November, 2020 – August, 2021 BGI Consulting carried out the evaluation of Scale and Impact of European Union Funds’ and other Investments in Education and Science Infrastructure. The evaluation was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania.

 

Since 2004, the total scope of investments in education, research, experimental development, and innovation (hereinafter - RDI) infrastructure amounted to EUR 2.55 billion, of which more than EUR 1.7 billion were financed by EU Funds’ operational programs. The investments were allocated for three types of infrastructure: (1) buildings and premises (construction, reconstruction, repair), (2) physical equipment (purchase of devices, furniture, other material supplies), (3) IT equipment (purchase of computer hardware, software).

 

In the period of 2004-2020, EUR 1.42 billion was allocated for the development and (or) renewal of education infrastructure. Slightly less than half (about EUR 634 million) of all investments in education infrastructure was allocated for general education infrastructure. Almost one-sixth (over EUR 231 million and EUR 234 million, respectively) of all investments went to both vocational education and training and higher education (only studies’) infrastructure. About EUR 115 million was allocated for pre-school education infrastructure. Relatively smallest investments (approximately EUR 42 million and up to EUR 11 million, respectively) were made in non-formal education of children and adult education. About EUR 156 million was allocated for mixed (encompassing more than one level of education) infrastructure. The largest share of non-EU funds’ investments was allocated for general education and mixed infrastructure, while investments in other levels of education were mostly financed from the EU funds.

 

In the period of 2004-2020, investments in RDI infrastructure consisted of two categories of investments - investments only in RDI infrastructure and investments in complex (studies‘ and RDI) university infrastructure. During the period of 2004-2020, investments in both categories of RDI infrastructure amounted to EUR 1.13 billion. More than half (about EUR 651 million) of all investments in RDI infrastructure were allocated to universities. One-fifth (about EUR 231 million) of all investments went to the private sector. Relatively smallest investments (about EUR 92 million) were allocated to research institutes. Other RDI entities (clusters, associations, business incubators, operators of free economic zones (hereinafter – FEZ), etc.) received more than one-tenth (about EUR 155 million) of the total investments.

  

Since 2007, relatively most of the funds allocated to educational infrastructure went to buildings and premises, to a lesser extent to physical equipment. In the field of RDI, more funds were allocated to the purchase of physical equipment and to a lesser extent to the renovation of buildings and premises. Relatively the least funds are allocated to IT infrastructure education and RDI development or renewal. In the period 2007-2020, EUR 124 million was invested in IT infrastructure. More than half of these funds (EUR 65 million) went to education, the rest (EUR 59 million) to RDI. The largest investments in IT infrastructure in education are allocated to general education, and to a lesser extent to vocational training and studies. Relatively the least investment in IT equipment is in the areas of pre-school education and non-formal education of children. In the field of RDI, the largest investments in the development or renewal of IT infrastructure went to universities, and to a lesser extent to business entities.

 

EU funds' investments in education and RDI infrastructure (including IT infrastructure) have significantly contributed to the development of the material base of different levels of education and the improvement of the material conditions of educational programs. The investments ensured the compliance of the infrastructure of various levels of education with modern standards and increased the integration of IT into the teaching and (or) learning process, therefore, respectively, created pre-conditions for increasing the diversity and improving the quality of educational programs. However, the positive impact of investment is in some cases limited by the inefficient use of upgraded infrastructure due to negative demographic trends, lack of resources, and other factors. Due to the insufficient complexity of investments in buildings and premises and the fragmentation of investments in providing educational institutions with physical and IT equipment, the investments of EU funds have only partially contributed to increasing the accessibility of different levels of education. Despite the fact that investments in RDI infrastructure have significantly contributed to increasing the competitiveness of the economy and creating a knowledge society, the potential of these investments is still not fully exploited due to long-standing problems of the Lithuanian RDI system - relatively small number of RDI institutions to proactively seek business partners and carry out joint science-business projects, lack of and insufficient human resources.

  

Various evaluation methods were used during the evaluation: document analysis, analysis of secondary sources, analysis of monitoring data and statistical data, analysis of publicly available information, surveys, semi-structured interviews, cost-benefit analysis, analysis of intervention logic, statistical analysis, meta-analysis, expert evaluation, and case studies.

 

The evaluation report is available here.