Projects

This project comprised the ex ante evaluation of the INTERACT programme, an innovative Structural Fund programme which forms part of the INTERREG III Community Initiative. The new programme draws on the expertise in cross-border, interregional and trans-national cooperation built up through previous INTERREG initiatives with the aim of using it to encourage the more effective and efficient delivery of the new INTERREG III programmes. The objective of the ex ante evaluation was to assess critically the proposed aims, priorities, expected results and management structure of the INTERACT programme and, where appropriate, to propose amendments or realignments to these structures. The evaluation was undertaken through desk research and ongoing communication with the programme's Managing Authority and partnership.

The project involved research on the evolutionary experience of monitoring in the EU Member States to highlight useful lessons and examples for Phare cross-border cooperation (CBC) programmes in Poland. An overview presentation of monitoring and indicator definition in mainstream Structural Fund programmes was provided initially, before a more specific assesment was undertaken of monitoring in cross-border programmes. This was illustrated from current Interreg programmes and particularly those on the external EU border. The operationalisation of monitoring indicators and concluding challenges for the Polish CBC programmes was also assessed.

This project involved research on the reform of the Structural Funds and the position to be adopted by the UK in the forthcoming negotiations. It was intended as an initial step towards determining the valued added of the Structural Funds in the UK and their relationship with national policies. The goal of the feasibility study was to provide evidence allowing the UK Government to decide upon the shape and scope of a future evaluation of the impact and added value of enterprise and regeneration activity funded by Structural Funds in the UK.

The project involved research on how to organise and conduct Structural Fund evaluations, based on a series of comparative studies undertaken. The main aim was to contribute to the design and organisation of the mid-term evaluation of 2000-06 programmes

This project involved research contributing to the debate about the reform of Structural Funds and the implications for Scotland. It aimed to improve understanding of how the reform debate was evolving at European level, to assess the likely effects of Scotland losing substantial amounts of European funding after 2006, and to encourage discussion of how Scotland should engage in the international debate.

The project involved research on the policy options for the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development in developing its own cluster policy. Within this aim, it pursued several objectives: to set out the practical problems associated with the appraisal and selection of cluster-based projects in a Norwegian context and identify existing solutions to these problems from case-study examples of good practice in other European countries; to suggest appropriate systems for monitoring the performance of supported cluster projects based on good practice in other countries and regions; to present a range of methodologies and practical options for undertaking the evaluation of completed cluster projects; and to set out relevant indicators on which data can be collected and against which projects can be evaluated.

The project involved preparation of further factsheets, building on earlier work, for the NDP Gender Equality Unit in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on gender mainstreaming in the Irish NDP. The factsheets (on Gender and Research, Gender and Sport and Leisure, Gender and Tourism and Gender and Urban Development) were intended to help policymakers and practitioners apply the principles of gender mainstreaming to their day-to-day work. This was again backed up by training, provided by EPRC

The project involved research and development of factsheets for the National Development Plan Gender Equality Unit in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on gender mainstreaming in the Social and Economic Operational Programme of the Irish Development Plan. The factsheets (on Gender and Housing, Gender and Transport and Gender and Agriculture and Rural Development) were intended to help policymakers and practitioners apply the principles of gender mainstreaming to their day-to-day work. EPRC also headed a consortium to provide delivery of training on gender mainstreaming to policymakers and agencies accessing funding through the NDP.

The project entailed the preparation of a guide aimed to suggest methodological solutions to the incorporation of equal opportunities between men and women within NDP evaluations. It was intended to assist Managing Authorities in setting the terms of reference and commissioning evaluations and to provide a methodology for the evaluators charged with carrying out these studies. The guide was organised into two volumes: Volume 1, 'Background Concepts and Methods' and Volume 2, 'Tool Kit for Gender Inclusive Evaluation'.

The project involved research to provide the NDP/CSF Evaluation Unit and other authorities in Ireland responsible for evaluation (and those hired to carry out the evaluation work) with a range of methodological approaches to evaluate equal opportunities between women and men in the NDP.