Launch event: Why the EU CAP Network thinks that evaluations matter
During the launch of the EU CAP Network, participants from across Europe discussed why CAP evaluations matter and identified the importance of evaluations to improve the policy at all levels, from better implementation by government bodies to uptake of farming practices.
On 6 October 2022, hundreds of stakeholders celebrated the launch of the EU CAP Network in Brussels, Belgium, where the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD), including the European Evaluation Helpdesk and EIP-AGRI, all came together under one banner.
The occasion was marked by several workshops including a series of evaluation-related sessions. In one workshop, EU CAP Network stakeholders, such as Managing Authorities, evaluators, paying agencies, chambers of commerce and National Rural Networks, discussed why CAP evaluations matter as the 2023-27 programming period edges closer.
Together, they highlighted the importance for the CAP to check progress against pre-set objectives or targets and help improve the CAP’s implementation across Member States, as well as to demonstrate the added value of the policy.
“The two main goals of CAP evaluations are accountability and improvement, but the most important aspect is the balanced view from different interests to give a full picture of the policy,” said Neringa Viršilienė, an evaluator from Lithuania.
Involving stakeholders in the CAP evaluation process was a common theme throughout the workshops because it ensures future assessments and their findings are more relevant to the respective stakeholders, from Managing Authorities to farmers themselves.
Dominik Ganser, from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, explained that CAP evaluations matter for them because they allow governments to show the public and farmers what was delivered with EU money.
“We want to show that we have an impact on agriculture and continuously improve the situation to make it better,” he said. “Evaluations also help people know the CAP delivers – it is a lot of work, but it pays off in the end.”
More highlights from the EU CAP Network launch event can be found here.