The methodology presented in this paper offers an approach for assessing the robustness of a country's vocational education strategy from the governance and financing standpoints. The analysis may serve as an input for decisions on financial assistance. Developed on the basis of the European Commission's Budget Support Guidelines 2017 -- Annex 3, which focuses on assessing the credibility of sector policies, and tailored to vocational education, this methodology can be used to identify strengths, risks and areas for improvement in governance and financing, as well as an input to policy dialogue between the European Union and partner countries. It may also be used as a method for measuring policy progress over time in these two areas.