Analysis

The objective of this network of experts is to synthesise evidence on the performance of Cohesion policy in the 2007-2013 period by examining the physical and financial performance of the operational programmes and evaluation and other evidence available. Every year the expert network produces country reports on the achievements of cohesion policy and on a selected theme. All reports look at the physical and financial performance of the operational programmes and analyse evidence coming from evaluations undertaken in the Member States.

2012 Reports

For 2012, the network of experts produced 27 policy papers (one for each country) on the topic of financial instruments. The main findings from the country reports are summarized in a synthesis report.

Financial engineering

• Synthesis report
• Executive Summary
• Policy papers
• Literature review

The network of experts also produced for every Member State a report on the achievements of cohesion policy. The main findings are summarized in a synthesis report:

• Synthesis Report and executive summaries (EN, FR, DE)
• Policy papers

2011 Reports

For 2011 the network of experts produced for every Member State a report on the achievements of cohesion policy and a policy paper on  renewable energy and energy efficiency in residential housing. The network also identified examples of good practice in evaluation (interesting methods, good data, etc.). The main findings from all country reports are summarized in the synthesis reports which contain comparative analysis and trends across the EU.

• Synthesis of national reports 2011
• Executive Summary
• Country Reports on achievements of cohesion policy : Country reports - Tables
• Synthesis report on renewable energies and energy efficiency of housing
• Policy papers
• Executive summary
• Incentives for developing renewable energy supplies and improving the energy efficiency of housing - Literature review
• Inception report (2011)
• Terms of Reference (2011)

2010 Reports

In 2010 the network of experts produced for every Member State a report on the achievements of cohesion policy and a policy paper on innovation.

• Country reports on achievements of cohesion policy
• Synthesis Report on Achievements of Cohesion Policy - Executive Summary
• Policy papers on innovation
• Synthesis Report on Innovation - Executive Summary
• Feedback from Maltese Managing Authorities
• Inception report (2010)
• Terms of Reference (2010)

The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON) supports policy making by providing evidence and analysis in the field of territorial cohesion. The current programme has a budget of €47 million: 75% from the ERDF, the remainder from the 31 countries participating (27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

The European council at Poznan in November 2011 agreed that the role of ESPON should be strengthened in future and asked the Commission to conduct "an evaluation of the results of ESPON providing the basis for its future work".

The core of the evaluation was in depth case studies of 12 ESPON research projects – including peer review by academic and territorial policy experts. The case studies were selected to be broadly representative, examining recent projects from each of ESPON's four priorities, covering a range of subjects (e.g. migration, secondary growth poles, portraits of rural regions and indicators of territorial cohesion).

In addition, the evaluation included in depth interviews with monitoring committee members and other key stakeholders as well as discussion of the findings with a scientific committee of experts.

Key findings

Key recommendations include:

• Each research project should have a dissemination strategy throughout its lifecycle. This includes a clear definition of the target audience and a tighter focus on their needs from the terms of reference onwards.
• The ESPON co-ordination unit should take a greater role as knowledge broker, building relationships in the policy community. This is not just about disseminating results, but actively engaging with the policy community to discover what research needs there are which could be filled by future ESPON projects.
• A different administrative set-up should be considered for payment claims – this would free up time for both project leaders and ESPON co-ordination unit.
• Monitoring committee members should take a more strategic role, delegating much of the project work to members with expertise in a given field and/or theESPON co-ordination unit.

Documents

• Final Report
• Annexes (including case studies)

This study gives an overview of the methods used for assessing different kinds of publicly supported innovation activities throughout Europe. It analyses the advantages and the limits of available methodologies and covers 15 case studies on evaluations of the most popular innovation activities in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and UK. On this basis, guidance for managing authorities to support their evaluation activities was produced.

• Guidance on evaluation of innovation
• Final report
• Case studies
• Interim Report
  • Synthesis:
  • Appendix A: Literature review
  • Appendix B: Analysis of an online survey of Managing Authorities
• Inception Report
• Terms of Reference

This study analyzed the extent to which cohesion policy interventions have been appropriate and effective in the special territories for the 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 periods. It was carried out for both periods 2000 – 2006 and 2007 – 2013 and was based on analysis of ERDF / CF impact on fifteen NUTS2 regions, and six NUTS3 areas. The study showed that the two financial instruments created a stable long term financial framework in which the regions can operate and develop projects that would have not been possible to be funded otherwise (such as transport or environment infrastructures) or projects that build on local assets (touristic and creative activities, support to cluster for example). It was proved that the instruments had the required flexibility to meet the needs of such challenging regions provided that policy approaches are more strategic and better coordinated through multi level governance arrangements.

• Final report
• The six Case Studies

• Inception Report
• Terms of Reference
• First Intermediate Report
• Second Intermediate Report - overview
  • Castilla-la-Mancha, Spain
  • Sterea Ellada, Greece
  • Itä-Suomi, Finland
  • Highlands and Islands, UK
  • Övre Norrland, Sweden
  • Steiremark, Austria
  • Rhône Alps, France
  • Ślaskie, Poland
  • Centro, Portugal
  • Vzhodna Slovenija, Slovenia
  • The Balearic Islands, Spain
  • Corsica, France
  • Sicilia, Italy
  • Voreio Aigaio, Greece
  • Hovesdstaden including Bornholm, Denmark

The study assesses the contribution of the local development approach to the effective delivery of Cohesion Policy. It covers interventions co-financed by the ERDF in the 2000-2006 and 2007-13 programming periods. Findings from the review of 38 Operational Programmes and the in-depth analysis of 5 regional cases – in Andalusia Region, Berlin Metropolitan Area, Czech Regional Northwest, Puglia Region and West Wales and the Valleys – serve as a base for operational recommendations on how and when local development could be used to deliver Cohesion Policy and how to monitor and evaluate the effects of local development interventions on economic, social and territorial cohesion.

• Final report
• Case Studies : Berlin - Andalucia - West Wales and the Valleys - Northwest Czech Republic - Puglia
• Inception Report
• Terms of Reference
• First Interim Report

The European Commission has launched pilot projects in the fields of early childhood education and microfinance. Evaluation and data-gathering are being carried out in collaboration with the UNDP and World Bank. Here you can follow the progress of the evaluations and the household survey - comprehensive data on the social and economic situations of disadvantaged Roma.

• Inception Report
• Terms of Reference

The study evaluates the potential for current regional policy instruments to contribute to the achievement of growth, jobs and sustainable development. The analysis is based on examination of the Cohesion policy instruments in all 27 Member States including all 246 operational programmes supported by the ERDF and Cohesion Fund, as well as the National Strategic Reference Frameworks, the National Reform Programmes and the National Sustainable Development Plans. Conclusions are drawn at the level of each objective (Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment) at the EU level.

• Terms of Reference
• Final synthesis report

A study on the Translation of Article 16 of Regulation EC 1083/2006 for Cohesion policy programmes 2007-2013 co-financed by the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund

The study analyses the integration of the gender perspective, non-discrimination and accessibility for disabled persons in Cohesion policy programmes co-financed by ERDF and the Cohesion Fund. 15 examples of good practices across Member States and policy areas will be identified and analysed. Conclusions and useful lessons to strengthen the gender, non-discrimination and disability dimensions in the current and next policy programming period will be derived.

Main findings

• The evaluation found a good overall awareness of the Article 16 requirements in programmes supported by the ERDF (explicit reference in 64% of the programmes analysed)
• In most cases (70%), Member States consider equal opportunities as horizontal priorities and do not devote attention in separate strategies or priority axes. In 22% of the examined programmes the three themes appear as declarative statement without clear targets, relevant selection criteria or obligations in terms of monitoring. Only 8% of the programmes integrate the three themes in a comprehensive strategy with clear identification of problems and quantified targets.
• Unequal emphasis of the three themes: most attention is devoted to gender equality (70%), followed by non-discrimination. Accessibility for disabled has the weakest emphasis (accessibility requirements are usually defined in national legislation).
• The target groups for "non-discrimination" differ across Member States: in EU12 it's mostly ethnic minority groups, particularly the Roma, while in EU15 it is more about women, migrants and elderly.
• The ERDF and the Cohesion Fund promote equal opportunities in: SME support, public transport infrastructure, social infrastructure (child care facilities). However, other policies that can potentially promote equal opportunities through these funds were identified: (R&D, ICT integration in SMEs; cross-border cooperation through integration of cross border labour markets; tourism and culture services for disabled, health infrastructure, urban regeneration especially in remote areas, etc.)
• Experience built upon previous programming periods has contributed to address better equal opportunities in the current programmes. However, in many cases there is a risk of a formal approach stating the problems without a clear vision of how to adequately deal with them.

Recommendations

• The evaluators recommend Managing Authorities to review their performance in integrating the three themes into their programmes by using this Self-assessment guide, specifically designed for them.
• In order to improve accessibility for disabled, Member States could make accessibility to all venues, infrastructures, transport, technologies and services an explicit compliance requirement for project selection.
• The case studies revealed sufficient involvement of bodies and NGOs working on equal opportunities. Member States are encouraged to empower relevant stakeholders to play even more active role in programme implementation through Technical Assistance budget or specific projects.

Documents

• Executive summary
• Final Report
• Case studies of good practices examples
  
• Terms of Reference
• Inception Report
• Intermediate report - annexes - Indicators

• HERMIN: Analysis of the Impact of Cohesion Policy - a note explaining the Hermin-based simulations (May 2007) - Annexes
• QUEST: The Potential Impact of the Fiscal Transfers under the EU Cohesion Policy Programme (June 2007)
• ECOMOD: Study on the Economic Impacts of Convergence Interventions (2007-2013) (November 2007)
  • Simulation results by country with uniform TFP :
  • Simulation results by country with benchmark TFP :
  • Case study Poland: simulation results with TFP 0.03

• Report
  • Annexes
  • Conclusions
  • Movie (28MB)

• Report
• Country reports :

• Report (November 2006)
• Full report :
  
• Executive Summary :

• Report (October 2006)
• Country reports :

This study evaluates the JASPERS initiative from its inception until the end of June 2011. Its main focus is to establish the impact of JASPERS assistance on the quality and timeliness of the preparation, submission, approval and implementation of major projects, in the countries which joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007. These include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

JASPERS was created to increase the capacity of beneficiary countries to make the best use of EU funding. By providing technical assistance to improve the quantity and quality of major projects submitted for approval, it was expected that there would be significant benefits in the regions concerned and in the European Union as a whole.

• Final report
• Terms of Reference (July 2011)
• Inception report ( March 2012) - Annex showing proposed case studies
• First Intermediate Report June 2012
• Second Intermediate Report October 2012

The evaluation scope covers not only ERDF regional programmes but also any national programme implemented in the region as well as, only for Cohesion Countries, relevant Cohesion Fund projects. After more than 20 years of implementation (for the EU15) of this reformed cohesion policy the focus on results, effectiveness and performance has grown significantly in recent years. In this context this evaluation aims to feed the debate about the effectiveness of the policy with empirical evidence on what has actually happened on the ground in cohesion policy over successive programming periods.

• Terms of Reference
• Inception report

• Ex post evaluation of projects co-financed by ERDF and Cohesion Fund in the period 1994-1999
  
  • Final report
  • Executive Summary
  The objective of this evaluation is to analyse the long term contribution of 10 selected projects to economic development and as well as the quality of life and well-being of society. The selected projects are major investments in transport and environment infrastructure with a total value over EUR 50 million per project and were implemented during the 1994-1999 programming period.
  The Port of Gioia Tauro - M1 Motorway - Water supply in Palermo - Dublin Waste Water Treatment - Egnatia Motorway - Madrid Metro - Mediterranean Corridor - Solid Waste Management in Northern Lisbon - Environmental Regeneration of Ria de Vigo - Urban Solid Waste Management in Galicia
  First Interim report: Vol.1 Conceptual Framework; Vol.2 Selection of projects for case studies :
  Inception report :
  Terms of Reference :