  within  the  Commission  as  regards  the
Foundation.  The  Commission  will  examine  how  a  representative  of  EuropeAid  could  be
included as a full member of the Governing Board instead of its current observer status.

The  Foundation  itself  has  been  proactive  towards  the  Governing  Board,  in  particular  in
ensuring that representatives of the candidate countries already attend as observers in order to
become familiar with the nature of the Governing Board and the Foundation itself, ahead of
the likely accession of ten countries in 2004. The Commission supports this initiative and also
that of the Foundation to take advantage of this additional link to the accession countries for
taking advice from the latter's own experiences as partner countries. This could then be useful
for  improving  the  effectiveness  of  Foundation  activities  in  other  regions,  in  particular  the
Western Balkans.

4.5.2.  Advisory Forum

The Commission observes that the evaluator found that the Advisory Forum has fulfilled its
statutory  function  of  providing  advice  to  the  Foundation  on  the  preparation  of  the  annual
Work Programme16. The evaluator also notes that the Advisory Forum, that currently meets in
Regional  Groups  with  a  plenary  meeting  of  all  members  every  three  years,  is  a  good

16 

The Advisory Forum is a statutory body, established by the Council Regulation, composed of experts
from  Member  States,  partner  countries,  social  partners  and  international  organisations.  The  Advisory
Forum is now composed of four regional groups that meet annually per region and every three years in
a plenary session in Turin. The  Forum  advises  the  Foundation  on  the  Work  Programme  and  on  VET
issues in partner countries.

17

                                                
mechanism for the exchange of information on regional priorities and on needs in vocational
education and training systems and labour markets.

However, the Commission suggests that the Foundation could make certain improvements to
the Advisory Forum in order to maintain the commitment of members to the Foundation and
to  keep  them  fully  informed  on  activities.  The  Commission  recommends  that  the
Foundation:

- includes responsible Commission services in Advisory Forum meetings, in conformity
with  Article  6  of  the  founding  Regulation.  The  active  participation  of  the  Commission
would  also  increase  the  familiarisation  of  the  Advisory  Forum  members  with  the
Commission's  cycle  of  programming  and  the  Foundation's  activities  within  this  and  help
ensure understanding of the Foundation's Work Programme vis à vis Commission policy and
operational priorities;

- reviews the procedure for Advisory Forum membership, in particular when establishing
the  next  three-year  mandate  of  the  Advisory  Forum  (end  2003).  Even  though  it  cannot
directly  select  members,  the  Foundation  should  strongly  encourage  a  balanced  mix  of
stakeholders, including officials, experts and social partners. The Foundation is well placed to
help  identify  candidates  who  can  bring  vocational  education  and  training  expertise  to  the
work of the Forum, and who can serve as a channel for providing the Foundation with access
to senior policy makers;

- continues the initiative to combine Advisory Forum meetings with other large meetings
or conferences  linked to  the  Foundation activities and projects  in  those  countries.  This
allows thematic cooperation to develop with an opportunity for Advisory Forum members to
be  informed  on  concrete  Foundation  activities,  also  raising  interaction  with  beneficiaries  in
partner countries;

-  considers  how  best  to  address  a  concern  of  some  Advisory  Forum  members  that  the
current  regional  configuration  does  not  provide  an  adequate  overview  of  the  entire
range of the Foundation's activities nor sufficient networking and exchange with other
regional  groups.  The  Commission  proposes  that  the  Foundation  address  whether  Advisory
Forum members are satisfied with the current arrangements and thematic content.

4.6. 

Tempus Technical Assistance

The Commission notes that the evaluator identified a number of problems during the  course
of  the  external  evaluation,  mainly  related  to  communication  and  planning  between  the
Commission,  responsible  for  programme  management  and  the  Foundation,  providing
Technical  Assistance.  The  Commission  confirms  that  the  issues  raised  in  the  evaluator's
recommendations  are  already  being  addressed  through  the  development  of  a  clear  joint
approach to regulate the Foundation's performance in its  technical assistance to the Tempus
programme. In particular, the Foundation and the Commission are in the process of finalising
new arrangements for the conduct by the  relevant Foundation Department of Tempus tasks,
the  monitoring  of  the  Foundation's  performance,  and  a  systematic  cycle  of  contacts  and
meetings where progress can be reviewed and issues of concern raised before problems arise.

18

5. 

CONCLUSION

The  Commission  considers  that  within  the  Community's  new  external  relations  policy
framework including devolution to the Delegations, the Foundation has a useful contribution
to make as a centre of expertise in all four regions of its mandate.

The Commission shares the evaluator's overall positive assessment of the effectiveness of the
Foundation's work and considers that it has made a valuable contribution to the Community's
activities in the field of vocational education and training and labour market reform in its four
partner regions. However, the Foundation should accelerate its adaptation to the new external
relations environment by consolidating activities in its partner countries systematically in line
with Community priorities and Commission approaches. For the Foundation, this will entail
the better preparation of Work Programmes and rolling regional frameworks, to be achieved
with  improved  and  ongoing  consultation  with  stakeholders  and  by  reinforcing  links  to  the
Commission's  programming  and  planning  cycle.  The  Foundation  must  concentrate  its
available resources in order to capitalise on its current expertise and consolidate its reputation
as regards its stakeholders, in particular the European institutions.

From  both the  Commission and  the  Foundation,  increased  awareness  and  monitoring  of  the
type of services both offered and needed will be required in order to ensure that the activities
of  the  Agency  continue  to  be  useful  and  relevant.  This  implies  that  Commission  services
should keep the Foundation fully informed on new or revised priorities or strategies.

In  addition,  this  demands  a  renewed  commitment  from  both  sides  to  significantly  improve
communication,  in  the  framework  of  the  structured  dialogue  at  both  management  and
operational level. The Foundation's new external communication strategy should support this,
in particular with better contact management.

Consequently, it is of utmost importance that the Foundation's management staff establish a
clearer vision within the Agency of its position and role as a Community centre of expertise in
the  new  institutional  landscape.  This  will  partly  stem  from  the  revision  of  the  mission
statement of the Agency, in dialogue with the Commission and after due deliberation of the
Governing Board, but also from increased commitment to ensure that all staff understand this
vision and are mobilised to ensure that this is part of all activities and expertise provision to
the Commission.

Overall, the Commission believes that the external evaluation report provides useful lessons
and  recommendations  for  the  development  of  the  Foundation  as  a  centre  of  expertise.  The
Commission  invites  the  Foundation  to  submit  a  draft  Action  Plan  to  the  Governing  Board,
outlining its analysis and proposed action on all recommendations made by the evaluator and
by  the  Commission  in  this  report.  The  Commission  itself  would  welcome  a  broader
discussion, with the Governing Board in particular, on the Foundation's future orientations.

19

Annex 1

ORGANIGRAMME  (1 APRIL 2003)

Director
Peter de Rooij

Planning, Monitoring
and Evaluation Unit
Peter Greenwood

External
Communication Unit
NN

Deputy Director
Ulrich Hillenkamp

Mediterranean
Region
[DZ-EG-IL-JO-LB-MA-PS-
SY-TN]
Olivier Ramsayer

Enlargement and
South Eastern
Europe
[ALB-BiH-BG-CY-CZ-EE-
FRM-FRY-H-HRV-LT-LV-
MT-PL-RO-SK-SLO-TR]
Arjen Vos

Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
[ARM-AZB-BEL-GEO-
KAZ-KYR-MOL-MNG-RF-
TAD-TME-UKR-UZB]
Sandra Stefani

TEMPUS
Marleen Voordeckers

Administration and Central Services
Markku Junkkari

20

Annex 2

BUDGET EVOLUTION, 1998-2003

Year Community

subsidy

Titles

% 
1/2/3

Temporary
agents

Funds
committed

Funds 
carried
over  to  following
year
3 512 871

Unused
funds

229 509

15 170 491

1998

15.4m

1999

16.2m

2000

16.2m

2001

2002

2003

B7-664: 9.24
B7-033: 7.56
Total: 16.8m
B7-664: 12.8
B7-033: 4.0
Total: 16.8m
B7-664: 13.7
B7-033: 3.5
Total: 17.2m

T1 67.3%
T2 10.0%
T3 22.7%
T1 61.5%
T2 10.0%
T3 28.5%
T1 63.0%
T2 8.0%
T3 29.0%
T1 64.0%
T2 8.0%
T3 28.0%
T1 63.0%
T2 8.0%
T3 29.0%
T1 65.0%
T2 8.0%
T3 27.0%

119

124

119

115

105

104

16 145 680

2 880 925

 54 320

16 105 289

2 650 716

 94 711

16 671 786

3 492 434

128 214

16 795 986

3 365 833

4 014

-

-

-

21

EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION RESOURCES - ACTIVITY BASED BUDGETING 2000-2004

Annex 3

ACTIVITY

Staff
number

Staff costs Administration

NON BUDGETARY RESOURCES
Tempus
Conventions
(annualised)
(annualised)

Donors
cooperation

TOTAL
non budgetary

BUDGETARY RESOURCES

2000

&
infrastructure

 (Title 2)
1.368.750

Operational
costs (missions
included)

TOTAL
BUDGET
(source ETF)

(Title3)
22.650
452.650
1.330.400
830.400
755.900

(Title 1+2+3)
3.081.381
1.456.728
2.627.677
2.102.801
1.562.310

(Title 1)
1.689.981
1.004.078
1.297.277
1.272.401
806.410

22,3
13,7
15,9
15,5
9,9

3.270.807
13.195.143
2.000.000

6,6

511.298

670.900

1.182.198

1.175.000

8,2
27,7
4,7

687.441
2.200.064
339.000

495.000
75.000
390.400

1.182.441
2.275.064
729.400

75.263.111

Administrative Support
Organisational Support
Candidate Countries
Western Balkans
Russia  Moldova  Belarus
Ukraine
Caucasus 
Mongolia
MEDA
Tempus
Transversal Activities

Central 

Asia

336.112

600.000

50.000

850.000

3.606.919
13.195.143
2.600.000

1.225.000

850.000
75.263.111

TOTAL

124,4

9.807.950

1.368.750

5.023.300

16.200.000

19.640.950

75.263.111

1.836.112

96.740.173

22

BUDGETARY RESOURCES euro

2001

ACTIVITY

Basic
Staff
allocation

Staff
statutory
ABB

Staff costs Administration

&
infrastructure

Operational
costs (missions
included)

TOTAL
BUDGET

Administrative
Support
Organisational
Support
Candidate Countries
Western Balkans
Tacis
MEDA
Transversal activities
Tempus

35

10

13
8
10
8
6
25

20,0

10,5

16,0
10,5
13,0
10,0
7,0
28,0

(Title 1)
1.945.091

 (Title 2)
1.407.750

(Title3)

25.050

(Title 1+2+3)
3.377.891

894.336

1.336.150
940.450
1.169.950
925.750
621.800
2.358.473

250.846

1.145.182

1.287.250
857.500
1.198.154
1.034.450
487.000
60.000

2.623.400
1.797.950
2.368.104
1.960.200
1.108.800
2.418.473

NON BUDGETARY RESOURCES
euro
Tempus

Conventions

Donors
cooperation

12.723.360
8.084.246
4.450.000 30.682.792

650.000

410.000
900.000
701.200

TOTAL non
budgetary

13.133.360
9.634.246
35.833.992
0

0

115,0

115
euro

1.407.750

10.192.000
10.742.000

5.200.250
4.650.250 Missions excluded

TOTAL
Budgetary  expenditure
Title 3
Advisory Forum *
Documentation *
Missions
Publications *
Translations *
Work 
Programme
(Ch31  -  incl.  approx.
90 000 for evaluation)
Amounts for the expenses marked by * are equally distributed in the ABB columns amongst the 4 geographical activities

220.000
51.000
550.000
195.000
451.846
3.732.404

16.800.000

5.100.000 51.490.398

2.011.200

58.601.598

23

ACTIVITY

Basic
Staff
allocatio
n

Total
statutory
ABB

Administrative
Support
Organisational
Support
Candidate Countries
Western Balkans
Tacis
MEDA
Transversal activities
Tempus

33

10

10
9
8
9
6
20

17,5

10,5

12,0
12,0
11,0
11,5
7,5
23,0

(Title 1)
1.648.333

989.000

1.130.286
1.130.286
1.036.095
1.083.190
706.429
2.166.381

2002

BUDGETARY RESOURCES euro

Staff costs Administration

&
infrastructure

 (Title 2)

Operational
costs
(missions
included)
(Title3)

TOTAL BUDGET

(Title 1+2+3)

1.386.050

31.492

3.065.875

257.700

1.246.700

1.176.750
1.261.250
1.261.450
1.360.250
115.000
60.058

2.307.036
2.391.536
2.297.545
2.443.440
821.429
2.226.439

TOTAL

105

105,0

9.890.000

1.386.050

5.523.950

16.800.000

9.980.000
10.530.000

Missions included as
in budget documents
>

4.883.950 <Missions excluded

as in budget
documents

NB:  In  this  table  Candidate  Countries  from  Western  Balkans  and  Meda  are  accounted  in  their  respective
geographical  Activity.  This  reflect  the  internal  organisation  of  the  ETF  where,  for  example,  the  country
managers for Turkey, Cyprus and Malta work in Meda

24

ACTIVITY

Basic
Staff
allocation

Total
statutory
ABB

Administrative Support
Organisational Support
Candidate Countries
Western Balkans
Tacis
MEDA
Transversal activities
Tempus

TOTAL

31
10
8
9
8
10
8
20

104

16,5
10,0
10,5
12,0
11,0
12,0
10,0
22,0

104

Missons included as in
budget documents >

(Title 1)
1.870.000
929.000
1.000.000
1.200.000
1.130.000
1.200.000
970.000
2.230.000

10.529.000
9.873.000
11.239.000

2003

BUDGETARY RESOURCES euro

Staff costs Administration

&
infrastructure

 (Title 2)

1.421.000

Operational
costs
(missions
included)
(Title3)

26.500
250.000
900.000
1.213.500
1.220.000
1.380.000
150.000
110.000

TOTAL
BUDGET

(Title 1+2+3)

3.317.500
1.179.000
1.900.000
2.413.500
2.350.000
2.580.000
1.120.000
2.340.000

1.421.000

5.250.000

17.200.000

1.421.000

4.540.000

< Missions
excluded as in
budget
documents

25

ACTIVITY

Basic
Staff
allocation

Total
statutory
ABB

Administrative Support
Organisational Support
Candidate Countries
Western Balkans
Tacis
MEDA
Transversal activities
Tempus

31
10
6
9
8
10
10
20

16,5
10,0
8,5
12,0
11,0
12,0
12,0
22,0

TOTAL

104

104,00

Missons included as in
budget documents >

(Title 1)
1.727.740
1.047.115
890.048
1.256.538
1.151.827
1.256.538
1.256.538
2.303.654

10.890.000
104.712
11.600.000

Projections 2004

BUDGETARY RESOURCES euro

Staff costs Administration

&
infrastructure

 (Title 2)

1.434.000

Operational
costs
(missions
included)
(Title3)

28.000
260.000
600.000
1.330.000
1.340.000
1.430.000
170.000
118.000

TOTAL
BUDGET

(Title 1+2+3)

3.189.740
1.307.115
1.490.048
2.586.538
2.491.827
2.686.538
1.426.538
2.421.654

1.434.000

5.276.000

17.600.000

1.434.000

4.566.000

< Missions
excluded as in
budget
documents

26