EEA and Norway Grants 2004-2009: End review

End Review of the 2004-2009 funding period of the EEA and Norway Grants. The Study was conducted by the Nordic Consulting Group and was published in January 2012.

Main findings:

• The completion rate of all the projects was very high at 97%. The ‘completion rate’ refers to projects that completed successfully by reaching at least 90% of the planned indicators used to measure the success of the projects.
• The funding has had a successful impact within the prioritised areas. It has in particular been visible in sectors where EU funding is limited and where the focus has been greater. The dedicated funding for civil society, in particular, was highlighted in this context.
• Projects have contributed to reducing specific, local disparities.
• One third of the funding was targeted at disadvantaged regions and/or vulnerable groups. In Romania, this figure was 71%.
• A majority of the project promoters with partnership arrangements considered the partnerships with donor state institutions to be important.
• However, given the comparatively small size of the Grants (the total allocation is equivalent to 2% of the EU funds in the four countries), the review emphasised that it is difficult to draw any conclusions in terms of the contribution towards overall development trends in the countries.