Evaluation of EU support to Research and Innovation for development in partner countries (2007-2013)

Published in May 2016, this four volume evaluation report, produced by ECDPM, examines DG DEVCO's support to Research and Innovation (R&I) in partner countries during the last EU budget period (2007-2013). The main report considers that during these years DEVCO did not have an explicit policy document to support R&I and yet the study identified programmes worth over EUR 1 billion that included some aspect of R&I work. The evaluation looked at four specific sectors and found that within these sectors there was considerable interest in R&I and that such elements were often included in support programmes under each one. The main recommendations (1-11) can be found on pages i-iv of the summary report.

The evaluation’s scope was limited to four thematic sectors (food security, nutrition and agriculture (FSNA); health; environment and climate change; and science, information society and space) and to three instruments (EDF, DCI both geographic and thematic lines, and ENPI).

Part A (pages 4-86) of Volume 2 is concerned with food security, nutrition and agriculture.Over the period 2007-2013, DEVCO financing for R&I in FSNA amounts to EUR 511 million (45% of total financial support to R&I). A total of 381 contracts have been issued to 219 contractors worldwide resulting in an average amount of EUR 1.3 million per contract, with contracted amounts ranging from under EUR 10,000 to above EUR 50 million. About 60% of contracts have been issued under DCI-FOOD (Development Cooperation Instrument for food security) instrument and nearly one-third under the European Development Fund (EDF), the rest being covered by regional and thematic instruments. Main contractor channels include international organisations (48%), research organisations (19%), civil society (9%) and private sector firms (6%). Contract titles show as main activities: research, innovation or technology transfer, education, training and capacity development.

Volume 3 includes regional and global case studies.

Regional case studies:

1. @lis2 (Alliance for the Information Society Phase II) & ALICE2 (Latin America Interconnected with Europe 2)

2. ACP Science and Technology Programme

3. ACP Sugar Research Programme

4. Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)

5. EU-Asia Link Phase III

6. Intra-ACP Energy Facility

7. Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) 8th Partnership

8. Monitoring for the Environment and Security in Africa (MESA)

9. (Annual Work Plan for) Poverty-related Diseases 2006

10. Promoting Research for Improved Community Access to Health Interventions in Africa

11. IssAndes (Strengthening Pro-poor Agricultural Innovation for Food Security in the Andean Region)

12. SWITCH-Asia

13. Technology Transfer for Food Security in Asia

Global case studies

1. Former Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

2. Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) and Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)

3. Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA)

4. Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR)

5. Global Programme on Agricultural Research for Development (GPARD)

6. Higher Education

7. World Health Organisation (WHO)