The general objective of this evaluation was twofold. Firstly, to provide the relevant external co-operation services of the European Union (EU) and the wider public with an overall independent, evidence-assessment of the EU cooperation with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between 2014 and 2021. And secondly, to identify key lessons and to produce recommendations in order to inform the responsible decision makers on how to improve the current and future strategies, programmes and actions of the EU in PNG.
Its specific objectives were the following:

• To assess the performance (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, impact, sustainability and EU added value) of EU support (policy dialogue and financial assistance); and
• To provide recommendations for the next programming period.

The evaluation paid particular attention to the areas of i) Rural development and Rural Infrastructure; ii) Investment, Trade and Private Sector Development; iii) Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training; iv) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; iv) Good Governance including Public Finance Management; and v) Forestry, Climate Change, and Biodiversity. It led to the identification of conclusions, lessons learnt (both positive and negative), good practices regarding the achievement of the EU’s cooperation with PNG with a set of targeted and useful forward-looking recommendations for the improvement of the programming, assistance, and implementation of current EU interventions in the country.