This study provides an external evaluation of the operation of six executive agencies of the European Commission (CHAFEA, EACEA, EASME, ERCEA, INEA & REA) during the period 2017/2018-2021. The main objective is to assess for each agency what has been achieved in terms of financial savings, improved services and other efficiency gains and what could be achieved further in the future. The results of this evaluation will inform improvements to the implementation of the delegated 2021-2027 MFF Union programmes and the legacy programmes that were implemented by the executive agencies during the evaluation period.
The study team will implement the six evaluations in a coordinated way through a mixed-method approach that includes the following activities:
- Desk research comprising a review of relevant literature/documents and an analysis of statistical and monitoring data collected by each agency;
- An extensive public consultation strategy that includes surveys with unsuccessful applicants, beneficiaries and external experts of each of the agencies, and a large interview programme covering mainly the agencies’ staff and their parent DGs;
- A cost-benefit analysis of each of the agencies;
- Comparative analysis and benchmarking of the six agencies to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
The key outputs of the study will be six evaluation reports that will provide specific conclusions and policy recommendations for each of the agencies and general lessons learnt on the functioning of the executive agency model.