1.Evaluations shall aim to improve the quality, effectiveness and consistency of the assistance from the Funds and the strategy and implementation of operational programmes with respect to the specific structural problems affecting the Member States and regions concerned, while taking account of the objective of sustainable development and of the relevant Community legislation concerning environmental impact and strategic environmental assessment.
2.Evaluations may be of a strategic nature in order to examine the evolution of a programme or group of programmes in relation to Community and national priorities, or of an operational nature in order to support the monitoring of an operational programme. Evaluations shall be carried out before, during and after the programming period.
3.Evaluations shall be carried out under the responsibility of the Member State or the Commission, as appropriate, in accordance with the principle of proportionality laid down in Article 13.
Evaluations shall be carried out by experts or bodies, internal or external, functionally independent of the authorities referred to in Article 59(b) and (c). The results shall be published according to the applicable rules on access to documents.
4.Evaluations shall be financed from the budget for technical assistance.
5.The Commission shall provide indicative guidance on evaluation methods, including quality standards, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 103(2).
1.The Member States shall provide the resources necessary for carrying out evaluations, organise the production and gathering of the necessary data and use the various types of information provided by the monitoring system.
They may also draw up, where appropriate, under the Convergence objective, in accordance with the principle of proportionality set out in Article 13, an evaluation plan presenting the indicative evaluation activities which the Member State intends to carry out in the different phases of the implementation.
2.Member States shall carry out an ex ante evaluation for each operational programme separately under the Convergence objective. In duly justified cases, taking into account the proportionality principle as set out in Article 13 and as agreed between the Commission and the Member State, Member States may carry out a single ex ante evaluation covering more than one operational programme.
For the Regional competitiveness and employment objective, Member States shall carry out either an ex ante evaluation covering all the operational programmes or an evaluation for each Fund or an evaluation for each priority or an evaluation for each operational programme.
For the European territorial cooperation objective, the Member States shall jointly carry out an ex ante evaluation covering either each operational programme or several operational programmes.
Ex ante evaluations shall be carried out under the responsibility of the authority responsible for the preparation of the programming documents.
Ex ante evaluations shall aim to optimise the allocation of budgetary resources under operational programmes and improve programming quality. They shall identify and appraise the disparities, gaps and potential for development, the goals to be achieved, the results expected, the quantified targets, the coherence, if necessary, of the strategy proposed for the region, the Community value-added, the extent to which the Community's priorities have been taken into account, the lessons drawn from previous programming and the quality of the procedures for implementation, monitoring, evaluation and financial management.
3.During the programming period, Member States shall carry out evaluations linked to the monitoring of operational programmes in particular where that monitoring reveals a significant departure from the goals initially set or where proposals are made for the revision of operational programmes, as referred to in Article 33. The results shall be sent to the monitoring committee for the operational programme and to the Commission.
1.The Commission may carry out strategic evaluations.
2.The Commission may carry out, at its initiative and in partnership with the Member State concerned, evaluations linked to the monitoring of operational programmes where the monitoring of programmes reveals a significant departure from the goals initially set. The results shall be sent to the monitoring committee for the operational programme.
3.The Commission shall carry out an ex post evaluation for each objective in close cooperation with the Member State and managing authorities.
Ex post evaluation shall cover all the operational programmes under each objective and examine the extent to which resources were used, the effectiveness and efficiency of Fund programming and the socio-economic impact.
It shall be carried out for each of the objectives and shall aim to draw conclusions for the policy on economic and social cohesion.
It shall identify the factors contributing to the success or failure of the implementation of operational programmes and identify good practice.
Ex post evaluation shall be completed by 31 December 2015.