Albania

The purposes of this contract are as follows:

1. Capacity building for policy making and implementation including integrated and efficient planning, budgeting and coordination of policies;

2. Capacity building to better understand and implement public internal financial control policy across all public institutions;

3. Support to improve EU related governance and delivery of public services by central agencies and municipalities;

4. Support to improve participatory governance and civic dialogue, including public consultation;

5. Support to improve transparency and accountability for reform implementation, including through independent institutions.

The EU Cohesion Policy is a key investment strategy aimed at reducing regional disparities and fostering smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth across the EU. It operates through national, regional, and Interreg cooperation programmes to support infrastructure, the green transition, connectivity, and social inclusion in the EU Member States, while preparing candidate countries for EU membership by building administrative capacity through Interreg and tailored training programmes.

The overall objective of the project is to prepare candidate countries for implementing cohesion policy in the lead up to and upon accession.

The project specifically aims to:

• Train staff from national administrations at central and local/regional level participating in Interreg programmes (and IPA III programmes, if staff overlaps), to reinforce their capacities for participating in and later on implementing cohesion policy programmes.
• Organise study visits (and cover related travel and accommodation costs and per diem) for short-term work experience in selected Member States’ managing or audit authorities, thereby increasing the skills for benefitting better from their participation in existing programmes and preparing future ones.

The evaluation covered all European Union (EU) external action support to IPA Roma inclusion projects in the Western Balkans and Türkiye between 2016 and 2023. The main objectives of this assignment were to: i) provide an independent and evidence-based assessment of the EU's past and current external action support in the area of Roma inclusion; and ii) provide lessons learnt and recommendations at EU level to inform ongoing and future decision-making in improving current and future EU strategies, programmes and actions on Roma inclusion.

The evaluation was centred around three main thematic areas:

• Civil rights (registration, data collection, monitoring, reporting, fight against discrimination and antigypsyism);
• Economic and social rights (health, employment, education and housing, including access to public services);
• Roma inclusion in governments' green and digital agendas.

Additionally, the evaluation addressed broader cross-cutting issues such as human rights, the need to ensure appropriate treatment for vulnerable groups including children, fight against environmental poverty and climate change, social inclusion and gender equality.

The analysis covered both spending and non-spending actions and examined all funding mechanisms and modalities of implementation used under IPA II and III.

The objective of this facility is to improve the overall quality of the NDICI Rapid Response and Peace, Stability and Conflict Prevention thematic areas by providing high quality research services.

We will provide the FPI with flexible and ad hoc research services and prepare literature reviews and rapid assistance reports in the thematic areas specified below.

The main objectives of this evaluation were to provide the relevant services of the European Union and the interested stakeholders with:

• an overall independent assessment of the performance of the TACSO programme (in its three phases), paying particular attention to its different levels of results measured against its expected objectives; and the reasons underpinning such results
• key lessons learned, conclusions and related recommendations in order to improve current and future interventions.

In particular, this evaluation served:

• To inform the implementation of the programme fourth phase, which will be implemented through an extension of the current contract (TACSO 3);
• To inform the decision-making on the appropriateness of a potential fifth phase of the programme, to be launched with the next programming exercise (CSF 2024-2026);
• To inform the potential programme exit strategy to ensure the sustainability of its results.

The main users of this evaluation are the relevant EU services (DG NEAR HQ and EU Delegations of the targeted region) and the implementing partners.

This evaluation had two overarching objectives. Firstly, to provide the relevant external co-operation services of the European Union (EU) and the wider public with an overall independent assessment and evidence of the EU's past and current budget support operations in Albania. And secondly, to identify factors contributing to, or limiting, the success of budget support programmes and identify good practices and lessons learnt, in particular in view of the possible future preparation of budget support programmes in Albania. In addition, the specific objectives for this evaluation were:

• Assess the performance (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, impact, sustainability and EU value added) of EU budget support operations (policy dialogue and financial assistance);
• Provide recommendations for the next programming period.

The thematic scope of the evaluation covered: Reforms in public administration and public finance management, good governance, rule of law, inclusive economic growth, employment and social policies, and the transport sector. The evaluation assessed how and to what extent EU assistance delivered through budget support has contributed to the improvement of institutional capacities, strategies and budget spending thereby giving means to the Government of Albania to implement the reforms necessary to progress on the EU accession path. Moreover, it assessed the contribution of EU budget support and complementary assistance to capacity building, coordination and policy dialogue mechanisms and processes, monitoring of policies, sustainability of policies, and assessed the complementarity and synergies between other aid modalities and donors’ interventions with EU budget support operations.

It provided advice to EU external action actors, informed them about the result and impact of EU budget support, and contributed to improved programming, monitoring, reporting and implementation of EU interventions in Albania.

The main objectives of this evaluation are to provide the relevant services of the European Union, the interested stakeholders with:

• An overall independent assessment of the performance of selected CT-P/CVE measures funded by FPI.2 during the years 2017-2022, paying particular attention to its different levels of results measured against its expected objectives; and the reasons underpinning such results
• As a particular approach to regional actions, a specific case study shall be carried out to assess the regional framework for support to CT-P/CVE measures in the Asian context, managed by the Regional Team in Bangkok. It is expected that the present evaluation assesses the relevance, added value and success of developing a model for CT and P/CVE actions, respectively, which have been replicated in different countries/contexts in Asia/Pacific (in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives for CT; and in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives for P/CVE). If deemed relevant, links can also be made to regional approaches in other RTs;
• Key lessons learned, conclusions and related recommendations in order to improve current and future interventions.

In particular, this evaluation will serve the contracting authority and other interested services to better understand the performance of the Intervention, its enabling factors and those hampering a proper delivery of results to inform the planning and implementation of current and future support to tackle CTP/CVE.

The main use of the results of the evaluation is expected to be

• To draw general lessons that can be used for the future approach to interventions in the sector
• To draw specific lessons that can be replicated in other similar interventions
• To draw specific lessons from the regional approaches, in particular the one applied by the Regional Team in Bangkok in terms of stocktaking, dynamics and replicability.

The main users of this evaluation will be the contracting authority, FPI.2, including its Regional Teams in Bangkok, Nairobi, Dakar, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (managed from Brussels). The Regional Team in Brasilia is less involved since they currently do not manage any CT-P/CVE projects.

Background

In March 2017, the UfM Climate Change Expert Group (UfM CCEG) adopted a 5-years work-program, which stress the importance to strengthen climate finance in the Euro-Mediterranean region to address climate change issues. In April 2019, UfM Member States agreed to pursue the assessment of climate finance in the UfM region, with the view of providing sound basis for a renewed climate mandate of the UfM by 2020, with the new UfM Ministerial Declaration on Climate Change.

Target Groups

Target gruops of tehis technical assistance are: UfM Institutions, UfM Member States, International Financial Institutions, International Climate Change Institutions, Civil society representatives, Private sector Organisations and Institution interested in UfM regional integration.

Objectives

• The primary objective of this technical assistance is to enhance the knowledge of UfM Member States, International Financial Institutions, civil society representatives, private sector organisations and any other institution interested in the UfM regional integration, regarding the level of financial commitments made in 2018 and in 2019 to address climate change issues in the UfM region.
• The second objective is to explore the feasibility of financial mechanisms, which could be implemented in the UfM region with the aim of enhancing the mobilisation of climate finance for specific population or sectors, while building on lessons learned in some specific sectors (in particular in the water sector) or potentially in other regions, such as Caribbean or Latin America.

Expected Results

• R1 - to have a precise figure of financial commitments made to recipients in UfM developing countries in 2018 and in 2019, by public/private donors from developed/developing countries;
• R2 - to have a precise view of commitments and disbursements made by national governments, local authorities, private sector and, if possible, households addressing climate change in UfM developing countries;
• R3 - to have the methodology and process in place for monitoring, reporting and verifying climate finance commitments made in the UfM region, especially by ensuring the involvement of all relevant actors, including the scientific community, the private sector and NGOs;
• R4 - quantitative and qualitative analysis of financial mechanisms, which could be implemented in the UfM region with the aim of enhancing the mobilisation of climate finance for specific population or sectors.

The RPP Program Evaluation is being conducted to assess the implementation, management governance, and results of the program observed until the date of the evaluation to draw lessons for future programming. The evaluation was expected to benefit design and implementation of other similar ongoing and future Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) activities. This Evaluation has assessed:

• 1.
  Program strategy design and approach: with a forward-looking approach, independent evaluator(s) will assess RPP strategy, and management and governance arrangements.
• 2.
  Country program performance: assessed based on the modified Organization for Economic Cooperationnand Development (OECD)/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) evaluation criteria, notably—Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Coherence and Sustainability. However where outcomes are already available, these were assessed.
• 3.
  Knowledge management performance: assessed based on the evaluation questions below, focusing on RPP’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency on producing frontier knowledge on areas relevant for the countries and topics it supports in an efficient and impactful way.
• 4.
  A list of the donor-specific criteria for external evaluations to be used (based on OECD-DAC criteria) will be shared with the evaluators. The scope of the evaluation has to be defined accordingly in the inception report.

The purpose of this evaluation was to provide an independent assessment and evidence on the extent to which EU external action has contributed to the achievement of objectives and intended impacts of the EU’s policy towards local authorities (LAs) in enlargement and neighbourhood regions during the 2010-2018 period.

The specific objectives of this evaluation were:

• To assess the performance (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, impact, sustainability and EU value added) of EU support (policy dialogue and financial assistance) to LAs and associations of local authorities (ALAs) in partner countries between 2010 and 2018;
• To assess the coherence, complementarity and coordination of EU interventions financed from IPAI/II and ENPI/ENI with other actions financed from other EU instruments, actions carried out by Member States, regional and international donors (state and/or international organisations) to support LAs and ALAs in partner countries;
• To provide recommendations for future programming and policy purposes, particularly on how to engage with LAs and ALAs in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and in the context of the Commission proposals for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession III.

The results of the evaluation were used to:

• Take stock of the results achieved by the European Commission's support to local authorities and associations of local authorities in enlargement, neighbourhood regions over a large period of time (2010 to 2018) and identify the contributing (and hindering) factors;
• Consider those results against the problems and needs the EU's support to local authorities and associations of local authorities sought to address, resources deployed, as well as instrument and implementation modalities available;
• Measure the extent to which strategic orientations and principles were operationalised within the design, implementation and monitoring of the EU's support (political and policy dialogue as well as financial assistance) to local authorities and their associations;
• Identify areas of improvement for future policy and financial assistance orientations and guidelines, as well as for the future programming of interventions for the remaining period of the 2014-2020 Multi-annual Financial Framework and for the future one

This project aimed to enhance the capacity of the relevant stakeholders to ensure proper administration, coordination and efficiency for compensation of former owners and finalization of immovable property registration process.

The specific objectives of this contract were as follow:

• Identify key areas for immediate support and provide ad hoc advice on the compensation scheme, legalization process and map digitalization
• Support the relevant stakeholders (Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development, IPRO, ALUIZNI and ATP) to draft a Property Rights Reform roadmap in order to address the key elements of the sector

• Prepare a set of recommendations to be addressed in the short and medium term in order to prepare for the finalization of the compensation process and also finalize the immovable property registry reform
• Prepare draft terms of reference for complementary technical assistance
• Draft a first assessment on the timeframe and necessary steps to be taken in order to prepare for the implementation of the Land Parcel Identification System

The purpose of this evaluation was to provide an independent assessment and evidence on the scope and performance of the implemented and on-going EU support for Rule of Law (RoL) funded by the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA I and II ), and the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI ) and its successor the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). It also encompassed support provided by global thematic instruments, such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

The Evaluation assessed to what extent the EU support to these institutions led to strengthening of RoL in the respective countries and beneficiaries, and in particular whether essential RoL principles were applied in practice.

The evaluation also aimed to provide recommendations for the improvement of the programming and implementation of EU support to RoL. In line with the ToR, the Evaluation focused on interventions in areas such as the judiciary, fundamental rights and democracy that have aimed to strengthen the RoL, and its results will be used to:

• Provide an overall independent assessment of EU support to RoL funded by the IPA (I and II) and the ENPI/ ENI and other relevant instruments;
• Demonstrate whether already on-going and planned IPA and ENPI/ENI action programmes and interventions in the area of RoL have incorporated lessons learnt;
• Support reflection on the revision of policies and programmes in view of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and new/ current policy framework;
• Provide recommendations to the European Commission (EC) on the most appropriate manner to approach and improve its financial and policy dialogue support to RoL;
• Contribute to the preparation or adjustment of action programmes under IPA II and ENI;
• Contribute to the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework, including through proposing indicators for measuring impact in capacity building in RoL and related activities.

The report is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/rol_final_evaluation_report.zip

The purpose of the evaluation was to provide an overall independent assessment of the regional organisations and fora in the Western Balkans and the instrumental role they play in the regional integration and accession perspective including recommendations on possible streamlining.

The specific objectives of the evaluation were the following:

• Mapping of existing regional organisations and initiatives;
• Assessment of administrative and financial costs for its member countries of each organisation/initiative;
• Assessment of benefits for the region/countries of each organisation/initiative;
• Proposal for possible streamlining.

The evaluation mapped 56 organisations in the six Western Balkan IPA countries that were still active in June 2016 (cut-off date) and analysed 31 of them in detail. The key sectors included: connectivity (transport, energy and environment), competitiveness (industry and private sector development, trade), skills and mobility (human capital development, higher education), good governance, fighting crime and security cooperation.

The Evaluation of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) assessed whether IPA II is fit for purpose to deliver EU resources towards EU's external policy, both at start of the planning period (2014) and at the time of the evaluation (2017), and considered the place of IPA II – its complementarities and synergies – within the wider set of external financing instruments.

The objective of the IPA II evaluation was: 1) to provide the relevant external relations services of the European Union and the wider public with an independent assessment of the IPA II instrument, including complementarities/synergies between IPA II and the other EFIs; and 2) to inform the future programming and implementation of the current EFIs, as well as the next generation of the EFIs.

The evaluation was evidence-based using a non-experimental mixed methods approach combining quantitative and, more importantly, qualitative data and was guided by Evaluation Questions (EQ) covering EU evaluation criteria (relevance; effectiveness, impact and sustainability; efficiency; added value; coherence, consistency, complementarity and synergies; leverage).

The main analytical tools consisted of a rigorous assessment of documentation, analysis of statistics and quantitative data and a consultation of stakeholders (via interviews, group discussions, the online-survey focusing on EU Delegations and the Open Public Consultation).

The report is available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/final_report_ipa_ii_evaluation.zip

Global objective: The overall objective was to improve the planning, implementation and monitoring of national sectors reforms and to support effective mechanism for an integrated EU accession process in Albania.

Specific objective:

• To enhance capacities, effectiveness and performance of existing IPMGs (Integrated Policy

Management Group's) / thematic groups and technical Secretariats (in areas of Employment Skills and

Social Policy, Competitiveness & Innovation, Integrated Water Management and Good Governance and Public Administration Reform) and analyse new potential targeted areas to be included into the IPMG system (PFM, Rule of Law, Integrated land Management, Regional Development, Transport, Health and Education),

• Albanian institutions timely fulfil their commitments regarding the implementation and monitoring of sector policies in an integrated way.