Final Evaluation of Education Outreach USA and Canada

This report presents the evaluation of the EU’s Education Outreach programme in the USA and Canada. It assesses relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and coherence, and distils lessons and recommendations for the next phase.

EU FPI funded a €3m programme (May 2021–Sep 2024) to build affinity for the EU and transatlantic relations among younger Americans and Canadians. It delivered eight activities: Euro Challenge, Schuman Challenge, Young Leaders Seminars, Brussels study tours for Gilman Scholars and NCSS educators, an Educators Summit, Model EU materials, and auxiliary outreach. The evaluation used document review plus interviews and focus groups. It finds the design and activity mix highly relevant to EU foreign policy priorities and the evolving context, while noting gaps in the original logframe and indicators. Efficiency was good, with high value for money supported by a dedicated team, committed partners and EUD/FPI guidance, coordination and communication could be strengthened. All planned activities were implemented (30+ sub-events) with 2,600+ participants, indicators were achieved or surpassed, and over 90% reported positive shifts in perceptions and stronger understanding of EU values, policies and standards. Long-term impact appears promising but is hard to measure, impact indicators should be revised to be measurable and linked to objectives. Sustainability prospects are strong due to partner commitment, increased capacities and pooled resources for a next phase. The programme is coherent with Erasmus+ and Jean Monnet initiatives and shows high EU added value, visibility would benefit from a project-wide website and inclusive outreach.