Evaluation of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) National Rural

Tender description

This tender is to evaluate the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Network. To support delivery of the RDPE, European Rural Development Regulations require all Member States to establish a National Rural Network (NRN) and publicise various forms of information relating to the programme. The key role of the Network is to support the exchange of ideas, practice and experiences of those receiving funding and taking part in the RDPE’s four schemes: Environmental Land Management Schemes, Countryside Productivity, Growth Programme and LEADER. It also supports the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability, with setting up and sharing of activities within the partnerships operational groups in England. The Network itself includes people involved with the RDPE and the projects it funds. It is part of the UK National Rural Network which includes the Rural Network for Northern Ireland, the Scotland National Rural Network and the Wales Rural Network. The aim of this evaluation is to provide an independent assessment of the networking activities carried out by the RDPE Network under the current Rural Development Programme for England which ran from 2014 to 2020. This will be used to understand the value added in terms of impact and outcome of this activity, and how stakeholder engagement including networking, communications and knowledge transfer, can be used to support the development and delivery of any future rural development activities. There is an EU regulatory requirement to evaluate the extent to which the Network has achieved its objectives. Bidders are invited to suggest the most appropriate methods for assessing the networking activities of the NRN – innovative or alternative methods are welcome. We anticipate an emphasis on seeking the views of stakeholders given the stakeholder engagement and communications components as well as desk-based research to understand the range of activities undertaken by the Network.