The main objective of this evaluation was to assess the implementation of the EU Innovation Fund (IF) from its establishment in 2020 through 2025. It provided key insights into the Fund’s contribution to the European Union’s climate goals, particularly the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the promotion of innovative low-carbon technologies. The results of the evaluation are used to improve aspects of the IF’s implementation. The evaluation addressed the following assessment dimensions:
- Relevance: Relevance describes the extent to which the IF’s objectives are aligned with the needs, challenges, and priorities of the European Union, particularly with regard to its climate and energy policy goals.
- Effectiveness: Effectiveness assesses how well the IF has achieved its stated objectives and produced the desired outcomes.
- Efficiency: Efficiency considers how economically the IF has utilised its resources to achieve its objectives.
- EU Added Value: EU Added Value assesses the unique contributions of the IF that could not have been achieved through the actions of individual Member States alone.
- Coherence: Coherence assesses the alignment and integration of the IF with other EU policies, strategies, and funding instruments.
In the IF-EVAL project, researchers at the Wuppertal Institute primarily evaluated the "coherence" dimension, based on a shared intervention logic (Theory of Change for the Innovation Fund). This analysis was based on empirical data regarding the approved projects, surveys of applicants, and expert interviews. For the evaluation, the project team deployed the Delphi method as well as a multi-criteria assessment grid developed specifically for this purpose. It helped to identify synergies and barriers, but also to examine the effectiveness and complementarity of the Innovation Fund’s instruments in achieving its specific objectives.