European Social Fund in England

ESF Evaluation

Evaluations are carried out to assess whether the ESF programme is achieving its objectives. Evaluations also provide evidence to improve the way ESF works.

ESF Evaluation Team

The ESF Evaluation Team is based in DWP, in the Jobseekers Division, and is located in Sheffield. They are independent from the ESF Division but work very closely with them. Team contacts are listed below.

• Ellenor Brooks – ellenor.brooks@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

The evaluation team:

• develop and deliver the evaluation strategy for ESF Operational Programme 2007-13 in England;
• analyse monitoring and survey data, draft reports and manage externally commissioned evaluation; and
• feed emerging results from evaluation and monitoring into the work of the England Monitoring Committee to inform decision making.

The work is overseen by the evaluation sub-committee of the England Monitoring Committee.

ESF Evaluation Strategy 2007-2013

The ESF Evaluation Team has developed the evaluation strategy for the 2007-2013 England and Gibraltar ESF programme. The evaluation strategy will examine the effectiveness of the programme and its contribution to policies to extend employment opportunities and develop a skilled workforce. Information about specific surveys and research projects will be placed on this page during the course of the programme.

Recent Reports

In March 2007, the ESF Evaluation team published an ex-ante evaluation to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the new 2007-2013 ESF programme.

In February 2008, a second report into the effectiveness of Global Grants support for community and voluntary organisations was published. The report features a survey of individuals who have benefited from Global Grants.