While the economy is mostly global, firms, people, and institutions are mostly local. Public expenditures and policies to support local development need to be well-targeted, effective, and accountable. CSIL supports governments, investors and funders in designing, implementing and evaluating strategies and instruments for regional development, drawing from dozens of projects for key players, such as the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Parliament, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and tens of national and local public bodies.

Thanks to our experts’ in-depth knowledge of the rationales and delivery modes of regional and local policies, CSIL assists public administrations in designing legislative and institutional frameworks and operational practices of effective development strategies. In this field, we specialise particularly in some key policy areas, including SMEs’ competitiveness, R&D and innovation, digital transformation, and infrastructure development.

Our services include:

• Advisory for problem identification, policy formulation and strategy definition;
• Drafting policy briefs, writing strategic and programme documents;
• Monitoring and assessment of the performance of spending programmes, measures or policy actions;
• Ex-ante evaluation of plans and funding programmes;
• Ex-post evaluation and impact assessment studies to describe and measure the added value, efficiency and impact of a policy, a programme or a project on the economy, society or the environment;
• Analysis and assessment of monitoring and evaluation systems of public investment programmes;
• Technical assistance, capacity building and training to improve policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation capacities;
• Surveys and stakeholder consultation activities, including workshops, seminars, policy round tables and focus groups to solicit opinions, validate findings, and map relevant needs and information gaps.

CSIL experts make use of different analytical approaches such as counterfactual impact analysis, cost-benefit analysis, theory-based evaluation, and contribution analysis, combining innovatively quantitative analysis and qualitative research. While CSIL experts have a strong background in quantitative methods, they highly value the collection of primary qualitative insights through interviews, surveys and focus groups, delving into the nuances, motivations, and perceptions of stakeholders and beneficiaries. Our approach to policy analysis and evaluation is aimed at formulating tailor-made, evidence-based and actionable recommendations.