You can access here the publication of the European Commission Staff Working Document (SWD) on the Interim Evaluation of PRIMA:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=SWD:2026:91:FIN
The evaluation covers the full period from PRIMA’s launch in 2017 through end 2024, encompassing all Annual Work Programmes (AWPs) from 2018 to 2024. It was assessed against the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and EU added value, including transparency and openness.
The SWD was supported by an independent external study led by CSIL with the support of Ecorys. It drew on surveys with PRIMA beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries (held this summer), interviews, and case studies, with data triangulated to ensure reliability.
You can access here the Evaluation study on the partnership for research and innovation for the Mediterranean area (): https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/79983709-d4ab-11f0-8da2-01aa75ed71a1.
PRIMA Secretariat also delivered a detailed input report including a full set of statistics and indicators.
The evaluation recognises not only the strategic value of PRIMA, but also its concrete and measurable achievements. Over the course of the partnership, PRIMA has helped align national research and innovation agendas across the Mediterranean, mobilised a broad and diverse community of stakeholders, and by the end of 2024 had supported 269 projects under Sections 1 and 2 with a total budget of around EUR 401.6 million.
The evaluation identifies a strong set of assets that confirm PRIMA’s value as a unique EU partnership. Recognised as a powerful instrument for science and water diplomacy grounded in the “equal footing” principle, PRIMA has successfully integrated organisations from non-EU and non-Associated Countries into EU R&I networks, while meeting its administrative and operational targets.
Stakeholder satisfaction has been high across both policy and project levels, and academic outcomes have been substantial. The partnership also stands out for its cost-effectiveness, delivering strong output-to-funding performance and demonstrating real financial leverage for R&I, all while advancing the alignment of national research and innovation agendas across the Mediterranean.
