In terms of financial commitment, geographic extension and timeframe, the European Union's cohesion policy is one of the most important place-based programs in the world for the redistribution of wealth between regions and countries. But does it work? Is its impact the same in all countries? The Senate's Impact Assessment Office, ANCI's IFEL Foundation (Institute for Finance and Local Economics) and AISRe (the Italian Association of Regional Sciences) organised a conference at Palazzo Giustiniani.

This is a highly specialised professional figure that is still not widespread in the Italian public service. It requires multidisciplinary skills and a solid preparation in the use of quantitative methods. The second level Master's course in Analysis and Evaluation of Public Policies (AVPP), which will be held in the Senate from February 2019 to February 2020, has thirty places available. Enrolments close on 4 February 2019.

"An extraordinary tool", actually a "first aid kit" that guides the victims of violence through the national and regional resources that can protect them and help them find, wherever they are, the necessary assistance to face "their dramatic, life-threatening experiences". Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, President of the Senate and of UVI, has presented the guide In defence of women.

Public policy evaluation may become a useful tool to consolidate the international credibility of a country with organizations like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank: Natalia Aquilino, director of the monitoring and evaluation program of Argentina's CIPPEC, the Center for the implementation of public policies for equity and growth, and Federico Silvio Toniato, Deputy Secretary General of the Senate and coordinator of UVI, discussed this in Buenos Aires on 1 November 2018.

What are the costs and benefits, the regulatory obstacles and the legislative interventions necessary to quintuple, by 2030, the green energy produced and consumed in our country? The Senate Industry, Commerce and Tourism Commission has organised a public consultation on the use of green energy and the right to self-production, self-consumption and energy storage. No fewer than 480 participants.

Embracing Evaluation for Agenda 2030: organised by the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation, together with EvalPartners and the Parliament of Sri Lanka, the first global meeting for parliamentarians engaged in evaluation was held from 17 to 19 September. Scholars, experts, evaluators and parliamentarians from all over the world - the Senate was represented by Comissioner Laura Bottici- met at EvalColombo2018 for three days of networking and discussions. The topic was of course: how to promote the monitoring and evaluation of public policies, the use of evidence in the decision-making and legislative phase and the accountability of the executive branch.

Evaluate together with the public the advisability of new infrastructure. Improve the planning of projects, aligning them better with the needs of the population. Reduce the conflict around the opening of work sites. Since 24 August 2018 the discussion of major works in Italy has been subject to a Regulation based on the French model of débat public.

"In the current competitive context, the traditional production model is no longer sufficient to meet the challenges of the global market". But how can we best allocate the (scarce) resources available to support the internationalisation of Italian companies? And how can the evidence produced by the evaluation help? This was the theme of the seminar - promoted by the Conference of Presidents of the Legislative Assemblies of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces - which was held on Friday 6 July in Trieste, at the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Official debut of the UVI at the meeting of the Senates of Europe association. "The Italian Senate," announced the President of the Senate Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati in Bucharest, "has in receyent ars undertaken important initiatives to strengthen and structure its capacity to analyse and evaluate public policies, making skilful use of scientific evidence and of the most advanced quantitative methods".

There was an important appointment in the Senate on 24 May on the occasion of an address by Rebecca A. Maynard (University of Pennsylvania), President of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness(SREE), member of the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology and the American Educational Research Association. The subject of the conference: Using Evidence. Improving Capacity to make fair comparisons of program and policy options.