LIFE monitoring and evaluation

LIFE programme and intervention logic

The current LIFE programme (2021-2027) has a total budget of 5.45 billion Euros (compared to 3.4 billion Euros for previous programme 2014-2020). The programme finds its legal foundation in Regulation (EU) 2021/783 ⁽¹⁾, jointly established by the European Parliament and the Council, outlining a Program for Environmental and Climate Action (LIFE) and revoking Regulation (EC) No 1293/2013. 

According to Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/783, the overarching aim of the LIFE Programme is “to contribute to the shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and - resilient economy, in order to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment, including the air, water and soil, and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and to tackle the degradation of ecosystems, including by supporting the implementation and management of the Natura 2000 network, thereby contributing to sustainable development”.

Within the EU approach for mainstreaming green investment strategies among large investment programmes, LIFE remains the LIFE programme 2021-2027 remains is the only EU funding programme entirely dedicated to environmental, climate and energy objectives.
_{(1) PE/14/2021/INIT}

Specific objectives

The overall LIFE programme ambitions are driven along three main lines of action described in the programme specific objectives: 

1. Innovation: identify, testing, piloting and implementing innovative techniques, demonstrating the value of the place-based actions and turning them into and replicable solutions.
2. Enforcement and implementation of the EU legislation and policy: support Member States at regional, multi-regional, national, or trans-national level to enhance the capacity of operators on the ground for translating policies and legislation into operational processes such as the development of managing plans and strategies and building of monitoring systems.
3. Catalytic effect: expand, continue and replicate successful projects’ outcomes, and scale them up to scale for speeding up the green transition in the EU.

Areas of intervention

To this end, the LIFE Programme is structured into four sub-programs that represent the key areas of intervention:

1. Sub-programme «Nature and Biodiversity»: reinforcing and mainstreaming the implementation of EU policies for safeguarding and reviving wildlife habitats and species across sectors, in line with the Biodiversity Strategy objectives for 2030; 
2. Sub-programme «Circular Economy and Quality of Life»: facilitating the transition to a circular economy while enhancing the quality of natural resources such as air, soil, and water within the EU; 
3. Sub-programme «Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation»: supporting the realization of the 2030 energy and climate policy framework, the EU's ambition for climate neutrality by 2050, and the revised EU strategy on climate change adaptation; 
4. Sub-programme «Clear Energy Transition»: bolstering capabilities, stimulating investments, and facilitating the execution of policies centred on energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy initiatives. 

Funding instruments

Grants are the bulk of the funding instruments under LIFE (at least 85% of the budget); other forms of funding include Procurement contracts; Prizes; Activities to support investments, including blending; Support to the financing of other actions under indirect management. The LIFE Programme includes Action grants and Operating grants and different types of grants respond to specific actions:

• Standard action projects (SAP): this instrument funds projects that cover a very wide and varied range of project, spanning from conception to implementation close-to-market; these projects are implanted across, sectors, at different local/regional/national level and involve different beneficiaries from private and public sector, research and civil society. They are the bulk of LIFE funding.
• Strategic nature projects (SNAP) for Nature & Biodiversity and Strategic integrated projects (SIP): this instrument funds projects that mobilise, engage and coordinate the implementation of the EU environmental/climate policy framework at a large territorial scale; mostly they are managed by the competent authority or responsible entity.
• Technical assistance projects: these projects aim to provide support for 1. The preparation of SNaPs and SIPs (TA-PP); 2. the preparation for facilitating the up-scaling and replication of results from other projects funded by the LIFE Programme, its predecessor programmes or other Union programmes and for accessing other Union financial instruments (TA-R);  3. the capacity building of Member States Authorities with low effective participation to the LIFE programme with a view to improving the LIFE National Contact Points2 services across the EU and to increasing the overall quality of proposals submitted (TA-CAP). 
• Other types of grants include Coordination and support actions (CSA) aimed at supporting capacity building, at dissemination of information and of knowledge, and at awareness-raising and the Projects addressing ad hoc Legislative and Policy Priorities (PLP) aimed to finance specific actions under a top-down approach aimed to steer interventions responding to EU priorities.
• Operating Grants aim to support the functioning of non-profit making entities which are involved in the development, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation and policy, and which are primarily active in the area of the environment or climate action, including energy transition, in line with the objectives of the LIFE programme.

Monitoring and reporting

The Commission is committed to presenting accurate, reliable and understandable performance information relating to EU spending programmes for the 2021-2027 period in a concise and uniform format.

Reporting

Every year LIFE contributes to the Programme Performance Statements, which are in annex to the Annual Management and Performance Report and are also working document 1 of the EU draft budget. LIFE interventions are monitored along their entire cycle to support decision-making ; the objective is to inform about progress, identify potential problems and take corrective actions.

LIFE - Performance - European Commission (europa.eu)

LIFE programme performance framework

Building on the pre-existing framework for the monitoring and evaluation of the LIFE 2014-2020 programme and in line with Article 19 of the LIFE Regulation, a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework has been developed to ensure regular reporting and assessment of the LIFE programme’s progress towards the achievement of its objectives.

LIFE project data

LIFE key performance indicators are calculated by aggregating the information collected at project level. In line with the criteria for a strengthened common control approach to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of performance information related to the EU budget spending programmes, a data quality assurance framework for project data is in place.

LIFE reporting - European Commission (europa.eu)

Beneficiaries are ultimately the owners of data related to their projects and they are fully accountable and responsible for the relevance and accuracy of the information provided. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), in charge for the implementation of the LIFE programme, is responsible for gathering project data from LIFE beneficiaries and is accountable for the good management and control of data quality. The European Commission verifies the data and evaluates the project's progress and success.