Professor John Bachtler was an invited speaker at the International Evaluation Conference 'What's New and What Works in EU Cohesion Policy 2007-13: Discoveries and Lessons for 2014-2020' organised by the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance in Vilnius on 3-4 March 2011.
The aims of the Conference, the fourth event of its type, were to take stock of EU Structural Fund evaluations analysing the implementation of instruments, methods and interventions newly introduced (or abandoned) in the 2007:2013 period, as well as to discuss whether evaluation is already being used as an integrated programme management tool.
The Conference was also intended to look ahead at the way in which Cohesion policy might evolve after 2013. John Bachtler's paper : The Future of Cohesion Policy: Research and Policy Questions - reviewed the main proposals put forward by DG Regio in the Fifth Cohesion Report and assessed the degree to which there is policy support for specific changes among Member States.