PPMI in collaboration with CSES have completed the study supporting the evaluation of the operation of the European Research Council Executive Agency, which was launched by DG SANTE of the European Commission. The main objective of the three-year evaluation of CHAFEA’s operations was to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the implementation of parts of the European Union programmes by CHAFEA in the three-year period (2014-2016). The study combined a retrospective and forward-looking analysis. If the former analysis assessed changes in the operations of the Agency during the evaluation period, the latter analysis informed the development of recommendations for improving the performance of CHAFEA in the future.
The study followed an organisational model linking three sets of factors: (1) regulatory and operational framework, (2) enablers, and (3) results. As part of the study, we gathered and analysed the evidence using qualitative and quantitative methods, including an extensive documentary review and desk research, semi-structured in-depth interviews with Commission officials and Agency staff, and beneficiaries, surveys of the Agency’s beneficiaries and intermediates as well as experts, an analysis of the survey and administrative data, a retrospective cost’benefit analysis, and benchmarking. The methodology applied in this assignment was consistent with the approaches employed during the evaluations of other Executive Agencies, including the latest evaluations of REA, ERCEA, EACEA and INEA.
Over the course of the project, the evaluation team assessed the Agency’s regulatory framework, mission and governance, evaluated its performance in 2014-2016, conducted cost-benefit analysis as well as developed conclusions and policy recommendations. The key findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study were communicated to CHAFEA’s Steering Committee and other Commission services. The evaluation results helped the Commission services to assess whether the functioning of the Agency has yielded the expected positive results as estimated in the ex-ante Cost-Benefit Analysis for the delegation of tasks to the Executive Agencies and identify potential areas of improvement.
