Transcript European Funding: Present and the future

Background To the New Programmes
John Hacking
Members of the European
Union
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Bulgaria
Current Member States
Finland
Italy
Poland
France
Latvia
Portugal
Germany
Lithuania Slovak Republic
Greece
Luxembourg
Slovenia
Hungary
Malta
Spain
Ireland
Netherlands
Sweden
Romania
UK
• EU growth since 1956
• 6 to 12 to 15 to 25 to 27 to ??
• Impact? – re focus of money from last programme to accession
countries.
Where does the money come
from?
• The European Union budget is made up of
• a proportion of the VAT charged on goods and services in the
Member States,
• a share of each countries gross national product and
• custom duties from non-EU countries on goods which are imported
into the EU
• These resources are redistributed into four Structural Funds and used
to bridge the gap between the developed and less developed regions
• The North West receives funds, mainly, through two of these funds.
Priority Context of Main
European Funds
• We will look at the funds as follows
– European Union level
– National level
– Regional level
Policy Context
– European Level
• Lisbon Agenda
• Its aim is to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive
knowledge-based economy in the world capable of
sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and
greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment by
2010"
• “More jobs, better jobs”
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon_Strategy
• http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/lisbon_strategy_en.htm
• National Level
• Increase growth via employment and productivity
Despite good macroeconomic performance, address any
regional disparities and low employment and skills
Reduce gaps in growth rates between regions and stretch
employment and skills targets
www.erdf.communities.gov.uk/WhatIsERDF/117735
Policy Context
– Integrating Employment and Skills
– Leitch review (2007) examines the UK’s long term skill
needs, with the aim to increase skill attainments at all levels
by 2020
– the review argues that "the UK must urgently raise
achievements at all levels of skills and recommends that it
commit to becoming a world leader in skills by 2020,
benchmarked against the upper quartile of the OECD. This
means doubling attainment at most levels of skill.
Responsibility for achieving ambitions must be shared
between Government, employers and individuals".
– Worklessness (Freud Report 2007 ‘Reducing Dependency,
increasing opportunity: options for the future of welfare to
work’)
• The Freud Report aims at 80% employment rate.
• This would mean getting 1.3 million people off long term benefits* and
into work (*on benefits for more than a year)
• This would include 300,000 lone parents.
• The scale is large
• Regional Level
• Major challenges in the North West in relation to workless and
economic activity rates - 80,000 additional workers to achieve
UK norms
• Alignment of ESF to other mainstream investment in skills
• NEET is persistent and challenging
• Focus on priority sectors
• Reduced ESF funding results in a very targeted approach to
the ESF programme
• NW Skills for Jobs Framework
– Maps and links existing skills and employment provision.
Additional provision commissioned to fill gaps and support
smoother, continuous skills development for workless
adults from pre-employment training through to continued
up-skilling in the workplace. (“Client Journey”)
What are the Main European Funds?
European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF)
Broad Description at EU Level
• ERDF - The ERDF aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion
in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions.
• The EU says that ERDF funds:
– Direct aid to investments in companies (in particular SMEs) to
create sustainable jobs;
– Infrastructures linked notably to research and innovation,
telecommunications, environment, energy and transport;
– Financial instruments (capital risk funds, local development funds,
etc.) to support regional and local development and to foster
cooperation between towns and regions;
• More here
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/feder/index_en.htm
European Social Fund (ESF)
Broad Description at EU Level
• ESF - Provides financial support for vocational training schemes,
guidance and counselling projects, job creation measures and other
steps to improve the employability and skills of both employed and
unemployed people
– adapting workers and enterprises: lifelong learning schemes,
designing and spreading innovative working organisations;
– access to employment for job seekers, the unemployed, women
and migrants;
– social integration of disadvantaged people and combating
discrimination in the job market;
– strengthening human capital by reforming education systems
and setting up a network of teaching establishments.
• More here
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/fse/index_en.htm
• Put extremely simply!
• ERDF is about creating jobs
• ESF is about getting people into them
European Funds in the North West
2007-13
Funds Available 2007-2013 (£)
£'s
North West* Merseyside Total
ESF
220
133
520
ERDF
304
208
512
Tot
524
341
1032
* excluding Merseyside
ERDF
• ERDF is used to provide help in the form of grants, loans, or venture
capital.
• There is a £41m capital fund in the NW ERDF programme
• As a general rule the EU contributes no more than 50 per cent of the
eligible cost. The remainder of the funding, known as 'match funding',
comes from other sources such as the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA), local authorities, other Government
schemes, other public bodies and/or the private sector.
• For the first time, there is a single ERDF Programme for the
Northwest, known as the Northwest Operational Programme
(NWOP).
• The ERDF programme is not geographically restricted although
targetting is part of the rationale.
ERDF
• The ERDF programme in the NW is managed by the North
West Development Agency.
• www.erdfnw.gov.uk
• The ERDF programme enhances and supports the
competitiveness of the Northwest economy and supports the
EU ‘Growth and Jobs’ agenda and the Northwest Regional
Economic Strategy. (RES)
• The programme will also support the creation of the right
conditions of growth and employment and enterprise in local
areas for local people.
ERDF
• The North West Operational Programme (NWOP) has 4 Priorities
(sections) and under each of these Priorities there are a number of
more detailed Action Areas.
• Beneath each Action Area sits more detailed Investment Framework
which identifies:
– the type of activity that could be supported under the ERDF
Programme
and
– the types of organisations that are best placed to deliver these
projects.
You can find the Investment Frameworks here:
http://www.nwnetwork.org.uk/useful-documents-16
ERDF Priorities in the NW
PRIORITY 1 - Stimulating Enterprise and
Supporting Growth in Target and Markets
ACTION AREA 1-1. Developing high value new enterprise
ACTION AREA 1-2. Developing higher added-value activity in
target regional sectors
ACTION AREA 1-3. Increasing sustainable consumption and
production
PRIORITY 2 - Exploiting Innovation and
Knowledge
• ACTION AREA 2-1. Exploiting the science and R&D base of
the region
• ACTION AREA 2-2. Encouraging innovation to improve
productivity in all companies
PRIORITY 3 - Creating the Conditions for
Sustainable Growth
ACTION AREA 3-1. Exploiting the economic potential of major
gateways in Merseyside
ACTION AREA 3-2. Developing high quality sites and premises of
regional importance
ACTION AREA 3-3. Supporting the improvement of the region’s
visitor offer and image
PRIORITY 4 - Growing and Accessing
Employment
ACTION AREA 4-1. Stimulate enterprise in disadvantaged
communities and under-represented groups
ACTION AREA 4-2. Supporting linkages to key employment areas
ACTION AREA 4-3. Supporting employment creation for areas of
regeneration need
www.erdfnw.gov.uk
www.nwnetwork.org.uk
www.europa.eu
ESF Priorities in the NW
ESF
The ESF Programme is based on two main Priorities
• Priority 1 Extending employment opportunities
• Priority 2 Developing a skilled and adaptable workforce
• Priority 1 - Extending Employment Opportunities:
• The objective of Priority 1 is to increase employment and to
reduce unemployment and inactivity.
• It will help to tackle barriers to work faced by disadvantaged
groups such as people with disabilities and health conditions,
lone parents and other disadvantaged parents, older workers,
ethnic minorities, and people with no or low qualifications. It will
also aim to reduce the numbers of young people not in
education, employment or training (NEET).
ESF
• Priority 2 - Developing a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce:
• The objective of Priority 2 is to develop a skilled and adaptable
workforce by; reducing the number of people without basic
skills;
• increasing the number of people qualified to level 2 and, where
justified, to level 3;
• reducing gender segregation in the workforce
• developing managers and workers in small enterprises.
• There will be a particular focus on the low skilled.
Community Grants (ESF)
• DWP has confirmed that up to 2.5% of the total ESF funding
can be distributed as ESF grants to a ceiling of £12000 per
project..
Community Grants will be available to small third sector
organisations and will support a range of activity to assist
disadvantaged or excluded groups move closer to the
labour market by improving their access to mainstream
ESF and domestic employment and skills provision.
The focus will be on progression towards the labour
market and grants will not duplicate provision that is
available through ESF Co-financing.
The Community Grants scheme will be operate in
Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria
by a single organisation in each of the sub regions.
Community Grants (Cont..)
• It is likely that one application per organisation will be allowed.
• Multi-annual projects will probably not be allowed but spend
profiles longer than one year could be.
• The Community Grants scheme is fully Co-financed through
the LSC and so match funding is not required.
www.esf.gov.uk
Management arrangements
of the new programme
• ERDF
– Regional Development Agency (NWDA) will lead
– European Team being developed as we speak
– Regional Economic Strategy (RES) will provide the
framework for spending
• ESF
– GONW will be accountable body
– Co-Financing Organisations (CFO’s) will be the channel for
spend.
– JCP/DWP and LSC will be main CFOs
Other European Funds
The Rural Development Programme
for England (RDPE)
• The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) also
runs from 2007 -2013.
• This is also being delivered in the Northwest by NWDA.
• The RDPE is a programme jointly funded by EU and UK
government.
• Part of the RDPE aim is to “make agriculture and forestry more
competitive and sustainable and to enhance opportunity in rural
areas”
• Sub-regional rural partnerships have been tasked with putting
together strategies for the implementation of RDPE in their
sub-region.
• http://www.nwda.co.uk/areas-of-work/people--jobs/ruraleconomy/rural-development-programme-fo.aspx
PROGRESS
PROGRESS is the EU’s new employment and social solidarity
programme. Working alongside the European Social Fund
(ESF), it started in 2007 and will run until 2013. This
programme replaces the four previous ones that ended in 2006
covering actions against discrimination, equality between men
and women, employment measures and the fight against social
exclusion.
PROGRESS will fund three types of actions:
• Analysis
• Mutual learning, awareness and dissemination
• Support to main actors
Examples of what PROGRESS
can fund include:
• Europe-wide studies such as research on health and safety at
work
• Creation of networks of national experts, such as legal experts,
exchanging and discussing issues raised by EU employment
law and its application
• Funding of EU networks of NGOs fighting social exclusion and
discrimination on grounds of racial origin, age and disability or
promoting gender equality
Who Can Apply for
Progress?
• PROGRESS is open to the 27 EU Member States, EU
candidate and EFTA/EEA countries. It targets Member States,
local and regional authorities, public employment services and
national statistics offices.
• Specialised bodies, universities and research institutes, as well
as the social partners and non-governmental organisations can
also participate.
• The Commission will select the projects to fund either by calls
for tender or by calls for proposal. It will provide a maximum of
80% co-financing with some exceptions.
• www.ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/
Other Sources of Funds
• Daphne III, to combat violence against women, children and young
people –The programme is open to participation by NGOs, local public
authorities and institutions (mainly universities and research institutes)
from the 27 EU Member States
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/daphne3/funding_daphne3_e
n.htm
• Refugees –The European Refugee Fund
• http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/refugee/funding_refuge
e_en.htm
How to find out about other
funds
• Google (confusing)
• Websites can be useful (though often out of date and
country/theme specific)
• Contact North West Network – let us help.
www.welcomeeurope.com
Thank you