Evaluation of the Digital Europe Programme

Key points

The EESC:

• suggests that the European Commission should develop an integrated communication strategy to raise awareness of the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) among various stakeholders, such as social partners, SMEs, public authorities, educational institutions, and civil society;
• calls upon the Commission to review and improve co-financing models under the DEP, by increasing the co-funding rate to at least 80% to alleviate financial burdens and by making them more attractive and accessible, especially for SMEs and other smaller entities;
• urges the Commission to set clear mechanisms for aligning the objectives of the DEP, Horizon Europe, the Europe Regional Development Fund, and other EU programmes by providing clear guidance on combining resources from these streams to enhance project impact and avoid overlaps;
• calls for reduced bureaucratic barriers and clearer guidelines to improve compliance and understanding among applicants, by implementing an effective monitoring and evaluation system, and urges the Commission to create targeted support programmes to address specific challenges SMEs face in accessing and utilising DEP funding;
• recommends that the Commission actively promote the DEP Dashboard, launched in the summer of 2024, and develop a comprehensive framework for evaluating the effectiveness and impact of DEP initiatives by focusing on both qualitative and quantitative metrics and by including regular assessments for the alignment with broader EU policy goals and the socioeconomic needs of different regions;
• calls for active support for initiatives to increase female participation in tech and STEM careers and inform them about cross-sectoral growth possibilities learning/using different emerging technologies.

For more information, please contact the INT Section Secretariat