Evaluation Plan in Hungary

Dr. Tamás Tétényi

Head of Department for Strategy and Evaluation National Development Agency

Outline of the presentation

• Role of the evaluation• Financial base• Legal base

• Role of the National Development Agency (NDA)• Division of tasks

• Structure of the Evaluation Plan• Drafting of the Evaluation Plan • Revision of the Evaluation Plan

Role of the evaluation

Evaluation is a judgement on the quality, effectiveness and consistency of the strategy and implementation of an intervention, taking into account of its horizontal impacts.

Evaluations are used in– bi-annual programming and the occassional

modifications of the OPs;– selection and change of delivery mechanisms;– addressing horizontal issues

Evaluations support accountability and publicity.

Financial base

Evaluations are financed by Priority 2 of the Implementation OP.

9-year provision for „Priority 2 – system of tools required for the high standard use of support” amounts to € 100 million

– of which € 37 million has been allocated for 2007-2008

• of which € 4 million has been earmarked for „scheme 2.3 - evaluations and studies” in 2007-2008.

OP-specific evaluations not foreseen and thus not contained in the Evaluation Plan can be decided upon by the MA and financed by the TA budget of the corresponding OP.

Legal base

• Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 (11 July 2006)

• Monitoring and Evaluation provisions of the implementation chapter of the operational programs (7 August 2007)

• Chapter III.8 – Evaluation Activities of the Operational Manual for the implementation of NDP II (April 2007)

• New Hungary Development Plan (NDP II.) Technical Assistance Rules of Procedure: Chapter I.3.2.4 on Priority 2 projects, Implementation OP (May 2007)

Role of the National Development Agency (NDA)

Evaluation Market:– Demand side: NDA + ministerial bodies – Supply side: evaluator companies

The dominant actor on the demand side:Department of Strategy and Evaluation, NDA

The role of the NDA evaluation plan: – Coordinating instrument for the NDA– Information instrument for the evaluators

Division of tasks I.

Definition of tasks (ToR) Department for Strategy and Evaluation (DSE) or Managing Authority (MA) elaborates the ToR, DSE agrees on it with all concerned MA(s).

Public procurement, selection of the evaluator

DSE, in agreement with the MA(s)

Contracting and administration DSE

Project management, approving of initial, interim and final reports

DSE, in collaboration with the MA(s) concerned (forming a Steering Committee)

Division of tasks II.

Providing data DSE and MA(s)

Professional consultations, commenting on the preliminary findings and recommendations

DSE and MA(s), ministries, Regional Development Agencies and other professional and civil bodies

Certificate of performance and payment

DSE, in agreement with the MA(s)

Using the findings & recommendations

Plan on use/communicationPartnership

During the course of action: planning/review, legal amendments, amendment of the standardised operational manual etc. (DSE and MA(s)

Structure of the Evaluation Plan

General Evaluations

• horizontal impacts• territorial impacts• implementation

Individual, in-depth evaluations

• strategic evaluation of individual measures and priorities• impact analyses• operational evaluations of measures• assessment of means of implementation• joint evaluation of specific measures of different OPs

Drafting of the Evaluation Plan I.

Foreseeable necessary evaluations must be approved in a 3-year evaluation plan (revised annually).

List of evaluations comprise of strategic and

operational evaluations focusing on

– individual OPs– several (related) OPs – horizontal issues– in-depth topics

Drafting of the Evaluation Plan II.

The list is compiled and evaluations timing is decided

– by the Dept. of Strategy and Evaluations– based on the initiatives of itself and of the

MAs in consultation with the Ministries.

The draft Evaluation Plan is

– discussed with the MAs and– approved by the President of the NDA

(10.3.2008, 6/2008 President of NDA Decision)

Revision of the Evaluation Plan

Annual revision of the Evaluation Plan:

On a one-year horizon:

– the plan is complemented with OP-specific and in-depth topics for the coming year

– the focus is on the capacity available and the use of the evaluations.

On a three-year horizon:

– new global/horizontal topics– evaluations concerning OPs – focus is on evaluation capacity building

Thank you for your attention!