Ex post evaluation of the activities of the joint research centre under Horizon 2020 and Euratom 2014-2020

The report is the result of the external Panel ex post evaluation of the JRC activities under H2020 and Euratom 2014-2020. It provides the independent assessment requested in the Council Decisions concerning the specific programmes to be carried out by means of direct actions by the Joint Research Centre implementing the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (2014-2020) of the European Commission and of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The evaluation has been conducted by a panel of independent external experts under the chairmanship of Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer. In this report the Panel concludes positively on the effectiveness of the JRC as the Commission’s science service in support of Euratom and EU policies. Besides a number of recommendations for incremental improvement of the JRC, the Panel has flagged that the JRC is in a unique position as a provider of independent scientific evidence inside the European Commission, but, because of this, the JRC and its research work are less visible to the outside world than they merit. The Panel also flags that the JRC and its stakeholders, internal and external to the Commission, would also benefit from more communication and interactions. The Panel has particularly appreciated the meetings with the stakeholders that gave much insight into the cooperation between the JRC and the other parts of the Commission, supporting our positive assessment and our suggestions for improvement.