Programme description
Main objectives
Throughout the 2014-2020 period the region of Western-Netherlands, consisting of the provinces Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland, will receive funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the amount of EUR 189,847,057. This allocation will be used, in combination with other sources of public and private co-financing, to boost the region's potential for Research and Innovation (R&I) while at the same time contributing to the development of a resource efficient, low-carbon economy. By focusing on these clear objectives, the region contributes to reaching the overarching EU2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as the Dutch targets set in this regard.
The region recognizes the need for targeted investments and takes into account its socio-economic profile, as well as the European Council’s country specific recommendations. It also bears in mind the overarching European and national strategies and in particular the Regional Innovation Strategy of Western-Netherlands. The operational programme will therefore;
- promote business investment in R&I, develop links and synergies between enterprises, research and development centres, knowledge institutions and the higher education sector, and foster cross-overs between the regional sectors;
- facilitate the use on a larger scale of energy derived from residual heat and stimulate the roll-out of energy saving measures in the building environment.
In addition, the operational programme contains an ambitious urban agenda. The Western-Netherlands is a highly urbanized region, with approximately 8 million inhabitants. The sharp focus of regional, national and European investments on innovation in the region, bares the risk that specific, mostly urban, communities will find it increasingly difficult to connect to the knowledge economy. To reduce this risk, the ERDF programme, in combination with the European Social Fund programme, will make so-called integrated territorial investments in the four major cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. These investments aim at creating close linkages between enterprises and knowledge institutions to reduce the mismatch on the labour market and at making specific urban areas more attractive as potential location for enterprises.
Funding priorities
The Operational Programme will focus on four main priorities:
- Increase the research and innovation intensity in SMEs and improve their uptake of innovations;
- Support the development and first application of innovative low-carbon technologies to enable larger-scale roll-outs;
- Reduce the mismatch on the labour market by locally connecting enterprises to knowledge institutions;
- Improve the physical economic conditions in specific urban areas by investing in new and improved business locations.
Expected impacts
- Wider availability of and better access to risk capital for innovations from small and medium enterprises;
- An increase in the share of revenue that small and medium enterprises generate from new products from 10% to 15%;
- Increase the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix from 3,8% (2012) to 14% (2023);
- Decrease youth unemployment in the four major cities from 19% to 15%;
- Increase the availability of business facilities in specific urban areas in the four major cities by 10%.
Funds
Regional Development Fund (ERDF): 273.067.474,00 €
Thematic priorities
View the dataFinancial information
Total OP budget: 620.545.354,00 €
Total EU contribution: 273.067.474,00 €
View the data