Projects

The project involved a synthesis and assessment of the achievements, experiences and lessons of Objective 2 interventions in the period 1989-99, drawing out practical recommendations for the 2000-06 programming period. The study took a horizontal perspective, examining commonalities and contrasts between Member States and regions, and a longitudinal view, identifying progressive changes across three programming periods (1989-93, 1994-96 and 1997-99). Research included: an overview of Objective 2 programme implementation; a country-by-country review of Structural Fund organisation and practices; the content of Objective strategies, the origins and application of the horizontal themes of employment creation, RTDI, environmental integration and gender mainstreaming; and, monitoring and evaluation.

This study looked at the implications of the proposed reform of Objective 2 for the Glasgow area, especially in the context of area designation and eligibility for the revised Objective 2. The project involved a detailed Community-wide statistical analysis of the Commission’s proposed area designation criteria.

This project involved research for a 'meta-evaluation’ of the Structural Funds in the Nordic countries led by Nordregio. EPRC research examined commonalities and contrasts between Nordic regional policy and EU regional policy, highlighting the impact of EU regional policy, and in particular the Structural Funds.

The project involved research on the main methodological issues for undertaking skills audits at the local level. By reviewing relevant academic literature, the study: (i) identified the main methodological challenges to local skills audits; (ii) evaluated different criteria for undertaking training needs assessments; (iii) assessed relevant data availability; and (iv) produced a checklist of "good practice" approaches.

The project involved research on the role played by large firms in upgrading and developing local suppliers within two different sectoral clusters. The research adopted an in-depth case study approach focusing on three large firms, AutoNova, Saab Automobile and Volvo Aero Corporation, and the extent that they have developed strong linkages with local suppliers in the region of Fyrstad in Sweden. The research found that links created within the aerospace cluster were probably more important for self-sustaining regional development than those within the automotive cluster

The project involved an assessment of trends in tourism policy across the EU and experience and practice with respect to the evaluation of tourism strategies. The approach of other Objective 2 programmes in selected EU countries was also examined to identify the sophistication of their tourism measures and evaluation indicators.

This research contributed to the preparations for the 2000-06 Lower Austrian Objective 2 programme. In conjunction with inno (Karlsruhe, Germany), the research provided strategic analysis and proposed measures for one component of the programme as well as benchmarking the new programme in the context of wider European experience and taking new Commission guidelines into account.

This three-year project, funded by Tacis, developed a framework for an efficient regional policy which would challenge regional asymmetries and promote greater political and economic integration within the Russian Federation.

Funded by an ESRC award, the project aimed to compare the role of multinational investors in influencing the internationalisation activities of local Scottish suppliers in the electronics and the oil-gas industries. As industries with high shares of FDI and exporting, research examined whether investors have supported the efforts of local suppliers to develop export markets. Based on a fieldwork survey of investors and suppliers in both industries, the study concluded that investors could provide significant assistance by helping their suppliers to 'piggy-back' into new markets, but the scale of this was highly dependent on industry factors. Such benefits from FDI were considerably more prevalent in the Scottish oil-gas than the electronics industry.

The project involved research on the proposed designation criteria (GDP per head and unemployment) for the reform of Structural Funds in 1999 and discussed the conceptual and practical issues associated with their use. It also considered possible alternative measures and commented on their potential reliability and usefulness.