Policy Areas
1. Legal and constitutional affairs
Covering all European Union policy areas, work in this area comprises regulatory impact assessment in all its forms, e.g. ex-ante impact assessments of proposed new regulation, review of the advantages and disadvantages of codification initiatives. A specific focus is on ‘European Added Value Assessments’ and ‘Cost of Non-Europe Reports’, i.e. research on the raison d’être of regulatory action at the level of the European Union.
2. Budgetary control
Assisting the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control since 2006, we provide research and evaluation services on financial control issues related to different policy areas (e.g. financial control and audit of the different Structural Funds). We also conduct research on the functioning of the different European Union institutions (e.g. research on the discharge procedure, Transparency Register, Code of Conduct of the European Commissioners etc.).
3. Regional development, transport and tourism
The emphasis of our evaluation work since 2004 has been on the European Union’ Cohesion Policy, covering the performance of the different funds in all areas benefiting of Cohesion Policy support. Our portfolio comprises research at European Union and Member State level (focus on case studies in Germany, Spain and Portugal). We also contribute to the introduction of Cohesion Policy approaches in the Candidate Countries.
4. Employment, social affairs and gender
In the area of employment, we have mainly conducted evaluations looking at the effectiveness of the European Social Fund. A further thematic focus is on education policy, covering all stages and types of education (vocational training, higher education etc.). Moreover, in the framework of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme, we are supporting NGOs working in the areas of ageing and support for mentally disabled people.
5. Health and ageing
Our evaluation and research focuses on EU policies related to Active and Healthy Ageing, Demographic Change and the Silver Economy. In the framework of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme we conducted the ongoing evaluation (comprising a mid-term and final evaluation) of the EU-funded project AFE-INNOVNET (led by Age Platforme Europe). We also supported the European Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Coalition (ECC) and European Heart Network (EHN) with external evaluation services. Furthermore, we serve the European Parliament in the area of public health under the FWC for provision of external expertise in the fields of impact assessment and European added value.
6. Agriculture and fisheries
Our track record in the area of agriculture comprises research and evaluation, e.g. assessment of organic agriculture standards in Asia and Latin America, performance of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development etc. In the area of fisheries, research has focused on the sanctioning of infringements against the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, the performance of the European Fisheries Control Agency, and international fisheries (China, Papua New Guinea).
7. Development and international trade
Development policy work comprises evaluations of international, European Union and national strategies and programmes for a wide range of actors (e.g. Global Development Network, United Nations Development Programme, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency etc.). In the area of international trade, we focus on the assessment of economic, environmental and social impact of trade agreements (e.g. European Partnership Agreement Papua New Guinea).
8. Justice and home affairs
The thematic focus of our work in the areas of justice and home affairs centres around the fight against corruption. We monitor and evaluate the performance of European and national anti-corruption instruments. We also contribute to the strengthening of institutions fighting corruption (e.g. evaluations of the European Police Academy (CEPOL), the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (FRONTEX) etc.).
9. Foreign affairs, security and defense
We have a strong track record in enlargement policy, with a specific focus on the evaluation of the different forms of European Union pre-accession assistance, covering all Candidate Countries (with a geographic focus on Turkey). Moreover, our evaluation services cover capacity development initiatives in the countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (Northern Africa and former Soviet Republics).