National Evaluation of the English ERDF 2014-20 Programme Phase 1 Report: Process Review

This document describes an evaluation of the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme in England, assessing its management and governance effectiveness. The ERDF, with a £3.2bn budget, aims to enhance economic growth in less affluent regions and align with the Government's Levelling Up agenda. The evaluation, which incorporated stakeholder consultations, examined the programme's design, governance, strategic management, and monitoring, highlighting successes in meeting financial targets and creating standardized procedures, but also noting challenges such as complexity, administrative burdens, and a lack of local expertise. Recommendations include increasing funding flexibility and reducing administrative demands. Additionally, the evaluation of the program's delivery processes found that while there is satisfaction with project alignment and quality, there are issues with the complexity and duration of the application and approval process. The program has met key performance indicators and maintained a robust management framework, but improvements are suggested in areas like summative assessments, dissemination of findings, and streamlining contracting and payment processes. Future recommendations involve simplifying procedures, enhancing technical assistance, and better sharing of evaluation outcomes to guide future interventions. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Process evaluation
• Process methods: Surveys and polling
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: July 2019

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes