The findings and conclusions presented in this report are based on a range of sources of evidence. These include the programme structure of FP7, the EC budget allocations to different types of organisations and different regions, the success rates of proposals and the collaboration networks established by FP7 evaluated on the basis of CORDIS data (the Community Research and Development Information System) and partly confidential data provided by DG R&I (e.g. proposal data). Another important source was the 120+ reports of evaluation studies that were contracted by DG R&I and carried out by a number of professional evaluators and experts. For the first time, these evaluation reports were assembled in a structured repository that enabled synthesis of the evaluation findings from different sources. In addition, more than 50 experts from the EU Member States, the European Commission, umbrella organisations and national contact points were consulted.
Last but not least, this report builds on the knowledge, experiences and expertise of the members of this High Level Expert Group. It also draws on the findings and recommendations of the FP7 mid‐term evaluation and addresses several new issues from an ex‐post perspective. Some impacts can already be assessed using quantitative data while many others can only be evaluated from a qualitative perspective or haven’t yet fully materialised to the extent that this evaluation could provide final conclusions. In these latter two cases a triangulation of different sources was used to provide an indication of trends and future pathways. After presenting the facts, figures and main achievements of FP7, this executive summary highlights the five key recommendations of the High Level Expert Group.
