The team of PoliRural has done considerable research and analytical work to develop the report “Ex-ante Intervention Case Study” under the WP6 Regional Rural Change – Pilot Phase 3. This report examines pilot teams’ efforts to evaluate the draft plans for transformative policies before their implementation. It aims to support the planning process of Regional Action Plans, helping to improve them and thus enabling the transformation processes these plans are aiming for. It should provide a good ground for measuring future results and the impacts of draft interventions.
The report is based on the analysis of 12 ex-ante reports and draft Action Plans prepared by each of the pilot regions and analyses the results of these evaluations and the effects of the ex-ante evaluation exercise on the mission-oriented transformation processes in pilot regions.
The report shortly outlines selected policy challenges. It assesses expected contributions to the key EU missions. The report also evaluates the quality of the ex-ante tasks related to assessment of internal coherence and measurement framework of planned interventions, summarises results of the pilots’ work with stakeholders, and looks for effects of the ex-ante evaluation to the pilot teams.
The ex-ante evaluation results show a very high level of stakeholder engagement in the foresight processes. Stakeholder ownership of the results of this process and readiness to participate in the implementation of the Action Plans is comparatively lower, indicating the necessity for more targeted involvement of the stakeholders, emphasizing and explaining their roles in reaching necessary commitments. There are clear process effects and value in promoting dialogue between the teams and stakeholders, stimulating critical reflection and learning.
Ex-ante evaluation will be followed by a series of ex-durante evaluations whose purpose will be to document the progress made, review the involvement of main stakeholders, and identify the first indications of intervention effects
