Progress monitoring and ex-post evaluation

In compliance with Article 6.5 of Decision 466/2002/EC, the Commission has put in
place the following provisions.
Progress monitoring and final evaluation are based on self-assessments through
questionnaires, partly judged by Commission experts but mostly validated through the
auditing schemes. These questionnaires have the same structure and address the same
substance areas as the application questionnaire. However, the monitoring
questionnaire only addresses Part I, relating to the extent to which the beneficiary
meets the objectives of the Programme, as significant changes to the aspects covered
by Part II and III will take time to materialise. Moreover, the formulation of the
questions, the possible answers and the obligatory additional information are different
from the application phase in view of the different function of the questionnaires.
Basically, the questionnaires are intended to assess progress made and relevant
developments that occurred during the grant year, both in terms of the profile
(characteristics) of the beneficiary and with respect to its initiatives and activities. All
questions therefore relate only to the period under scrutiny:

Interim Report (monitoring questionnaire): first seven months of the grant year

Final Report (evaluation questionnaire): the entire grant year

Each question asks for a self-evaluation regarding progress made and results achieved
with respect to the issue/topic at hand. The main reasons for the specified rating and
references to supporting evidence must also be given.
Looking at the overall picture of answers given and, where applicable, the
corresponding expert opinions, conclusions will be drawn as to trends and global
performance. Where possible, the results of audits and (random) checks will also be
taken into account. In this evaluation, the grades resulting for Part I questions will be
the most important element. If the score for one, or more, of these questions is below
the level corresponding to partial success, and if this is demonstrably not due to
circumstances beyond the control of the beneficiary, it is considered that the
beneficiary concerned has failed to achieve the expected results. The results of the
monitoring and evaluation questionnaires will be summarised and stored in the
performance record that will be kept for each beneficiary.
Low scores during the progress monitoring and evaluation exercises will have no
impact on the determination of the final grant amount, which is solely based on the
real eligible expenses of the grant year as specified in the audited financial statement.
However, insufficient performance will have an impact on the conditions of continued
participation in the Programme. Such performances will be noticed and recorded by
the Programme management (through the relevant Commission experts dealing with
the beneficiary concerned) during the grant year and will thus lead to lower
comparative assessment scores in the application phase of the next grant year, which
already takes place in the second half of the current grant year. A final score may
even drop below the minimum required for the question at hand and thus give rise to
elimination from the selection and award process. Article 9.1 of Decision
466/2002/EC stipulates that if this would happen in two consecutive years, the NGO

concerned will be excluded from participation during the remaining years of the
Programme.