Report on the evaluation of the Cooperation program Interreg V-A Slovenia-Hungary
According to the evaluation plan for 2014-2020, the Managing Authority and the Joint Secretariat have commissioned the evaluation of the cross-border cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Slovenia-Hungary, which was carried out by Novna razvoj d.o.o. The independent external evaluators evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of the support provided by the programme authorities to applicants and lead/project partners, the usage of the electronic monitoring system (eMS), the process of selecting projects, the implementation of the national first level controls, communication with beneficiaries and the practicability of the program documents and manuals.
The evaluation shows that the Lead partners consider the work of the Managing Authority, the Joint Secretariat and the National Authorities mostly as good and very good. In general, they also have a positive experience with the program implementation procedures, usage of the eMS and recognize the benefits of the Open call, which is open from its publication until the funds are available. The Programme bodies emphasize, in particular, the need for more intense cooperation, which strengthens mutual understanding and leads to common solutions.
The evaluation also includes recommendations for the work of the programme authorities and the implementation of procedures, which can be seen as concrete directions for the implementation of the current 2014-2020 period and the period after that. The majority of the recommendations are related to: the transfer of experiences and the recommendations of the Joint Secretariat based on the presentation of practical examples (development of project intervention logic…), upgrades of the eMS, considering the practical needs of users and raising the competence of applicants / partners to work with eMS, meeting the criteria of administrative suitability of received applications and intensifying assistance to applicants in the development of the intervention logic of the project.
The programme website is identified as the main communication tool, therefore it makes sense to continue upgrading and updating the page and organizing small thematic events that will, among other things, increase the applicants’ participation in the 2nd Priority axis “Cooperative Region”.
Number of applications received under 1st and 2nd deadline confirms the big interest of Slovenian and Hungarian partners for cross-border cooperation.
