Key Project-level Indicators (KPIs)

According to the LIFE Regulations (1293/2013 and 2021/783) the LIFE programme shall be assessed against indicators (named Key Project Level Indicators - KPIs). Annex II of the LIFE Regulation 2021/783 includes a series of Output and Results indicators for this purpose.

The LIFE programme gathers information on KPIs from LIFE beneficiaries by aggregation of specific project level indicators.

Key Performance Indicators are a set of values used to measure the success of a certain endeavour in different fields: Technical, Financial, Administrative. They are set up-front as a target and then compared with final outcomes to assess performance. Specifically for the LIFE programme KPIs are a set of Environmental and Socio-economic indicators used to measure the impact of the LIFE programme funding.

This includes Key Project-level Indicators related to Water, Air quality, Waste, Resource use and efficiency, Soil, Chemicals, Noise, Nature and Biodiversity, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Clean Energy Transition, as well as Job creation.

The aggregated results from projects show the positive impact of the LIFE programme on these indicators, which are relevant to different EU policies and strategies. This may have a wide range of implications, from justifying the use of public funds for the benefit of the environment and citizens, to supporting policy-makers and other stakeholders with an interest in the environment, and enhancing LIFE programme management.

At proposal stage, applicants need to indicate the expected results of their project in terms of environmental and also socio-economic benefits. This is done via the Funding & Tenders opportunities portal as explained in the LIFE Calls for proposals page, where applicants can also find a KPI specific recorded training presentation and a questions and answers document that includes further clarifications linked to KPIs.

Once a project is funded, the coordinating beneficiary must record the project results through the KPI webtool (only accessible to LIFE funded projects). This should be done minimum twice during the project’s lifetime. The first time (First Snapshot) should be during the initial stages of the project (within the first nine months of the project’s implementation) and the second time (Final Snapshot) should be at final report stage. The European Commission then verifies the data and evaluates the project's progress and success.

For more information and training on the LIFE KPIs, please see video tutorials showing more information on:

1. Module 1: Accessing to the KPI Database
2. Module 2: The KPI process and project status
3. Module 3: Navigating through the KPI Database
4. Module 4a: Selecting overarching contexts
   Module 4b: Creating specific context
5. Module 5: Filling in the Indicators 

Other guidance

• For all LIFE projects in egrants: transfer of data from eGrants to LIFE KPI DB. The recording of this training in the welcome meeting is available here.
• LIFE21 guidance documents (excluding CET projects). Specifically for LIFE21 calls onwards, an updated set of LIFE Impact KPIs has been created in the LIFE KPI Database. To support the Beneficiaries of LIFE21-27 projects, all the updated guides of individual KPIs present within the KPI database have been compiled into a single “KPI Guidance Document” document. This includes the different entries available in the various drop-down lists of the KPI webtool. It is worth noting that, the LIFE KPI database may need to be updated on a regular basis, depending on the various parameters, including any future LIFE Regulation, policy requirements, progress of data gathering and issues identified. This would imply subsequent modifications to this guidance document.
• Specifically for LIFE SIPs/SNAPs/IPs, a special guidance document for Key Project-level Indicators was produced. In addition, Strategic/Integrated projects may also benefit from the recordings of the webinar on “KPIs for Integrated Projects”, that took place on Monday, 1 March 2021. The recording of this training is now available here.
• CET

• KPI website
• Create your ECAS account
• ECAS account details
• LIFE IT helpdesk (via webform)

The Commission gives the highest priority to maximising the performance of the EU budget, i.e. to ensure that spending EU resources delivers maximum value for its citizens. The Commission has adopted a Communication presenting the performance framework for the EU budget under the 2021-2027 MFF, laying out its principles, how the Commission has strengthened it, and the plans to further enhance it. Its website presents the implementation and the performance of the programmes for the 2014-2020 period for which relevant payments were still implemented in 2021. See the impact reported for the LIFE Programme: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/performance-and-reporting/programme-performance-overview/life-performance_en