Use of factors of success in evaluation
The European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP supports EU Member States in improving the design of their evaluations through the development of guidance for robust and comprehensive evaluation frameworks. In these frameworks, the factors of success, also understood as ‘judgment criteria’ or ‘points of comparison’, can explain how evaluation questions will be answered by specifying what needs to be assessed and by setting the rationale for the development and use of specific metrics (output, result and impact indicators).
In line with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1475, the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on the ‘use of factors of success in evaluation’ had the objective to show EU Member States how to operationalise them in CAP Strategic Plan evaluations, with a specific focus on the assessment of key evaluation elements.
Coordinated by the Evaluation Helpdesk from February 2023 to September 2023, the TWG aimed to develop an interactive tool that provided detailed information for each factor of success, multi-directional links between these factors and other evaluation components, and a prefilled template for reporting evaluation findings. This was pursued through achieving the following objectives:
- Demonstrated how factors of success could be developed;
- Explained the role of factors of success in designing evaluations and developing evaluation frameworks;
- Showcased how factors of success could be used to answer evaluation questions and for structuring evaluation findings.
The workflow of the TWG involved various stakeholders through a series of meetings and working packages, as follows:
- Working Package 1: Launched the TWG, explained the background, objectives, and what was expected outcomes of the activity, and collected feedback from participating experts on the approach.
- Working Package 2: Coordinated content development, which included:
- Collected and structured information about factors of success;
- Developed and filled a database with information from the factors of success factsheets;
- Developed an interactive tool, showcasing the practical use of factors of success.
- Working Package 3: Conducted quality control, integrated comments from stakeholders, tested and validated the finalised interactive tool;
- Working Package 4: Knowledge transfer and dissemination occurred, including the publication, communication, and dissemination of the interactive tool.
Contacts
European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP
Rue Belliard 12, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
evaluation@eucapnetwork.eu
+32 2 808 10 24