Mid-term evaluation of the European Social Fund Plus
Date: 2024-01-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: education policy, employment policy



PART-2024-43430V1.docx











CALL FOR EVIDENCE 


FOR AN EVALUATION / FITNESS CHECK 











Title of the evaluation




European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) - mid-term evaluation








Lead DG – responsible unit 




European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion


Unit G5 - Better Regulation







Indicative timetable 


(planned start date and completion date)




Q2 2023 - Q4 2024






Additional information




Insert a link to a website (either one specifically for the evaluation or one covering the policy area)


https://ec.europa.eu/european-social-fund-plus/en 






A. Political context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Political context 






The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the European Union (EU)’s main instrument for investing in people. With a budget of almost EUR 99.3 billion for 2021-2027, the ESF+ provides an important contribution to the EU’s employment, social, education and skills policies, including structural reforms in these areas. Geared towards implementing country-specific recommendations in these policy fields, the Fund aims at putting into effect the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 


Similar to other cohesion policy funds, the mid-term evaluation of the ESF+ is a regulatory requirement. The purpose of the mid-term evaluation is two-fold: (i) to provide evidence on what works and what does not; and (ii) to provide input to the impact assessment for the rules governing the post-2027 funds.






Purpose and scope 






In line with Article 45.1 of the Common Provisions Regulation, the evaluation will analyse the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of the ESF+.


In particular, the evaluation will deliver findings about the fund’s main changes compared with the 2014-2020 programming period in internal design, continuous relevance and interplay with other instruments. Also, it will take a closer look at how simplification measures have worked and identify if there is potential for further simplification. 


The report will assess the ESF+ including both the ESF+ strand under shared management and the Employment and Social Innovation strand (the ‘EaSI strand’) implemented under direct and indirect management.


It will cover the programming period starting with the ESF+ Regulation’s entry into force until end 2023. It will include both the programming and the early phase of implementation in the EU-27. As implementation is only starting, evidence is expected to be limited for reaching robust conclusions as regards the fund’s impacts on the ground. 


It will however identify challenges emerging so far compared with the 2014-2020 period and propose any relevant improvements.






B. Better regulation






Consultation strategy 






The consultation activities will rely mainly on targeted consultations, as described under the Target audience Section.


The Commission contracted out a study in Q3 2023 to support the preparation of the evaluation. The study will cover consultation tasks, including interviews, surveys and focus groups. 


A public consultation will not be launched, as in parallel the 2014-2020 ESF ex-post evaluation is being carried out and includes a public consultation, which could also inform this analysis. In any case, the implementation of the ESF+ will not be sufficiently advanced to justify an additional public consultation.


A consultation synopsis report on the results of all consultation activities will be annexed to the final evaluation report and published.






Why we are consulting? 






In the targeted consultation activities of the study, evidence will be gathered from target audiences on the fund’s effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance in light of its modified design and a changing institutional, social and economic context. The consultation activities will contribute to the Commission’s mid-term evaluation on the ESF+.






Target audience






·Institutions and organisations involved in the programming and management of the programmes.


·Employment and Social Innovation national contact points and social innovation competence centres.


·Organisations involved in delivering operations as beneficiaries or project partners.


·Representatives of participants / end recipients. 


·Institutions responsible for design and implementation of national strategies and measures co-financed by the ESF+. 


·Academic and research bodies.


·Representatives of the EU institutions.






Data collection and methodology 






The evaluation will rely on different types of data to draw balanced conclusions. They will include desk research (impact assessments, relevant evaluations, regulations, programming documents, literature review etc.), programme monitoring (financial, output and result indicator) data, targeted stakeholder consultation and focus groups. The assessment will rely on data triangulation, combining quantitative data (such as internal accounting data) and qualitative evidence (e.g., stakeholders’ feedback). Stakeholders will be invited to comment on the fund’s evolution compared to the past and its changing role among other cohesion policy and structural reform instruments. An external study supports the preparation of the evaluation.