Evaluation of the EU's support to partner countries in the education sector (2014-2024)

This complex, strategic thematic evaluation provided an overall independent assessment of the EU’s support to partner countries in the education sector for the period 2014-2024. The main purpose was to assess to what extent and how the EU’s support for Education over that period has been appropriate for meeting EU’s policy objectives, notably learning from the past for informing and improving EU decision-making going forward. The evaluation covered the whole education sector from early childhood through to higher education (among others: basic education, secondary education, higher education). Technical, vocational and education training (TVET / VET) and Erasmus+ are out of scope, except for consideration as part of the EU comprehensive approach on long-term education systems strengthening and life-long learning. The evaluation also had a clear focus on the four thematic areas of (i) safeguarding education financing; (ii) equity and inclusion as a priority– girls and digital; (iii) teachers and learning; and (iv) skills for life and work. The evaluation covered all countries of EU international partnerships / development cooperation (DG INTPA), including in Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean, Middle East, OCTs. The evaluation covers all OECD-DAC criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, impact, coherence), and the EU criteria of EU value-added. The methodology follows the OECD-DAC evaluation approach. It uses first a theory of change, next an intervention logic (IL) as reference framework and then gather existing evidence, using a variety of sources, methods, and tools. Data collection tools and analysis methods included stakeholder mapping, inventory and typology of interventions, statistical data analysis, key information interviews at HQ level, academic and grey literature review, documentary review on EU policy framework, e-survey and polls, case studies, four field missions (in Asia, Africa, and Latin America) including site observations and focus group discussions, SWOT analysis and a Delphi Survey. Particular attention has been paid to triangulation through the use of different data sources and methods, as well as different teams working on the same subject. The evaluation resulted in a final report including responses to the Evaluation Questions, Conclusions, Lessons Learned and Recommendations. It also produced a series of communication materials.


Project Details
Country WORLDWIDE
Start date 2024.08.02
End date 2025.11.02
Client DEVCO/INTPA
Sector FRAMEWORK CONTRACTS
Sub-sector
Ref. ADE A621-038