ROM (Results Oriented Monitoring)

The Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM) is the external monitoring system of DG INTPA and DG NEAR, aimed at enhancing the European Commission's internal control, accountability, and management capacity with a strong focus on results.

Established in 2001, the ROM system assist DG INTPA and DG NEAR Headquarters as well as EU Delegations in their internal monitoring and reporting functions, through independent and external services provided at different moments during the intervention cycle.

ROM services are described the ROM Handbook, which details the rules, modalities, and the methodology of each service. The ROM Handbook is regularly updated, and its latest version is available in the library section.

ROM services

Three ROM services are available at different stages of the intervention cycle:

1. Support to design of logframes, monitoring and reporting systems

2. Support to results data collection for internal monitoring and reporting in OPSYS

3. ROM reviews of ongoing interventions.

1. Support to design of logframes, monitoring and reporting systems

This service helps Operational Managers to improve the logframe, monitoring and reporting systems of the interventions under their responsibility. It can be requested before signing the intervention contract or any time during the implementation for contracts of above 1 million euro for DG INTPA and above 0,5 million euro for DG NEAR. ROM experts are assigned within one week from the request and work remotely.  

The support can focus on the intervention logic and logframe only, or on the M&E and reporting systems only, or on both.

2. Support to results data collection for internal monitoring and reporting

Since the adoption of the EU Results Framework (EURF) in 2015, and throughout its evolution into the Global Europe Results Framework (GERF) in 2022, results data have been collected from a large sample of EU-funded interventions and disseminated through annual institutional reports.

ROM experts can support operational managers in assessing the interventions’ results data encoded in OPSYS. This support focuses specifically on contributions to corporate indicators. As a second step, the information gathered is used to feed the annual corporate results reporting for the EURF/GERF.

Information on corporate indicators is available here https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/core-indicators-design-and-monitoring-eu-funded-interventions

3. Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM) Reviews

ROM reviews are short-term monitoring missions on ongoing interventions, organised on a need basis and usually at least once during the intervention’s lifetime. They are different from evaluations missions.

A ROM review is an external and impartial assessment of an ongoing intervention, aimed at enhancing results-based management. Following a standard methodology, building on documentary analyses and interviews, the ROM expert assesses the intervention design, set-up, progress and achievements, provides recommendations and highlights good practices / lessons learnt. A set of standard monitoring questions are used to structure the analysis of documentation and empirical data gathered through desk and field activities. The revised Monitoring Questions and guidance are found in the library in Annexes 1-3 of the ROM Handbook.

Four types of ROM reviews can take place in the ROM system, with slightly different working modalities:

• ROM reviews at early stage (1st year of implementation) take place for a representative sample of interventions, to tackle as early as possible potential design weaknesses and implementation delays.
• Standard ROM reviews are organised when operational managers flag implementation issues through the Commission internal management systems.
• ROM reviews at closing stage (last 8 months) take place on demand following a justified request, for instance, when the EU operational manager could not visit the interventions, when external sector expertise is needed, or to draw lessons for future interventions.
• ROM reviews of blending operations are organised for a selection of interventions for which EU operational managers in HQ or Delegations express the need for external monitoring. Blending operations are managed by delegated Financial Institutions and have specific features that are now catered through a slightly adapted ROM methodology. This includes an additional step to visit the implementing financial institution and a preliminary assessment to accurately define the ROM mission scope. While the monitoring questions are the same as for the standard reviews, the guidance to answer them is tailored to blending interventions.

ROM reviews deliver two mandatory outputs: the Monitoring Questions and the ROM Report. The learning fiche is an additional output to report upon lessons learnt, promising practices or good practices identified in the framework of the ROM review.

Who does what in the ROM system?

DG INTPA D4 – Performance, Results and Evaluation, and DG NEAR A4 – Multi-annual financial framework, Programming and Evaluation, are in charge of the overall coordination of the ROM system, including the drafting of the ROM Handbook, the management of the ROM contractors and the quality assurance contract. The other main actors who play a role in the ROM system are:

• Operational managers (OMs) in EUD or HQ managing and monitoring interventions. They request the service in most cases, provide information to plan and implement the mission, give guidance and feedback.
• M&E focal Points appointed in each EUD and HQ operational service. They facilitate the process and good coordination among the actors involved in the ROM system. They can act as backup in the ROM system in case of absence of the operational manager.
• ROM blending focal points in the units in charge of blending in DG INTPA and NEAR. They have an advisory role for all blending ROM reviews for their DG and facilitate the communication with the Lead Financial Institution implementing the blending intervention.
• Implementing   partners (IPs) in charge of implementing the EU-funded interventions. The IPs' monitoring systems are the main source of information and data on interventions' progress and results. Involved in the ROM services to the extent required by the OM, the IPs benefit from ROM services to enhance the results-focus and the performance of their interventions.
• ROM contractors ensure the overall management and implementation of ROM services through selected ROM experts. They provide internal quality control and continuous support to ROM experts. Currently, there are 4 ROM contractors, two under the supervision of DG INTPA (Lot 1: Asia and Pacific, Latin America, Caribbean, and Centrally Managed Thematic Interventions; and Lot 2: Sub-Saharan Africa) and DG NEAR (Lot 3: Neighbourhood region; and Lot 4: Enlargement region).
• ROM experts are assigned to implement the ROM services. They can work remotely or on the field, depending on the ROM services and the needs identified by the operational manager.
• Lead Financial Institutions (LFI) can be European LFIs, Member States’ LFIs as well as LFIs from other continents. They have a role in the planning and scoping of the ROM missions as well as in facilitating its implementation and providing feedback on findings.
• Quality assurance contractor (QA) is an independent technical assistance aimed at ensuring the level of quality of the ROM reviews products as well as obtaining feedback on the ROM process from the operational managers. The findings and recommendations are shared with the ROM coordination units and lead to a continuous enhancement of the ROM methodology.