The Nordic Council of Ministers commissioned the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) to conduct an evaluation of the Nordplus Framework Programme and of the Nordplus Nordic Languages and Culture Programme for the period 2008-2011.

Nordplus is the Nordic Council of Ministers' largest education programme in the field of lifelong learning. The programmes consist of the Nordplus Framework Programme, in which the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since 2008 have participated on an equal footing with the five Nordic countries Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland and the three autonomous territories Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland Isles. The Nordplus Framework Programme includes the three sectoral programmes: Nordplus Junior, Nordplus Higher Education and Nordplus Adult, as well as the inter-sectoral programme Nordplus Horizontal. Nordplus Nordic Languages and Culture, in which only the Nordic countries take part, is also associated with the Framework Programme.

The aim of the evaluation was to provide basis for a possible continuation of the programmes after 2011, as well as to assess the need for changes. Key questions covered by the evaluation include:

• How have the programmes functioned during the period, including the structure and the programme committees?
• What results have been achieved in relation to the overall objectives of the new programmes?
• To what extent has the integration of the Baltic States been successful?
• How has the profiling, dissemination and follow-up of experiences and results from the programme been implemented?
• How has the administration of the programmes functioned including the online application and reporting system (ARS)?

The report identifies three possible scenarios for Nordplus and puts forward tangible proposals for changes in the programme.