RDI II was a continuation of the first phase of the RDI programme, with an objective to further support the Egyptian government’s efforts to enhance research, development and innovation performance to facilitate Egypt’s move towards a knowledge-based economy. Specifically, the programme sought to advance Innovation Support, Research Networking, and Support to Innovation Clusters by:

• Fostering the Science and Innovation culture and environment;
• Expanding research collaboration between the public and private sectors;
• Enhancing the impact of Egyptian researchers’ participation in EU funded programmes;
• Advancing Egypt’s scientific and technological capacity through supporting Centres of Excellence.

Our contribution focused on the improvement of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Programme, particularly the Programme Implementation Office (PIO) performance in terms of the effective achievement of its objectives and the programme goals. We provided strategic advice to decision-makers in the Government of Egypt, the relevant external co-operation services and the wider public through an overall independent assessment about the performance of the programme, paying particular attention to the impact of the project actions against its objectives. As part of the assessment, we identified key lessons to propose practical recommendations for any future programming in this sector.

Our assessment included the following components:

• Functioning and mechanisms of the PIO, including the efficiency and effectiveness of the applied methodologies and practices for projects’ planning, internal monitoring and follow-ups, and communication channels within the PIO and among different stakeholders of the programme;
• Progress of different grant projects relative to their respective set of objectives, the action plans, steps of implementation, inputs and outputs of each of the outlined activities, and the results in general;
• Mechanisms of the PIO Research Networking Unit and the RDIN focal points, including their efficiency and effectiveness to promote and strengthen the capacities of the Egyptian R&D sector and to enhance scientific cooperation with European partners.

• Conducted a comprehensive study of the programme, including an assessment of a sample of the grant projects’ outcomes and activities
• Assessed the expected impact of the RDI-II grants on the Egyptian economy and improvement of its the competitiveness.
• Identified recommendations for future programming, including the impact of the RDI Programme on the community and its role in creating an innovation culture