In accordance with Decision No 1150/2007/EC, the Commission presents interim evaluation of the specific Programme "Drug prevention and information" (DPIP) 2007-2013. Based on the findings of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the DPIP's implementation, on its main achievements while taking into account the main challenges, the report provides recommendations concerning the remaining period of implementation.
At this stage of the evaluation only very few activities have been completed. Consequently only limited conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of the DPI Programme. However, DPIP funded projects have already implemented a variety of activities and produced concrete outputs. The findings of the evaluation indicate that the projects funded are likely to contribute significantly to the objectives of the DPIP, and that both the general and the specific objectives are pertinent to the needs and problems of the target groups.
However, the report stresses that the DPIP is not meeting funding needs. The overall financial envelope is EUR 21.350.000 for the implementation of the DPI Programme for the period of 2007 to 2013, provided in yearly equal instalments of EUR 3.050.000 per year. This yearly budget includes appropriations to cover the administrative costs of the programme management amounting to EUR 50.000 per year. In addition to the funding made available in the budget of the EU, the EFTA/EEA states also contribute to the DPIP based on a memorandum of understanding. However, although the maximum project duration was decreased from 3 years to 2 years, the financial envelope for the DPIP does not allow the financing of more than 10 projects a year. The size of the projects in terms of the number of participating organisations is also limited by the available funding. In order to reinforce the programme, so that it can achieve long-lasting results at EU level, there is a need to strengthen its financial resources, with a view to a possible future comprehensive financial instrument in the field of drugs.
The findings of the evaluation confirmed that there are no major difficulties hindering the successful implementation of the programme. However, in order to maximise the potential of the DPIP within its existing framework, to strengthen its impact and to optimize the implementation there is a need for certain adjustments. The Commission proposes the following measures to address these:
Increased EU dimension and EU added value and impact: in order to gain visibility for the programmes and to ensure that the projects achieve an impact not limited to local or regional level, broader and better elaborated projects with a higher EU added value and sustainability should be favoured. To deliver activities with a broad European dimension, coverage and sustainability, the financing possibilities within the
DPIP should be streamlined and the limited available funding should be concentrated on multiannual actions implemented by several partners. To this end the Commission will assess the added value of the operating grants provided for organisations only for one budgetary year which have had limited impact so far.
The Commission should further strengthen the synergies between the financial instruments supporting the objectives of the EU Drugs Strategy. The cooperation and communication between programmes should be enhanced (in particular between the Prevention of and Fight Against Crime programme 2007-2013 (ISEC) and the Public Health Programme) at the level of programming during the formulation of the annual work programmes in order to avoid duplications and to allow potential beneficiaries to target their applications more efficiently.
Increased efficiency of management of DPIP: the lengthy and administratively demanding procedures have been identified as major obstacle to success. It was confirmed that abolishing of the paper-based application process had a positive impact on management, and was perceived positively by the target audience of the DPIP. The new PRIAMOS system has proven its usefulness and showed good potential to become an integrated interface of communication with applicants and beneficiaries. The Commission will take further steps to improve its functionalities and speed in order to facilitate the gradual transfer of the entire grant management process to it. However, although the introduction of the electronic grants management system somewhat simplified the procedure, and freed some resources of the Commission, significant acceleration of the procedure has not been achieved. Elements of the procedure imposed by the Decision (consultation of the Member States and the right of scrutiny of the European Parliament) and the administrative requirements for processing a high number of supporting documents remain a considerable obstacle.
The Commission will take measures to reduce the time spent between the publication of the calls for proposals and the actual conclusion of the grant agreement to accelerate the provision of funding. Further consideration should be given to addressing the procedural obligations described above which should also be viewed in the context of the future financial perspectives.
Improved dissemination and better use of results: the evaluation identified certain deficits in relation to the exploitation of the result of the projects financed under the DPIP. It was indicated that making the results centrally available for the public would not only directly contribute to one of the specific objectives of the DPIP but also would allow the generation of better projects. This would help the current and future beneficiaries as well as the Commission to avoid duplications and build on already existing achievements.