Policy Evaluation within the Federal Republic

Abstract

In this chapter we examine the practice of evaluation within the EU Structural Funds in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany with a detailed account of the working mode, control structures and financial dimension of the evaluation system. In particular, how can we account for regional variation in compliance with supranational rules? According to the implementation management model, the quality of the regional application of supranational procedural innovations determines the size of the Commission’s managerial added-value in domestic politics, but even though the Länder have the same constitutional set-up and rights, and despite the fact that EU rules are equally binding upon all of them, the quality of regional application varies. What explains this variation in compliance?