This final evaluation report presents the cross-analysis of the evaluation of six EU executive agencies. (1) The study examines whether the executive agencies met their operational objectives, the efficiency of their resources use, and the alignment of their activities with institutional goals. It also evaluates the agencies’ interaction with their parent Directorates-General and the coherence of their programme portfolio. The study does not consider results and outcomes of the projects managed, or programme results, which are subject to a separate programme evaluation cycle. 

To answer the study’s evaluation questions, a mixed-methods evaluation approach was applied. The cross-analysis performed largely builds on meta-analysis of the six individual evaluation reports, which were based on desk review and analysis of monitoring data, surveys with unsuccessful applicants, beneficiaries and experts, an interview programme and a cost-benefit analysis. The cross-analysis findings are complemented with the insights from transversal case studies, cross-agency interviews, and a comparison of quantitative indicators. Comparative Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and assessment of workload methodologies was also an integral part of the cross-analysis report. The timeframe of the study covers from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2024. (2) 

(1) These six EU executive agencies are: European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA), European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) and European Research Executive Agency (REA) 

(2) While the formal evaluation period runs from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2024, most of the quantitative information used in the report comes from Annual Activity Reports (AARs), which cover full calendar years. As a result, data from the entire years of 2021 and 2024 were included in the analysis. The evaluation team also received additional harmonised datasets from the Commission, which were used only when the necessary data were not available in the AARs or their annexes; these datasets also cover full calendar years.