Interreg IPA Southern Adriatic 2021-2027 is a cross-border cooperation programme co-financed by the European Union through the ERDF and IPA III, with a total budget of EUR 81,258,769. The cooperation area covers the regions of Puglia and Molise in Italy and the whole of Albania and Montenegro, with the main aim of strengthening cooperation between the three countries and preparing Albania and Montenegro for EU accession.

The evaluation of the Interreg IPA South Adriatic programme focuses on three specific evaluation criteria: effectiveness, efficiency and impact. In particular, the evaluation covers the following elements:

• Review of the programme’s activities (actions, specific objectives, investment, priority axis, management tools), in relation to both the initial allocation of resources and the financial requirements identified through monitoring (efficiency dimensions);

• Ability to achieve the expected results, from individual projects to the programme as a whole (effectiveness dimension);

• Ability to contribute to the EU’s 2030 objectives (impact dimension).

As part of the evaluation of Interreg IPA South Adriatic, primary and secondary data are used and analysed applying a range of tools, namely (1) desk research, (2) data analysis, (3) interviews, (4) web surveys, (5) case studies, and (6) focus groups. The triangulation of data enables a comprehensive response to the evaluation questions.

The service is coordinated by t33 expert Pietro Celotti.