The EUVABECO Evaluation Working Group met at the University of Crete, in Rethymnon, Greece, on 17-18 July 2025, within the framework of Work Package 7 (Evaluation and Sustainability of Pilot implementation), to prepare for the upcoming evaluation of the implementation plans for five tools being tested in pilot projects across Europe: the European Vaccination Card, Clinical Decision Support system, electronic Patient Information Leaflet, Data Linkage, and Forecasting.
Evaluation is essential to determine whether new approaches work in practice, how they are received by users, and what impact they have. EUVABECO’s pilot evaluation will be conducted in 2026.
During the Crete workshop, the group identified the key areas that will guide the evaluation: how acceptable the tools are to users, how well they fit different contexts, whether they are adopted in practice, how effective they are in achieving their aims, and how successfully they become embedded in real-world settings.
The group also designed the data collection process. Pilot participants will first complete open-ended questionnaires to share their experiences. Where further exploration is needed, focus groups will be held to dive deeper into emerging themes. Experts stressed the importance of tailoring questions to different stakeholders and ensuring consistent definitions to avoid confusion.
The Crete workshop marked a vital step in preparing for the evaluation phase. By agreeing on shared indicators and methods, the group laid the foundation for a rigorous and meaningful assessment of the pilot projects – helping to ensure that lessons learned from EUVABECO’s pilots inform future efforts to strengthen vaccination services across Europe.
