Projects

The project involved research and policy advice on a government policy paper ‘The Territorial State and Perspectives of the European Union’ elaborated by the Coming Presidencies Group

The project involved research to inform a strategic approach to the Ireland, Northern Ireland and Western Scotland Cross-Border Territorial Cooperation Programme 2007-2013’ on behalf of Scottish Programme Partners. The aim of the study was to suggest models that would maximise awareness of, and access to, the Cross- Border Programme.

The project comprised the ex ante evaluation of the Northern Periphery Programme (NPP) 2007-2013 for the NPP Managing Authority. Objectives The aim of the ex ante evaluation was to provide an external perspective on the preparation of the new Programme with a view to improving and strengthening the final quality of the Programme and optimising the allocation of resources. The objectives were: to appraise the socio-economic analysis and the relevance of the strategy to the needs identified; to evaluate the rationale of the strategy and its consistency; to appraise the internal and external coherence of the strategy; to evaluate the expected results and impacts; and to appraise the proposed implementation system. The evaluation has been undertaken, as recommended by DG REGIO, through ‘an iterative and interactive process’.

The project comprised the ex ante evaluation of the INTERACT programme for the 2002-06 period, focusing on strategic coherence and anticipated outcomes.

The project comprised the Up-Date of the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Interreg IIIB Northern Periphery Programme. The study assessed the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the programme on the basis of experience up to mid-2005 and the implications for the future, in the light of changes in the financial, regulatory and strategic environment with special emphasis on the main conclusions from the 2000-06 programme and lessons for 2007-13.

The project involved research on the potentials and needs of the ten Member States that joined the European Union in May 2004, as well as Bulgaria and Romania, in relation to Cohesion policy co-financing in 2007-2013, and specifically the future Convergence objective. The study drew on these analyses to develop separate conclusions and recommendations for each of these States as to the main future priorities for Cohesion policy expenditure

The project involved research for the UK Presidency Conference ‘Regional and Rural Development Programmes (2007-2013): Delivering the Lisbon and Gothenburg Agendas’ held in Newcastle-Gateshead, North East England, in November 2005.

The project involved research on the challenges facing policymakers in the Central and Eastern European countries in implementing Structural and Cohesion Funds based on the experiences of EU15 countries.

The project involved comparative research on the design and implementation of regional policies in Central and Eastern Europe, and the organisation of a conference to facilitate dialogue between regional policy-makers from old and new Member States, as well as Romania and Bulgaria, on the directions of regional development policies at European, national and sub-national levels.

The project involved research on the territorial effects of applying the EU acquis, Community policies and pre-accession Instruments. The study was undertaken with a view to formulating policy recommendations for the support of territorial cohesion in an enlarged EU. In particular the research focused on: the development and application of a methodology for the territorial impact assessment of past pre-accession programmes and of the adoption of the acquis; investigate the interplay between EU policies and national spatial policies; recommend further policy developments for the support of territorial cohesion. Working as part of an international consortium, EPRC is responsible for a number of thematic components of the research and for the country analysis of the Czech Republic.