Evaluation of the Impact of Inclusion Policies under the Open Method of Coordination: Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States of the European Union.

The purpose of this report is to disseminate the results of a research and evaluation project undertaken in six European Union (EU) Member States in 2006. The project sought to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of cultural policies aimed at the social inclusion of ethnic minorities and Roma/Sinti. The cultural policies formed part of or complemented the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion (NAPs/Incl.) under the Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) adopted by the EU after the Lisbon European Council in 2000. With the brief to address key policy measures and strategies implemented by EU Member States while devoting particular attention to the relevance of the methods, instruments and indicators used in applied research concerning major policies aiming at promoting social inclusion as well as providing a cost-effectiveness assessment, the report forms part of the evaluation of the economic and social impact of inclusion policies within the framework of the Open Method of Co-ordination on Social Inclusion (OMC/Incl.). Through original research carried out from a trans-national perspective on the impact evaluation of major policies or strategies implemented by Member States in the context of their NAPs against poverty and social exclusion, the project team evaluated the NAPs/Incl. of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden. In addition to evaluation results, the research aimed at piloting a framework of Common Inter-Cultural Indicators (CICI).