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The evaluation study IV - Mountain Area - includes the results of the observation, analysis and evaluation activities of the data related to the interventions and actions funded during the 2015-2017 period through the NRDP 2014-2020, at the level of mountain area.

The evaluation study ‘Evaluation of the poorly accessed measures within the RDP 2014-2020’ had as general objective the realisation of an evaluation study regarding the identification of the measures within the RDP 2014-2020 that were less accessed, the identification of the causes that determined their poor access, as well as ways, proposals and strategies to improve the implementation of poorly accessed measures and the RDP 2014-2020 programme as a whole.

This mid-term environmental assessment was conducted in order to assess the real impact of the RDP on the environment.

The Guidelines: Evaluation of National Rural Networks 2014-2020 is a non-binding document, which serves to complement the legal requirements relating to NRN evaluations. The document clarifies the common elements related to NRN evaluations and gives a wider set of recommendations on how to formulate and manage NRN evaluations, both as a stand-alone exercise and as a part of RDP evaluations. 

This summary report describes the progress made by the Member States in implementing the RDP evaluation plans as reported in Chapter 2 of the 2020 AIRs. The summary is based on the screening of Chapter 2 of 113 Annual Implementation Reports (AIRs).

This first report on sustainable effects from locally led development analyses what is meant by sustainable effects and how to design intervention logic at the program, strategy and application levels.

This first report in the multi-year evaluation on sustainable effects from CLLD analyses what is meant by sustainable effects and how the intervention logic has been designed at program, strategy and application level.

These non-binding Guidelines aim to examine the challenges in relation to the evaluation activities for the AIR in 2019 by:

• Presenting practical approaches to estimate the RDP’s net contributions to the common CAP impact indicators and assess the progress in achieving the EU level objectives; 
• Providing support for answering the common evaluation questions (CEQs) 22-30 and for reporting on evaluation findings to the European Commission in the AIRs submitted in 2019.

The Guidelines are structured in four parts (presented in three documents):

• PART I (primarily for Managing Authorities): informs about the legal requirements and outlines how to report in 2019 on the CEQs 22-30. Part I contains references to other existing guidance. 
• PART II (primarily for evaluators): offers methodological support for assessing the common impact indicators of Pilar II (sectoral, environmental and socio-economic impacts). This part explains each intervention logic, the use of additional evaluation elements, explains the data requirements, the units of assessment and guides the reader through choosing the most appropriate evaluation approaches for netting out the RDP’s contributions to the values of the CAP impact indicators. Furthermore, Part II also suggests approaches to assess RDP contributions towards achieving the EU 2020 strategy and innovation. 
• PART III: contains the fiches for answering the CEQs 22–30.
• PART IV: contains the technical annex including more detailed information on the approaches to assess the CAP impact indicators and the glossary of terms.

These guidelines focus on the mandatory elements which should be addressed in all the ex ante evaluations. However they should not be seen as exhaustive. There may well be additional issues linked to an individual programme or territory, which a Managing Authority may wish to include in order to gain the most from the ex ante exercise. Where this is the case, Managing Authorities are encouraged to expand the scope of the ex ante to meet their specific needs. 

The evaluation plan (EP) is a new element within the rural development monitoring and evaluation system for the programming period 2014-2020, and is a formal requirement for Rural Development Programmes (RDP). In previous years programme authorities have used various planning tools to structure, manage and steer the evaluation of their Rural Development Programmes, to strategically build-up evaluation capacity, and to ensure that necessary prerequisites are in place for the assessment of the results and impacts of rural development interventions. The evaluation plan of 2014-2020 provides an opportunity to build up on existing experiences in planning of evaluation and sets the corner-stones for the Rural Development Programme’s evaluation system.