Projects

The project involved providing research and advice to the Ministry of Regional Development, Poland, during the Polish EU Presidency, focusing on regulatory and budgetary issues during the debate and negotiations on reforming Cohesion policy in 2011-13.

The project comprised an ex post evaluation of the management and implementation of the Cohesion Fund (including former ISPA) in 2000-06. The study had the overarching objective of assessing the building-up of management capacity to deliver ISPA and Cohesion Fund projects in the 14 countries benefiting most from the Cohesion Fund and ISPA in the 2000-06 period.

The project analysed the factors which facilitate or discourage local stakeholders' and businesses' decision to apply for support from Structural Funds. Through a wide-ranging literature review, case studies, questionnaires and interviews, this study tried to answer questions about what could be done to attract more applications during the recession of the late 2000s, and how the participation of successful applicants could be made more effective. It put forward a number of specific recommendations for policy makers at local, regional, national and EU level.

A study aimed at providing a preliminary estimate of the impact of changing regulatory requirements on the administrative cost and burden of managing EU Structural Funds

This project examined territorial cooperation in the EU and its neighbourhood, asking what role cooperation has in ensuring the sustainable development of territorial units. The project covered 52 cross-border and 13 transnational cooperation areas as well as macro-regions such as the Baltic Sea Region. By considering the common characteristics of regions, critical mass and possible fields of cooperation, the project identified those regions that are most appropriate for territorial cooperation. The project also highlighted cases of good practice and general lessons that could be transferred or applied to other cooperation areas.

The project involved a critical analysis of EU Cohesion policy reform perspectives for the post-2013 period. On the basis of a literature review and budgetary modelling, the study offers an assessment of the policy’s strengths and weaknesses, the main reform ideas, counter-positions and implications.

This project provided a review and assessment of the simplification measures in Cohesion policy in 2007-13. Simplification has been an ongoing feature of reform debates since 1988. The most recent simplification exercise responds to the economic crisis and involves measures for speeding up programme implementation. The measures have been at least partially effective, with some programmes playing a major role in dealing with the crisis, through accelerated spending or special instruments. The longer term focus of attention is on how the current, administratively complex management and control system can be simplified while maintaining assurance on the regularity of spending. The issues covered by this note were presented and discussed in the framework of the Workshop "Simplification in Cohesion Policy", held at the European Parliament on 21 June 2010.

The project involved a comparative study of development policies implemented through a shared management model. The study included assessmment of international financial institutions and country examples, drawing lessons for Cohesion policy.

The project involved research on the concept of place-based policymaking and its application to regional and territorial development policies in practice. The study also involved the assessment of economic development policies in Switzerland the relevance of place-based concept.

The project involved research on the Multiannual Financial Framework, covering a range of EU policies and particularly EU Cohesion policy, analysing the allocation of funding by Member State and the implications for Cyprus from proposals for the 2011-13 reforms.