The ESC is at a crossroads: the evaluation highlights its substantial impact on youth development and communities, while the future direction is still unclear.
As the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme continues to evolve, its impact on young people and communities across Europe – and now the world – grows stronger. The European Commission (EC) released the interim evaluation of the 2021-2027 period and final evaluation of the 2018-2020 period, along with a staff working document. Since its establishment in 2018, the ESC has existed as an independent EU-funded programme offering young people opportunities to engage in volunteer work, internships and jobs that support communities throughout Europe. By the end of 2020, the programme had provided over 35’000 young people with valuable opportunities. The ESC then broadened its scope in 2022 by starting to support humanitarian aid operations worldwide.
The evaluation, which was conducted for five criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, and EU added value), broadly recognises the mutually beneficial role of the ESC in responding to society’s needs, promoting cohesion and inclusion, fostering civic engagement and enabling the personal development of participants. The programme is also well-aligned with the Commission’s priorities of the former period, namely democratic participation, inclusion, diversity and environmental sustainability. Despite challenges in the first year of the latest Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), including delays in the adoption of the ESC’s regulation, the legacy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, the programme successfully implemented flexible measures to adapt and refocus projects. As a result, the overall evaluation of this aspect has been highly positive.
When evaluating the programme against each criterion, the relevance of the ESC stands out, particularly in relation to the evolving needs of European society. The ESC’s ability to provide a swift response to societal challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the programme’s potential for adaptability and resilience. A more diverse geographical spread of participating organisations and a higher share of young people with fewer opportunities among the participants would enhance the relevance even more (see SwissCore article). The ESC also proved to be coherent: It strongly aligns with EU strategic priorities and stands complementary to Erasmus+. However, there is still room for improvement in better integrating the ESC’s objectives with broader EU youth employment policies. The possible integration of the volunteering programme into Erasmus+ could contribute to increasing its administrative efficiency and flexibility but could also weaken its primary purpose and goal. The ESC is both effective and efficient, with the positive impact of volunteering on the quality of life in rural and socio-economically disadvantaged areas, as well as its role in fostering community spirit, now firmly established. The second period of the ESC saw applications exceeding by far the initial target and the current budget is insufficient to meet the demand level. However, the second period also demonstrated cost-effectiveness. While inflation significantly impacted the programme’s ability to achieve its goals, the current period has successfully optimised costs, making the programme more efficient on a per-participant basis compared to 2018-2020, further highlighting the ESC’s capacity for resilience. Most importantly, the ESC brings significant added-value to the European society. It contributes to mitigating the anti-EU sentiment and cultivating a sense of European identity in communities. In terms of logistics too, for over half of the organisations and participants, the ESC is the only available option to engage in volunteering and solidarity activities.
Finally, the evaluation puts forward several recommendations. The process for identifying and including people with fewer opportunities should be enhanced, and the unequal geographical distribution of projects and participants must be addressed. Visa arrangements for non-EU nationals also need improvement, with a stronger collaboration with national bodies on this issue being desired. The new humanitarian aid strand requires further clarification to help stakeholders better navigate it. Additionally, aligning funding with the programme’s goals and objectives to increase its resilience to future challenges should be prioritised.
The feedback period for the evaluation took place at the end of the year 2022 and Switzerland provided its input to the consultation through the Swiss National Youth Council (SNYC), as the umbrella organisation of the youth organisations in the country. Switzerland currently does not have access to the ESC but can participate to the European Voluntary Service (EVS) through the Swiss Programme to Erasmus+. The SNYC pointed out the difficulty of third countries to collaborate with European organisations, despite the many synergies between the programmes that could be leveraged. The SNYC also reported in the feedback that the EVS significantly enhanced participants’ awareness and cultural knowledge.