Ockham IPS supported the European Commission (DG EMPL) broadening the evidence base of the strengths and weaknesses of the design of the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-2020 to achieve its policy goals. This included: (1) a review of the architecture and programming aspects of the ESF against the mission and challenges defined in its legal basis; (2) an analyses the Fund's effectiveness and efficiency in contributing to the European Union's human capital development policy goals; (3) an examination of the adequacy of the current set-up of the ESF to contribute to economic, social and territorial cohesion. This study has been used for the preparation for its next generation of programmes. The impact assessments that accompanied these proposals need to be based on a solid evidence base, to which this study also contributed.