Evaluation is now generally regarded as a crucially important element in the design and delivery of public policies. Its role has grown in importance in the drive for good governance in the European Union. Evaluation can help to develop public policies; it can identify necessary adaptations to make policies more effective; and it is an important tool for accountability - to EU and national parliaments and regional assemblies and to the public at large.

The potential for evaluation to enhance the effectiveness of the Structural Funds was recognised in the first reform of the Funds in 1988. Since then, its role has grown. Expertise in evaluating the Structural Funds has developed and evaluation is increasingly being used by those responsible for the implementation of the Funds. The roles and responsibilities of the different partners in the Structural Funds have been set out more clearly.

The 2003 Structural Funds Evaluation Conference will be the fifth in a series which started in Brussels in 1995, all with the overall objective of contributing to the development of a European "culture of evaluation" in relation to the Structural Funds. A key aspect of the evaluation conferences is that they bring together those who commission evaluations and those who carry them out as well as other stakeholders. The exchange of experience and expertise which takes place feeds through into better quality management and use of evaluations as well as a higher quality of the evaluations undertaken.

The backdrop for the 2003 conference is the imminent enlargement of the EU. The 10 future Member States are already developing Structural Fund programmes with the assistance of evaluation. The existing 15 Member States are currently undertaking mid term evaluations for the 2000-2006 planning period. The challenge now is to extend and build on the good practice developed in evaluation in this new context of an enlarged EU.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/docconf/budapeval/index_en.htm