Based on the Programme Evaluation Plan, the evaluation provides evidence and recommendations concerning the:

• Programme governance and management structure as well as the communication strategy. The main goal of the governance and management evaluation is to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Programme governance and management system as well as the progress of implementation of the communication strategy;

• Programme operational evaluation. It aims to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the Programme implementation. It provides information on the relevance of Programme objectives for current needs in the programme area, on the ability to reach Programme outputs with the existing resources (efficiency) and on the Programme’s progress towards the achievement of its objectives and expected results (effectiveness).

• Programme impact evaluation. It aims to assess the effects of the Programme implementation to the regional integration and to analyse the mechanisms producing the impact, understood as the programme’s contribution to change. Furthermore, the impact evaluation looks into the contribution of the programme to the EUSAIR, as regards the programme’s thematic and governance support to the strategy. 

The service is carried out in consortium with Spatial Foresight GmbH.