If an operation focuses on a specific target group with characteristics covered by one of the common output indicators - e.g. unemployed, covered by ‘Unemployed, including long- term unemployed’ (EECO02), or people with disabilities, covered by the indicator ‘Participants with disabilities’ (EECO12) -, would it be acceptable to include all participants under the common indicator without collecting data on each individual directly?
Yes. As per Annex I of the ESF+ Regulation, ‘Where appropriate, common output indicators can be reported based on the target group of the operation’. This means that in some cases, it may not be necessary to collect microdata for certain indicators, and data on these indicators can be recorded based on the target group of the operation, as long as there are eligibility criteria to be met linked to such indicators (e.g. in order to be eligible for support, participants have to be registered unemployed). In these cases, even if data are not directly collected for each individual, all participants will be recorded and reported under the relevant indicator.