The mid‐term evaluation of the implementation of measures in favour of R&D and higher education in the framework of the EU co‐financed Structural Funds during the period 2007‐13 was structured around a number of key evaluation questions. The evaluation team sought to address each of these questions both specifically and with a view to providing an overall response to the layman’s query of “what difference has all that EU funding made”.
It can be summarised that the R&D and higher education measures support effectively reaching the strategic objectives of HE and R&D strategies. The indicators set in the OPs of Human Resources and Economic Development will mostly be reached, hence the main strategic objectives of HE and R&D and innovation strategies, which at the same time are the main objectives of NSRF, will most probably not be reached. Also, the planning and implementation of the higher education and R&D measures has been done rather well.
The evaluation was carried out in collaboration with PRAXIS and Technopolis Group Belgia.