In the period April 2011 – February 2013, the project team also provided assistance to the respective operating structures and beneficiaries of EU-funded projects specifically in the field of monitoring and evaluation, and donor coordination, with the ultimate aim of achieving a higher level of absorption of EU funds.

The project consisted of three components:

1) Human resource development;
2) Strengthening operational management; and
3) Donor coordination and programme-based approach.

Furthermore, some of the project results are as follows:

• Around 400 public administration staff were trained, as well as on-the-job training was organised for more than 100 operatives in the IPA structures;
• Moreover, 48 people participated in three study tours in Slovakia and Spain;
• Senior experts trained 64 trainers on monitoring and evaluation.
• Training plans on practical tools to execute monitoring and evaluation, as well as 8 (eight) training curricula, based on two trainings needs assessments were produced.
• Trainers’ toolkits have been produced in local languages;
• Numerous operating procedures have been developed or revised, to reflect and put into function the EU IPA Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines and to standardize work procedures among the relevant institutions, in accordance with best practices from the EU member states and recommendations from auditors and evaluators.

The project was implemented by a consortium led by ECORYS (the Netherlands).

Source: Delegation of EU to the FYR of Macedonia