Midterm evaluation of the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) 2017-2020
Date: 2018-06-20
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU strategy



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EVALUATION ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.






Title of the evaluation




Mid-term evaluation of the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) 2017-2020







Lead DG – responsible unit 




SG - SRSS






Indicative Planning 


(planned start date and completion date)




Q2 2018 – Q2 2019






Additional Information




https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/communication/tender-opportunities-communication/funding-tenders/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes/overview-funding-programmes/structural-reform-support-programme-srsp_en







The Roadmap is provided for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.









A. Context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Context






The Structural Reform Support Programme (the Programme) was established by EU Regulation 2017/825 of 17/05/2017 and entered into force on the 20/05/2017.


The general objective of the Programme, as defined in Article 4 of the EU Regulation 2017/825, is to support the national authorities in designing and implementing institutional, administrative and structural reforms with a view to enhancing cohesion, competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth and job creation, and investment, in the context of economic governance processes, including through the assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of the Union funds.


The specific objectives of the Programme, as set out by Article 5 of the EU Regulation 2017/825, are to support the national authorities in, inter alia, designing reforms according to Member States' priorities, enhancing the Member States' capacity to implement reform policies and enhancing human resource management. 


Examples of support activities provided under the Programme can be found on the following webpage:


https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/examples-reform-support-provided-srss_en


Article 18 of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation establishes that spending programmes, which entail significant overall spending, shall be subject to an interim and/or an ex post evaluation.


As stipulated by Article 16 (2) of the EU Regulation 2017/825, the Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an independent mid-term evaluation report by mid-2019 at the latest. 







Purpose and scope






The purpose of the mid-term evaluation is to report on the achievement of the Programme's objectives, focusing in particular on the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of the Programme (Better Regulation Guidelines).


Moreover, in compliance with Article 16 (3) of the Regulation 2017/825 the evaluation report shall include information on the achievement of the Programme's objectives, the efficiency of the use of resources and the Programme's European added value, as set in article 3 of the Regulation. 


The evaluation shall cover the period starting from 01/05/ 2016, with the start of the Preparatory Action for the Programme, until 31/12/2018. It will cover the entire cycle of the Programme, from the requests for support submitted by the Member States until the completion of the technical support projects on the ground.











Consultation of citizens and stakeholders 






To gather feedback from the concerned stakeholders and the wider public on the Programme, the following stakeholders consultations are planned by end-2018 when first results of the support provided can be evaluated:


·A targeted stakeholder consultation via a questionnaire addressed to Member States, which have submitted requests for support; and


·A three-month Open Public Consultation (OPC) from 01/10/2018 to 23/11/2018 to be made available at:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations_en


The consultations will help assess the contribution of the Programme to the achievement of the general and specific objectives as defined by the EU Regulation 2017/825, as well as any possible adverse effects thereof. 


The OPC questionnaire will be available in English, French and German, but responses may be submitted in any official EU language. 


The results of these consultations will be presented in a synopsis report, annexed to the European Commission Staff Working Document concerning the mid-term evaluation to be published by mid-2019.






Data collection and methodology 






The evaluation will be based primarily on information and evidence related to the actions supported under this Programme. Some data are already available through the Commission's IT system used to register the Member States' requests. Additional evidence will be gathered through online surveys and ad hoc interviews addressed to the beneficiary Member States. Focus groups will also be organised with the Member States in order to validate findings and main conclusions.


As indicated above, the methodology for the evaluation will be based on surveys, interviews with targeted stakeholders, workshops and focus groups to gather feedback on the lessons learnt from the Programme implementation. 


Qualitative evidence will be complemented by a quantitative assessment, which will also aim to assess the cost-effectiveness and the cost-efficiency of the support measures provided.


The external study will focus on data gathering and analysis, in particular on the analysis of the feedback from the stakeholders, workshops and focus groups, as well as on the development of a suitable method for the analysis of cost effectiveness and cost efficiency.