1.   Evaluations shall be carried out in a sufficiently timely manner to feed into the decision-making process.

2.   By 31 December 2017, the Commission shall carry out, with the assistance of independent experts selected on the basis of a transparent process, a review of the EIT, taking into account the evaluation provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 294/2008. The KIC call in 2018 shall be launched subject to a positive outcome of that review. The review shall assess the progress of the EIT against all of the following:

     (a) the level of consumption and the efficiency in the use of the funds allocated according to Article 6(3) of this Regulation, differentiating between the amount used for the development of the first wave of KICs and the effect of the seed money for the subsequent waves, and the ability of the EIT to attract funds from the partners in the KICs and especially from the private sector, as set out in Regulation (EC) No 294/2008;

     (b) the contribution of the EIT and the KICs to the priority "Societal challenges" and the specific objective "Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies" and the performance assessed on the basis of the indicators defined in Annex I;

     (c) the contribution of the EIT and the KICs to the integration of higher education, research and innovation;

     (d) the ability of the KICs to integrate relevant new partners where they can provide added value.

3.   By 31 December 2017, and taking into account the ex-post evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme to be completed by 31 December 2015 and the review of the EIT, the Commission shall carry out, with the assistance of independent experts, selected on the basis of a transparent process, an interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, its specific programme, including the European Research Council (ERC), and the activities of the EIT.

The interim evaluation shall assess the progress of the different parts of Horizon 2020 against all of the following:

     (a) the achievements (at the level of results and progress towards achieving an impact, based, where applicable, on the indicators outlined in Annex II of the specific programme) of the objectives of Horizon 2020 and continued relevance of all related measures;

     (b) the efficiency and use of resources, with particular attention to cross-cutting issues and other elements referred to in Article 14(1); and

     (c) Union added value.

As part of the interim evaluation both existing and new public-private partnerships, including the JTIs, shall be subject to an in-depth assessment, which shall include, inter alia, analysis of their openness, transparency and effectiveness. That assessment shall take into consideration the evaluation of the EIT as provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 294/2008 so as to allow for an assessment based on common principles.

As part of the interim evaluation, FTI shall be subject to an in-depth assessment which shall include an assessment of inter alia its contribution to innovation, industry participation, participation of new applicants, operational effectiveness and financing, and leverage of private investment. Further implementation of the FTI shall be determined on the basis of the evaluation results, and may be adjusted or expanded accordingly.

The interim evaluation shall take into consideration aspects relating to the dissemination and exploitation of research results.

The interim evaluation shall also take into consideration the scope for further simplification and aspects relating to access to funding opportunities for participants in all regions and for the private sector, notably SMEs, as well as the scope for promoting gender balance. It shall additionally take into account the contribution of the measures to the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, results as regards the long-term impact of the predecessor measures, and the degree of synergy and interaction with other Union funding programmes, including the ESI Funds.

As part of the interim evaluation, the funding model of Horizon 2020 shall be thoroughly assessed against, inter alia, the following indicators:

     — the participation of participants that have at their disposal high-end research infrastructures or have a history of using full-costing in the Seventh Framework Programme;

     — the simplification for participants that have at their disposal high-end research infrastructures or have a history of using full-costing in the Seventh Framework Programme;

     — the acceptance of the usual accounting practices of beneficiaries;

     — extent of use of the additional remuneration to personnel as referred to in Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013.

The interim evaluation shall also take into consideration, where appropriate, information on coordination with research and innovation activities carried out by Member States, including in areas where there are Joint Programming Initiatives.

4.   By 31 December 2023, the Commission shall carry out, with the assistance of independent experts, selected on the basis of a transparent process, an ex-post evaluation of Horizon 2020, its specific programme and the activities of the EIT. That evaluation shall cover the rationale, implementation and achievements, as well as the longer-term impacts and sustainability of the measures, to feed into a decision on a possible renewal, modification or suspension of any subsequent measure. The evaluation shall take into consideration aspects relating to the dissemination and exploitation of research results.

5.   The performance indicators for assessing progress against the general objective of Horizon 2020 and for the EIT, as set out in the introduction of Annex I, and for the specific objectives as established in the specific programme, including relevant baselines, shall provide the minimum basis for assessing the extent to which the objectives of Horizon 2020 have been achieved.

6.   Where appropriate and available, Member States shall provide the Commission with the data and information necessary to make it possible to monitor and evaluate the measures concerned.

7.   The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations referred to in this Article, accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.