Projects

The project comprised the Territorial Impact Assessment of past Structural Fund programmes and the appraisal of the potential territorial impact of current Structural Funds programmes. The study was undertaken with a view to formulating policy recommendations for the reform of the Funds for the post 2006 period and to improving their capacity of delivering enhanced territorial cohesion. In particular, the research has the following objectives: elaboration and application of a methodology for the territorial impact assessment of Structural Fund policies; presentation of Structural Fund policies with reference to the territorial dimensions and the governmental level responsible; ­development of a set of indicators and of a database for capturing the spatial effects of Structural Fund programmes; ­analysis of the result of EU Structural and Cohesion policies as regards balanced territorial development; development of policy recommendations on future implementation of Structural Fund programmes in an enlarged EU in relation to strategic focus, area designation and delivery mechanisms.

The project involved research on regional development patterns and trends in Scotland and the options for regional policy.

The project involved evaluation of the impact and added value of INTERREG IIIB Community Initiative in UK (2000-2006) which was led by EKOS. . The INTERREG IIIB Programmes: Atlantic Area; North Sea Region; and North West Europe were included in the study.

The project involved research on the expected shifts in the future of Cohesion policy after 2006. The study considered: the likelihood of Cohesion Policy becoming much more oriented towards growth and will, in a much more profound way than in the past, contributing directly to the fulfilment of the Lisbon strategy; geography becoming a less important component of any replacement of Objective 2; many aspects related to the future delivery of policy being unclear, with in particular the possibility of Cohesion support being subject to some sort of Community Framework under the open method of coordination; uncertainties regarding any future funding criteria which may be used to allocate resources from the EU to the Member States and, thereafter, from the Member States to the sub-national level.

The project involved an international comparative study on the delivery of economic development policies in the regions of selected EU countries. Four case studies were undertaken - Denmark, France, England and Flanders - where organisations that implement the national economic development agenda in the regions were studied.

The project involved analysis of the lessons learned by regions and other partners in transnational and inter-regional co-operation projects in the fields of spatial planning and regional development in this part of Europe, and to identify the practical and policy lessons for effective inter-regional co-operation projects. The study provided a solid basis for Nordic-Scottish cooperation, providing an overview of what had been carried out and achieved to date, a synthesis of the lessons for policy-makers and the identification of ‘good practice’ in the seven fields defined as being of specific importance for future Nordic-Scottish co-operation.

The project involved two parallel and inter-related research streams which were undertaken concurrently: (i) evaluation of the 1994-99 Poland-Germany Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes, focusing on the impact of transport infrastructures; (ii) Development of an indicator system to support future CBC programmes. The first element was the ex post evaluaton of the 1994-99 CBC programmes, while the second addressed tasks associated with ex ante appraisal, establishing the necessary indicator frameworks to inform the monitoring and evaluability of future Interreg IIIA programmes, and to accelerate preparations for the transition to the Structural Funds upon Poland's accession to the EU.

This project involved undertaking the mid-term evaluation of the 2000-06 special transitional programme for the Highlands and Islands. The study, which will ran from September 2002 until September 2003, was organised into six key phases: (i) Design of research materials, initial analysis of financial progress, initial analysis of physical progress, and initial review of quantification ; (ii) Consultation with stakeholders, data input and analysis, delivery of interim report; (iii) Validation of reported outcomes, analysis of strategic relevance, review of Programme processes, review of Community added value, contribution to parallel policy initiatives, review of integration of horizontal themes ; (iv) Final review of financial progress, final review of physical progress, estimation of Programme impacts, forecast for progress towards the Performance Reserve targets, and review of changes to strategy; (v) Delivery of the Draft Final and Final Report; (iv) Review of updated estimates of progress towards the targets for the Performance Reserve

The project involved a comprehensive assessment of the economic and political factors influencing the process of enlargement and the potential impact of this process for Greece. Particular focus was placed on the regional development and agriculture-related issues associated with EU enlargement. This included an analysis of the reform debate and options for the EU Structural Funds and Common Agricultural Policy, including the budgetary implications, focusing on the potential impact for Greece. Related to this, the study also examined the regional development implications of enlargement for Greek regions and key sectors, before drawing together a number of key recommendations and conclusions.

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.