As a part of activities aimed at gathering information on evaluation standards and practices a representative of the Youth Impact team in Poland – dr Slawomir Nalecz – took part in the 13th International Evaluation Conference in Cracow. The title of the conference “Innovation, social inclusion and territorial cohesion – preparation for the 2021–2027 perspective” captured just one of the numerous thematic areas covered by dozens of speakers and panellists: representatives of Polish government, experts from the European Commission, as well as representatives of other institutions, universities, organisations and enterprises.
Monika Bartosiewicz-Niziołek (second from the right side) – the consultant of Polish Youth Impact team leads a panel during the 13th International Evaluation Conference in Cracow (Dec 10, 2019)
The conference was organized by the National Evaluation Unit of the Polish Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. During two days of conference 300 participants were listening to presentations and panels as well as taking part in debates on the current state and perspectives of evaluation in Poland – mainly in the context of the EU cohesion policies in the 2021–2027 perspective. The most important message in this context seemed to be the one from Erich Unterwurzacher, Director European Commission DG REGIO. As far as evaluation and monitoring in cohesion policies were concerned the key points were: no obligation to conduct an ex ante evaluation, real time reporting instead of annual report, elimination of performance reserve.
Speakers from the Great Britain, Italy, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and of course from Poland presented very interesting perspectives on new methods in evaluation as well as on review of good methodological practices (e.g. concerning behavioural analysis). Panellists from the Czech Republic and Hungary shared their experience in evaluating implementation of the EU programs and projects implementing the EU cohesion policies.
It is worth noticing that a panel of special relevance for the Youth Impact project was “The use of well-known methods in new application for the EU Cohesion Policy evaluation“. This panel was organised by the Polish Evaluation Society and was moderated by the consultant of our Polish Youth Impact team – Monika Bartosiewicz-Niziołek.
Attending such conferences is an important part of Youth Impact project and contributes to the development of knowledge and tools, which will be then offered to NGOs participating in the project.
The conference panels are available to watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/MaKVGydbLl8
Written by Fundacja Rozwoju Demokracji Lokalnej
