The EU Northern Dimension (ND) cooperation emerged in 1997, two years after the accession of Sweden and Finland. Geographically, the Northern Dimension focuses on north-west Russia, the Baltic and Barents Seas, as well as the Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas. To facilitate ND sectorial cooperation and project implementation, four sectorial Partnerships have been established to deal with the thematic issues of: 1) Environment, 2) Public health and social well-being, 3) Transport and logistics, 4) Culture.

This evaluation covers the Northern Dimension Transport and Logistics Partnership (NDPTL) established in October 2009. The current members of the NDPTL are Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the European Commission. The overall goal of the NDPTL is to improve, in compliance with the ecological needs of the region, the major transport connections and logistics in the Northern Dimension region in order to stimulate sustainable economic growth at the local, regional and global level by focusing on a limited number of priorities that reflect both regional and national priorities in a balanced way. The partnership also serves as a regional forum for transport and logistics issues, and co-ordinates the work of cooperation structures already in existence.

The purpose of the project was to evaluate how the results achieved in the NDPTL were linked to the EU intervention, while identifying the factors driving or hindering progress. Furthermore, it aimed to provide an understanding of the cause and effect links between inputs and activities, and outputs, outcomes and impacts. The main objectives of this evaluation were to provide the relevant services of the EU, the interested stakeholders and the wider public with:

• An independent assessment of the past performance of the NDPTL, paying particular attention to its intermediate results measured against its objectives;
• Key lessons and recommendations on how added value from the partnership’s activities can be obtained;
• Possible ways of continuing cooperation between the partners after 2019.

In particular, this evaluation served to understand the performance of the NDPTL, its enabling factors and the issues hampering proper delivery of results, in order to adjust its design or implementing modalities for possible development of the Partnership beyond 2020. The final output was a report to the DUE in Russia and the NDPTL Secretariat.

• Defined methods of analysis
• Collected documents and data
• Reconstructed the Intervention logic
• Conducted interviews at country level with relevant ministries
• Gathered primary evidence with the use of interviews and research
• Formulated the overall assessment, conclusions and recommendations
• Presented key recommendations to DUE, NDPTL and local stakeholders