Guidelines for the project preparation phase

Scoping of evaluation

The expected impacts of CCAM are wide-ranging. As it is not possible to assess all potential impacts, scoping and prioritisation are necessary. Finding agreement already in the proposal phase ensures that project partners share a common understanding on how to address project goals.

Scoping ensures that the commitments made during the proposal phase can be executed. That is, that the consortium’s expertise and tools align with the project’s scope and the scope aligns with the consortium’s expertise and tools. Scoping is first required for the project as a whole and then specifically for the evaluation, ensuring consistency with the overall scope. The project proposal must clearly demonstrate how evaluation activities align with the overall project scope. The guidelines in the EU-CEM handbook cover the following topics:

• How to set the overall scope of the evaluation
• How to choose impact areas for evaluation
• How to build a consortium fit for the evaluation scope

Project structure and governance

An effective and well-organised project structure and governance are important in CCAM projects, as these projects are often large and complex, involving numerous partners and long durations and increasing the likelihood of personnel changes during the project. The involvement of multiple partners in preparing and conducting experiments, as well as in data collection and analysis, adds to the complexity of the evaluation process. Even if different evaluation activities do not share the same precise focal point, their results should align to support a cohesive narrative. A well-structured project and effective governance help ensure this alignment.

CCAM is often studied in innovation projects with immature technologies tested in the real world. Data collection can be complex and costly, with data flows between partners raising security and confidentiality concerns. These issues require attention already during the project preparation phase. Additionally, permits for testing on public roads are necessary and impose specific requirements on the execution of the experiments.

The project structure defines the framework for project execution. It outlines work packages, their timelines, activities, milestones, and interconnections. A logical and easy-to-understand project structure facilitates good governance and project management.

During the project preparation phase, the project structure and governance should be designed to allow for necessary adjustments while ensuring that the evaluation remains feasible within the time and budget constraints, without overburdening the evaluation team members. Project governance also involves managing expectations and balancing the perspectives and interests of partners, clients and other stakeholders. The aim is to deliver high-quality evaluations with impactful outcomes.

The following guidelines covering key aspects of project structure and governance are discussed in the EU-CEM handbook:

• How to plan evaluation activities for the proposal
• How to create a project structure that supports evaluation
• How to assign responsibilities across work packages and activities
• How to ensure information exchange to support the evaluation of CCAM
• How to enable adaptivity of the evaluations
• How to ensure the quality of the evaluation
• How to set up a process for mediating conflicts