Download or read book Counterfactual Impact Evaluation of European Social Fund Interventions in Practice written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The European Social Fund (ESF) is Europe's main instrument for supporting jobs, helping people get better jobs and ensuring fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens. The EU distributes ESF funding to the Member States and regions to finance employment, social inclusion and education-related projects. Designated national and regional managing authorities select the projects, monitor their implementation and evaluate the extent to which the aims of the ESF are met. The aim of this document is to present four case studies on ESF evaluation to showcase real problems and solutions when dealing with ESF evaluations. The examples are fictitious, inspired by real evaluations and adapted for the purpose of this guidance in order to clearly illustrate typical challenges that an evaluator or managing authority can come across. The practice solutions presented here are sometimes not the optimal ones, as discussed in the text.
Download or read book Design and Commissioning of Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2021-2027 programming period begins with the dramatic experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. The European Union (EU) increased its financial and policy efforts to aid the recovery of national economies and increase employment. In this framework, the European Social Fund plus (ESF+) plays a key role in delivering widespread assistance to the unemployed, with a focus on young people and women, as well as supporting interventions against child poverty, promoting better education and social inclusion of weaker social groups across the EU. The diverse goals pursued by the ESF+ and its need to achieve rapid results in the areas of employment and social inclusion, require an effective allocation of resources. Evidence-based approaches to policy-making are ever more important, and evaluation is a fundamental instrument to direct public policy. In the 2014-2020 period the European Commission (EC) supported the evaluation capacity of Member States (MSs) and managing authorities (MAs), and promoted the use of the Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE). The positive results found in the CIE are tangible evidence of ESF effects beyond what would otherwise have been achieved. A significant number of CIEs were first scheduled in the Evaluation Plans (EPs) and then carried out during the implementation of ESF programmes. In many cases CIEs encountered difficulties during their preparation and implementation, or remained isolated experiences and were not included in a systematic evaluation framework. This Guide is intended for managing authorities (MA) and other bodies responsible for the implementation of ESF+-funded interventions and programmes and aims to aid the planning, design and commissioning of CIEs. It takes into consideration prior experience and provides practical advice on some of the key questions to be considered in developing a CIE. The Guide updates the previous 2014-2020 Guidance, placing more emphasis on the issues encountered in the practical implementation of a CIE. Nevertheless, methodological aspects are discussed and, where possible, simplified and integrated with updated examples selected from 2014-2020 ESF evaluations.
Download or read book Advanced Counterfactual Evaluation Methods written by and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this guidance material is to provide an accessible introduction to advanced counterfactual impact evaluation (CIE) methods. The guidance material is mainly intended for the managing authorities of the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). It can also be used by other institutions involved in implementing and evaluating operations funded by the ESF and ESF+ and by the wider evaluation community. Focusing on results is one of the main principles of EU investments, and quality evaluations are essential in providing credible evidence about the performance of EU-funded interventions. CIE methods help to answer the fundamental question of whether or not the intervention actually worked. The European Commission encourages Member States to carry out CIEs in order to have more credible evidence about the impacts of the ESF and ESF+ funded operations. Carrying out a high quality CIE is not easy, and the current guidance material is one element of the broader support the Commission gives to the Member States in conducting high-quality CIEs. This guidance material builds on the previous publication by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs entitled 'Design and commissioning of counterfactual impact evaluations'1, which introduced the principled and use of CIEs and explained the most common CIE methods. It also complements the support for CIEs provided by the European Commission, Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation2, at Joint Research Centre which includes video-tutorials, guidance notes, examples of CIEs and other materials.
Download or read book How to Use Administrative Data for European Social Funds Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document is a step-by-step guide for managing authorities and other evaluators of European Social Fund (ESF) interventions to help them build capacity on the use of administrative data for counterfactual impact evaluations. Administrative data are systematically collected by governments or other organisations for administrative purposes. Due to their accuracy and low cost, administrative data can be very useful for evaluations. The advantages of using administrative data also include the possibilities to link the data to survey data and to update them. In some cases, administrative registries alone contain the information needed for the entire evaluation exercise. However, most of the time the preferred option would be to link administrative data to survey data as the two types of information are complementary. Survey data, for instance, give insights into areas such as perceptions and detailed household expenditures. This type of information cannot be measured by administrative data. This document will focus only on the use of administrative registries for evaluation purposes.
Download or read book Pilot and Feasibility Study on the Sustainability and Effectiveness of Results for European Social Fund Participants Using Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study is aimed at assessing the feasibility of Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE) as an advantageous evaluation method of European Social Fund (ESF) interventions, to be used at EU level, relying on data collected at national level. The study is based on a mix of desk analysis, field analysis, questionnaires and interviews with Managing Authorities and Institutions holding relevant data, as well as econometrics. First, an exploratory analysis of available administrative data in each Member State of the EU was carried out. Then, three CIE pilot evaluations were produced, focusing on ESF operations for long-term unemployed (in Italy, Slovakia and Spain). A further CIE pilot, concerning ESF interventions for early school leavers in Belgium was planned but it was not possible to obtain the necessary data in due time. The pilot evaluation on the Veneto region provides an analysis of an ESF supported operation consisting of training and/or internship. It found a positive and statistically significant effect of the support: in fact, the probability of participants to be employed 18 months after the enrolment in the operation is 14% higher than for the control group (who have not participated in ESF operations). In Slovakia, the pilot study concerned an ESF intervention aimed at supporting jobseekers by providing paid jobs in public sector. It found a positive effect on employment: treated people have a probability of being employed 2.2 percentage points higher than the control group after 18 months the completion of the intervention. Also the pilot carried out in Catalonia found a positive impact on employment: 16 months after launching the interventions, ESF operations increased the employment rate by 12 percentage points among the participants in comparison to the control group. The findings of the study confirm the possibility of conducting CIE of labour market operations using administrative data, in the considered 26 Member States. CIE can be also used for assessing education operations, in many but not all the considered Member States. Notwithstanding the feasibility of using CIE, in many cases several improvements with respect to data accessibility and usability should be implemented by Member States, for instance by applying a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to data delivery, as well as unified and simplified protocols for privacy rules. Improvements in data quality can also extend the application of CIE techniques and improve the robustness of the results. It is also recommended to anticipate planning of CIE in the design stage of the ESF operations and to promote dedicated communication for disseminating evaluation results. At EU level, the implementation of a unique European CIE of similar ESF operations, implemented in several countries, is a hypothetical possibility which, however, for theoretical and practical reasons is not feasible. In order to produce a valid policy assessment at EU level, another approach would consist of coordinating, comparing and summarising a pool of national or regional CIEs that examine very similar interventions. However, given the heterogeneity in actual programme implementation, beneficiary groups and data contents, such an approach is challenging. A meta-analysis is a third possibility which, potentially, can be implemented more directly. This approach would be feasible, based on current and evolving CIE practices, but it is likely to produce better results when the data collection is systematic and the number of individual CIEs is large enough. A CIE policy by the Commission should aim at ensuring adequate coverage of the different ESF operations and set quality standards, with a view to increasing comparability among national CIEs.
Download or read book Meta analysis of the ESF Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by Ismeri Europa and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study's objective is to conduct a meta-analysis of the available ESF and YEI counterfactual impact evaluations (CIEs) implemented in the 27 Member States of the EU and the UK during the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods. The meta-analysis aims at finding systematic evidence of the effectiveness and sustainability of ESF and YEI operations. Three ESF thematic objectives (TOs) are covered, namely TO8 (Employment), TO9 (Social inclusion), and TO10 (Education and training). Importantly, this is the first study focusing exclusively on ESF/YEI interventions. The study comprises CIEs analysing effects in terms of employment and education outcomes, while it does not cover social inclusion outcomes. The results emerging from the analysis will feed the ex-post evaluation of the 2014-2020 ESF and YEI programmes. The methodology adopted can be summarised as follows. As a first step, the evaluation team identified a set of primary studies to be coded: the initial sample of CIEs was identified relying on the reports collected in the COM evaluation library and complemented with other sources, totalling 138 potential ESF/YEI CIEs. In the coding phase, CIEs were included in the meta-database if they fulfilled the following minimum criteria: clearly distinguishable treatment and control groups in the CIE report; application of some version of a (quasi-) experimental method to account for potential selection bias and time trends; use of quantitative and objective outcome(s) to measure programme effectiveness, which can be compared across a larger number of studies and settings; a clear and transparent indication of the direction of the effect. The final meta-database includes variables structured into four parts: study characteristics, intervention characteristics, variables related to the empirical analysis, and other additional variables relevant to the analysis. Of the 138 CIEs in the initial sample, 94 CIEs were eventually included in the meta-database, providing a total of 882 estimates on programme effectiveness, all analysing ESF/YEI intervention impacts on participants' employment outcomes. For these 94 evaluations, a quantitative meta-analysis was carried out. 19 CIEs, exclusively or partly analysing education outcomes, could not be coded due to the low number of primary studies and estimates available and the heterogeneity of the outcome variables used. A narrative approach was carried out for the latter to synthesise their characteristics and findings. It is important to stress that most of the evaluations analysed in this report are related to interventions which were implemented before 2020, thus assessing interventions which were not influenced by the pandemic. The spread of Covid-19 gave rise to several new needs and rapidly changed the socio-economic contexts of countries worldwide. For this reason, the results presented in this report and the effectiveness of the support analysed might change in the future.
Download or read book Design and Commissioning of Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluations of programmes and interventions financed through the European Social Fund (ESF) have proven challenging and have in many cases not allowed policy-makers to draw evidence-based conclusions regarding their effectiveness and efficiency. In order to strengthen future evaluations, the European Commission is encouraging Member States to increase efforts to develop credible evidence of ESF effects beyond what would have been achieved in the absence of ESF support. Such evidence requires counterfactual impact evaluations (CIEs) - i.e. comparison of results to estimates of what would have occurred otherwise. This guidance provides practical advice on some of the key questions that need to be considered when designing, commissioning and conducting CIEs. It is intended for ESF Managing Authorities (MA) and other bodies responsible for the implementation of ESF-funded programmes and interventions. The focus is on practicalities, though through necessity some technical issues are discussed.
Download or read book Synthesis Report on the Call Pilot Projects to Carry Out ESF Related Counterfactual Impact Evaluations written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In order to measure the causal effect of a policy, a specific approach called 'counterfactual impact evaluation' is needed. This report highlights that data access, networking, capacity building and taking evaluation requirements into account during the policy implementation are key for shifting to a culture of causal evaluation of policies. These results derive from eight pilot projects funded by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to foster the measurement of causal effects of European Social Fund policies.
Download or read book Connecting People with Jobs Impact Evaluation of Vocational Training and Employment Subsidies for the Unemployed in Lithuania written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2022-07-04 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report on Lithuania is the tenth country study published in a series of reports looking into how policies connect people with jobs. This report is produced in the framework of a project of the OECD with the European Commission which aims to raise the quality of the data collected and their use in the evaluation of the effectiveness of active labour market policies (ALMPs).
Download or read book Counterfactual Impact Evaluation of Work Experience Laureati E Laureate WELL Work Experience for Graduates written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The WELL programme was financed by the ESF as part of the 2007-2013 Regional Operational Programme of Umbria Region, Italy. The aim of the programme was to increase the career prospects of unemployed graduates in the region. It consisted of two measures: (i) on-the-job training for unemployed graduates and (ii) wage subsidy to firms and organizations that eventually hired the trainee. The goal of the CIE was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of employability of participants. In doing so, monitoring data of the programme were combined with administrative data from the Compulsory Communication Database (CCD) of the Italian Ministry of Labour, which records total hirings, renewals, transformations, and cessations of labour contracts in the private sector. The analysis was performed by means of propensity score matching. Results indicate that WELL participants are more likely to be employed. This positive effect is measured only for participants who found a job within the region boundaries. However, policy implications are still drawn with caution and require some further crosschecking for potential unobserved factors, since the limited number of variables in the matching impede the full attribution of causality. Therefore, CRIE and Umbria Region agreed on extending the current analysis by including additional data on past labour market experience in the matching procedure, in order to strengthen the comparability of participants and non-participants and hence the identification of causal impact of the intervention.
Download or read book Energy State Aid written by and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document aims to provide a Toolbox for the use of Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE) methods in the case of energy State aid interventions. In particular, it seeks to assist Member State (MS) policy officers when devising an evaluation plan to be submitted to the European Commission for adoption and also for writing the Terms of Reference for the tendering of evaluation reports. State aid interventions take place alongside various economic and social activities. When evaluating the effect of a State aid intervention, one must isolate the policy effect from other effects that may happen at the same time. Otherwise, one may over/underestimate the effect of the intervention. Various econometric methods may be employed to carry this out, which this toolbox outlines.
Download or read book A Report on the Impact of Evaluations by the European Social Fund Programme Evaluation Unit written by European Social Fund. Programme Evaluation Unit and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impact Evaluation in Practice Second Edition written by Paul J. Gertler and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.
Download or read book Impact of Evaluations written by European Social Fund. Programme Evaluation Unit and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Institutionalisation of Evaluation in Europe written by Reinhard Stockmann and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-10 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the progress of institutionalisation of evaluation in European countries from various perspectives. It describes both prior developments and current states of evaluation in 16 European countries and across the European Union (EU), focussing on three dimensions, namely the political, social and professional systems. These detailed country reports, which have been written by selected researchers and authors from each of the respective countries, lead to a concluding comparison and synthesis. This is the first of four volumes of the compendium The Institutionalisation of Evaluation to be followed by volumes on the Americas, Africa and Australasia. The overall aim is to provide an interdisciplinary audience with cross-country learning to enable them to better understand the institutionalisation of evaluation in different nations, world regions and different sectors.
Download or read book Data Driven Policy Impact Evaluation written by Nuno Crato and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the light of better and more detailed administrative databases, this open access book provides statistical tools for evaluating the effects of public policies advocated by governments and public institutions. Experts from academia, national statistics offices and various research centers present modern econometric methods for an efficient data-driven policy evaluation and monitoring, assess the causal effects of policy measures and report on best practices of successful data management and usage. Topics include data confidentiality, data linkage, and national practices in policy areas such as public health, education and employment. It offers scholars as well as practitioners from public administrations, consultancy firms and nongovernmental organizations insights into counterfactual impact evaluation methods and the potential of data-based policy and program evaluation.
Download or read book Impact Evaluation of Development Interventions written by Howard White and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Impact evaluation is an empirical approach to estimating the causal effects of interventions, in terms of both magnitude and statistical significance. Expanded use of impact evaluation techniques is critical to rigorously derive knowledge from development operations and for development investments and policies to become more evidence-based and effective. To help backstop more use of impact evaluation approaches, this book introduces core concepts, methods, and considerations for planning, designing, managing, and implementing impact evaluation, supplemented by examples. The topics covered range from impact evaluation purposes to basic principles, specific methodologies, and guidance on field implementation. It has materials for a range of audiences, from those who are interested in understanding evidence on "what works" in development, to those who will contribute to expanding the evidence base as applied researchers.
