This article assesses institutional and policy arrangements for evaluation within Bulgarian public administration to manage European Structural Fund support and use of evaluation requirements of EU structural funds as a limited cased study to map how these arrangements are (or are not) developing as well as isolating the key explanatory factors. To achieve the objectives of this research paper, we identified and investigated two variables: the coordination of the evaluation process and the evaluation scope and significance. Methodologically, we have used semi-structured qualitative interviews, applied to officials, academics, and evaluators. Starting from the pre-accession program PHARE as a legal obligation, evaluation is used as a tool for accountability to the European Commission. The current administrative culture has an impact on the success of the establishment of an effective evaluation capacity in Bulgaria.