Phare Interim Evaluation Scheme

EU European Union FM Financing Memoranda IE Interim Evaluation JMC Joint Monitoring Committee MEF Ministry of Economy and Finance MS Member States NAC National Aid Coordinator PSC Project Steering Committee QAG Quality Assurance Group SF Structural Funds SMSC Sectoral Monitoring Sub-Committee STTS Short-Term Technical Specialist TF Transition Facility ToR Terms of Reference 1 Project Synopsis Project Title Phare Interim Evaluation Scheme Project Number 2005/017-553. 05. 03. 01 Country Romania Beneficiary Ministry of Economy and Finance, Authority for Coordination of Structural Instruments, Evaluation Central Unit Project start Date 9 May 2007 Duration 19 months (Please see section 4. 2. 2) 1. 1 Overall Objective To help enhance the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and accountability of Phare pre-accession funds.

1. 2 Project Purpose To implement the Interim Evaluation Scheme on a decentralised basis To serve as a quality management tool of providing Phare programme managers in Romania with an independent analysis of the facts and findings on the implementation of on-going projects, describing the performance of parties involved, the capacity of Romania to implement the Acquis Communautaire and to provide an evaluation of the progress and likelihood of a programme s success or failure in achieving the objectives set To provide an early warning system for programme implementation in Romania To help develop monitoring and evaluation capacity in Romania To support know-how exchange between IE schemes in other countries 1. 3 Results to be achieved 20 Sectoral IE Reports 2 Applied Evaluation Methodology Reports 2 Consolidated Country Summary Reports Training / workshops / know-how transfer Enhancement of the Interim Evaluation Romania Phare Website 2 Introduction 1. This is the Inception Report for the Project: Phare Interim Evaluation Scheme RO 2005/017-553. 05. 03. 01. It records the activities carried out during the Inception Period (May 2007 - June 2007) and sets out a detailed planning of the project s activities, including the work programme for the entire Project.

An earlier draft has been submitted to the ECU and this report has been amended on the basis of feedback received.

2. The Contracting Authority (CFCU) issued the Administrative Order no 1 on 9 May 2007 authorising the Consortium to begin the activities of the project on 9 May 2007. 2. 1 Background 3. As stated in the Terms of Reference (ToR) this project is a continuation of the previous Interim Evaluation schemes implemented by the EMS Consortium and Ecotec Research and Consulting. However, there is a significant difference between the previous projects and the current project; as previous Interim Evaluation schemes were contracted and managed by the European s Commission DG Enlargement Evaluation Unit; while the current project is contracted and managed by the Romanian authorities (the Authority for Coordination of Structural ...