The overall objective of the mid-term evaluation (the 'Evaluation') was to assess the progress of the Regional Housing Programme relating to beneficiaries and sustainability. Thereby the progress was assessed against the objectives and results set forth in the Framework Programme of the Joint Regional Programme on Durable Solutions for Refugees and Displaced Persons and as these were further developed in the Country Feasibility Reports.
The overall RHP objective, as defined in the Joint Programme document, was to comprehensively contribute towards completion of the protracted displacement situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Republic of Croatia and Republic of Serbia by providing durable and sustainable housing solutions with full respect for the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons and the mutual obligation to closely cooperate and synchronize activities in order to ensure durable solutions for them, either through voluntary return and reintegration or local integration.
The relevant outputs of the Framework Programme were the following:

• Housing in accordance with appropriate minimum standards and related public infrastructure with utilities 'connection provided to beneficiaries (both for households in the return area in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, and in places of local integration in all Partner Countries);
• Return and reintegration of returning beneficiaries facilitated (applicable to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia);
• Local integration in the places of displacement facilitated (applicable to all four

Partner Countries);

• Collective centres in Croatia accommodating returnees closed, and where refugees were accommodated closed;
• All 1991-1995 refugees residing in CCs in Serbia moved to housing units provided within the RHP.
• Adequate housing solutions within institutions of social welfare system in Bosnia and

Herzegovina provided;

• Accommodation and care in newly built homes for elderly in Montenegro and Croatia provided, following the closure of collective centres in Croatia.
• Inclusion and integration in social welfare system facilitated (applicable to BiH, Montenegro and Croatia).

The following general questions were in particular needed to be addressed:

• Are the original RHP targets for beneficiaries and beneficiary types still a valid reflection of existing needs?
• Is the RHP reaching and addressing the needs of the families that most need its support?
• Is the RHP on target to achieve sustainable solutions?
• What are the Governments doing to ensure full respect for rights of refugees and IDPs?
• What are the gaps and how they could be addressed?

Specific objectives were as follows:
1) To review the continuing relevance and validity of the beneficiary targets, in particular the number of expected beneficiaries and households in need in comparison to the figures anticipated at the beginning of the programme. This included the assessment of beneficiary groups within each Country Housing Projects, as well as the assessment of adequacy of initially envisaged project types;
2) To provide an analysis of the selection of beneficiaries of the Regional Housing Programme thus far. The evaluators assessed to which extent the current practices of selecting beneficiaries were result oriented towards reaching the foreseen targets;
3) To provide an assessment of the sustainability of the solutions offered by the Regional Housing Programme. The evaluators assessed the likelihood that by the end of the programme the beneficiaries for whom housing solutions were offered occupied the houses provided. At the same time, an assessment was made on the likelihood that the national authorities will use the improved administrative capacities for the future;
4) To provide a judgement on the overall performance (either actual or expected) of the efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, impact, sustainability and EU value added of the Regional Housing Programme as it related to beneficiary-oriented programming, in complementarity with the Mid-term Review of the Regional Housing Programme by the council of Europe Development Bank (see 2.4) which took place in parallel;
5) To provide an assessment of the monitoring mechanism in place in respect to beneficiaries' selection and sustainability of the programme;
6) Based on relevant findings, conclusions and lessons learned as per the above objective relevant operational recommendations were provided for:

• improving all Programme components relevant to addressing the needs of beneficiaries, including the beneficiary selection practices, and to raise sustainability of the programme;
• role and the best placed actors on the ground which can be used to support beneficiary selection and sustainability;
• synergies and coordination/cooperation with complementary programmes provided by the PCs' administrations and/or donor community;
• if relevant, corrective measures, to improve the overall implementation and monitoring of ongoing actions.