Community Support Framework Research Articles

Methodology Framework to Assess Regional Development Plans: A European Perspective Approach

This paper reviews the European Funding Programs impact on regional and economic development. The case study focuses on “Eastern Macedonia & Thrace” (EMTH) Region, a region in the nation of Greece. EMTH Region boasts a number of comparative advantages related to its strategic location, bordering Bulgaria on the North and Turkey on the East. In addition, EMTH Region is one of the regions in Greece with the lowest GDP per capita. Moreover, is a region of great importance with great existing transport infrastructure, widespread network of industrial areas, academic-R&D infrastructure & dynamics and many opportunities in the renewable energy sources. The purpose of the paper is the evaluation of the European Union Funding programs, highlighting and supporting the main target of these funding programs to force and enable a sustainable social and economic growth to the poorest European neighborhoods in order to achieve the average European Union prosperity. The framework analysis of the paper is based on an ex-post evaluation framework of the Regional Operational Programs that Greece and the “EMTH Region, have participated since Greece's entry into the European Union. The case study focused on some large European Support Regional Programs as the Mediterranean Integrated Programs (IMPs, 1986-1993), the 1st Community Support Framework (CSF I) (1989-1993), the 2nd Community Support Framework (CSF II) (1994-1999), the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF) (2000 -2006) as well as the National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRF) (2007-2013) and (2014-2020). Valuable conclusions were derived, mainly regarding the absorption of the programs in the EMTH Region and regional and economic development of the case study region features during this period.

Policy transfer as the growth of dynamics and challenges: The case of school textbooks in Greece

The Greek school textbook is at the core of this article and is treated as a matter of policy. In 2003, the Greek Government decided to include the publishing of school textbooks in the current Community support framework and as a result school textbook publishing goes beyond Greek priorities and gains European interest, which means that the whole process, being mainly supported by Community funding, has to respect certain of its rules and procedures. Our aim here is to show how European policies were transferred to the Greek context and how they inter-reacted with the corresponding Greek rules and procedures. The theoretical framework is based on Dolowich and Marsh’s (2008) proposal concerning the transformation of the concept of policy transfer into an analytical schema in the study of the policy transfer process. The methodology includes the content analysis of 29 school textbooks and comparison of the old ones with the new, and 32 interviews with actors involved in writing and publishing them.

THE “URBAN GEOLOGY” PROJECT OF IGME: THE CASE STUDY OF NAFPLIO, ARGOLIS PREFECTURE, GREECE

The Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece (I.G.M.E.), in the framework of CSF 2000 – 2006 (Community Support Framework 2000-2006), implemented the pilot project “Collection, Codification and Documentation of geothematic information for urban and suburban areas in Greece - pilot applications”. Geological, geochemical, geophysical, geotechnical, hydrogeological and other geothematic data concerning the urban and surrounding areas of Drama (North Greece), Nafplio & Sparti (Peloponnese) and Thrakomakedones (Attica) were collected. Drillings, geological and neotectonic mapping and other “in situ” measurements and field work took place. All initial and derived analogical and digital data were compiled and processed in specially designed geo-databases in GIS Environment. The final results are presented in geothematic maps and other digital products (DEMs, 2D – 3D surfaces, geodatabases). Such data constitute the essential knowledge base for land use planning and environmental protection in specific urban areas. Through this pilot project, new scientific approaches, methodologies and standards were developed and improved in order to apply to other future projects concerning the major cities of the whole country.

DESIGNATION OF GEOSITES- PROPOSALS FOR GEOPARKS IN GREECE

During the last three years, the research project: “Geosites, geoparks contribution to sustainable development” aiming at recording and designating geosites and potential geoparks, as a means to sustainable development, funded from the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF) programme, is developing at the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece (IGME). The project, according to its objectives, is divided in the following five sub-projects: 1: Identification, characterization, evaluation of geosites 2: Compilation of a DataBase and a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the geosites, geotrails and potential geoparks in the country. 3: Planning of walking and motoring geotrails around the geosites, in combination with other attractions of biotic, archaeological and cultural interest. 4: Specifications of the geoparks’ studies and planning for interpretation, tourism, marketing, development, operation and management. Drafting of complete management proposals for selected areas, in view of their development into geoparks and of their participation in international networks. 5: Promotion of the project’s objectives and benefits in international, national level and the local community, businesses and institutions. Compilation of interpretative, marketing material for tourism purposes, and for the community awareness on geological heritage conservation. The whole project is based on the systematic inventory of the geosites and the compilation of a GISaided database for the geosites, geotrails and potential geoparks. The framework of the research materialization, the procedural steps, as well as the methodological approach for its accomplishment, will be presented in this paper, focussing mostly in the first sub-project methodology as Geosites registration is the base for the whole project. The geosites, geotrails, potential geoparks Registry compiled with this project will function as a source of information for various uses: national and international level public or private sector projects regarding planning and conservation of nature, education and tourism.

GEOTRAILS IN GREECE

Planning of walking and motoring geotrails around the geosites, in combination with other attractions of biotic, archaeological and cultural interest, as well as creation of interpretative, awareness printed material relevant to the geosites is one of the objectives of the project “Designation of geosites – geoparks, contribution to sustainable development”. It is a project of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME), funded from the 3rd community support framework program. Furthermore, this printed material which is also available in digital form aided by the project’s data base and the geographic information system is used to develop an application for display at the IGME museum, exploiting the potential of multimedia and interactive technologies (e.g. touch screens), in a way that will attract the interest of the visitor on the geological history and at the time entertain him. Making of the right interpretive products will result in the designation of the geological heritage and the establishment of new forms of alternative tourism, a modern tourist trend which will help in the social and economic development of each region. Designation of geosites will also have a positive impact on the awareness and knowledge of geological history at all levels of education, in our country as well as internationally

Numerical Investigation of Wind Driven Circulation and Horizontal Dispersion in the Surface Layer of a Re-flooded Shallow Lake

The re-flooded lakes with unique natural and cultural values that are under threat from anthropogenic pressure, consist a very important section of fresh water resources management in the Mediterranean. Lake Karla, positioned in the eastern part of Thessaly (Greece), is an example of a lake ecosystem, which was dried in the 60s to provide additional agricultural land; its restoration was launched in 2000 under the 3rd Community Support Framework. The object of the present paper is the study of the effect of the inflows, the wind action and the Coriolis action on the water circulation and the horizontal dispersion of the lake, using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. A number of wind directions have been tested upon the lake’s circulation, while in addition to winds other parameters, like inflow and Coriolis force, have been accounted for. Conservative computational tracers were used to assess the rate of horizontal dispersion from various locations in Lake Karla. The simulations indicated that in the coastal strip, the direction of the current corresponded to the wind direction. The horizontal dispersion rate is higher in the central region of the lake and it is not influenced by the presence of the inflow from Pinios River and the Coriolis action. The research in this paper will be useful in determining the horizontal transport of waterborne materials in the lake body which plays a major role in determining its biochemical status.

Arquitetura e Industrialização das Construções através do percurso de João Filgueiras Lima – Lelé

The industrialization of a building requires high technical rigor in design and production. In Brazil, the architect Joao Filgueiras Lima, “Lele” stands out as an example of the design process of industrial buildings, covering all stages of construction. This article provides the technological trajectory of Lele and development of industrial production through their diverse experiences in factories for the performance of building systems. Then, its little known industrialized production in the Community Support Framework Ribeirao Preto (Sao Paulo, Brazil), is analyzed. As a method, a single case study was used, with multiple sources of evidence such as interviews, direct observation and documents. From the results, it seems that “Lele” constantly improved construction practices and industrial elements used since it participated in the entire process of building construction. Although use of mass production is done, you get an appropriate method for the context in which the complex buildings are inserted.

A simulation of impact of withdrawal European funds on Andalusian economy using a dynamic CGE model: 2014–20

This is the first time that European Regional Policy will not consider Andalusia as one of the Objective 1 priority areas. Thus, this paper analyzes the economic impact of the withdrawal of a large amount of European Structural Funds from the Andalusian economy in the 2014–2020 Community Support Framework. A Dynamic Applied General Equilibrium Model is developed to assess the effects of the loss of this funding on the main regional economic indicators and under different simulation scenarios. The model analyzes the effect of economic policy actions on the economy, satisfying the requirements of welfare and technological feasibility when given some restrictions on available resources.

A SWOT Analysis of the Contribution of Community Support Frameworks to Tourism: The Case of Syros Island

ABSTRACT Tourism is the main sector in Greece contributing the most to the economic and social growth. It accounts for more than 10% of the gross national product with significant for the economy and the society trends. Tourism has gained considerable comparative advantage as main international tourism destination place. The scope of this study is to examine the extent to which the implementation of the the Third Community Support Framework contributed to tourism development, focusing on the island of Syros (capital of the prefecture of Cyclades islands). The survey was based on structural questionnaire distributed to 200 recipients, out of which 100 questionnaires were mailed to investors and 100 to various entities, local banks and tourism offices. Research showed that it is difficult to make a positive or negative evaluation of the Community Support Frameworks. The majority of individuals and entities involved in research carried out stated that the projects funded were not adequate enough to increase the tourism development of Syros.

PROJECT RISK RANKING IN LARGE-SCALE PROGRAMS: A FUZZY SET BASED APPROACH

As most of the global economic activity takes place in the form of projects/programs, their effective management and governance is becoming more and more critical to the competitive position of organizations and societies. Project auditing and risk management, elaborate on methodologies that could be used for analyzing project progress, by identifying potential risks and liabilities, and finally recommending corrective and preventive actions. In relation to these fields, this paper proposes a fuzzy set based approach for project risk ranking in large-scale programs. The proposed approach defines a generic list of risk factors which is used for the ranking and risk assessment of all projects of a program. Data describing projects' progress as well as expert's evaluation of risk factors and project's risk exposure are being used as input parameters to the fuzzy set system. The relative probability of risk appearance due to risk factors for each of the projects is being calculated by providing valuable means for efficient decision-making and success of the program. Finally, this paper describes a case study called Operational Program "Road Axes, Ports, Urban Development" of Community Support Framework III in Greece, where the proposed approach was successfully applied.

Measuring the Unemployment Risk in Northern Greece from the LFS Micro-Data during the Period 1994-2006

This paper investigates unemployment risk and job prospects of individuals in the three Northern Greek regions (Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia, and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace), during the implementation of the second (1994-99) and the third (2000-06) Community Support Frameworks. More specifically, the research focuses on the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of individuals in finding a job, and explores the impact of gender, age, marital status, residence location, level of education, immigrant status, registered in the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) and participation in training courses. Furthermore, there is an investigation whether University graduates face greater difficulties in finding a job than non-University graduates, as a series of studies or aggregate statistics for Greece conclude. Sampling is based on individual anonymized records (micro-data) of the Labour Force Survey for both employed and unemployed at Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics-2 level. The findings of the logit model are mixed for all the variables used, apart from those of registered in OAED for which the results have no differences among regions and years.

Community Participation and the Enhancement of the Roman Thermae of St Thomas, Mesolongi

This paper examines the process of enhancing an archaeological site and rendering it accessible to the wider public within a very tight time schedule, and will contemplate the role of the local community in this process. Focusing on the case study of the Roman Thermae of St Thomas (Agios Thomas) near Mesolongi, Western Greece, the various challenges and problems encountered during the excavation, partial restoration, and enhancement of the site (funded by the INTERREG II cross-border program of the 2nd Community Support Framework) will be addressed. Issues of community participation will be highlighted through the crucial involvement of the local people in the project and with a reflective outlook on the way heritage management is operating in Greece.

Unemployment in the Greek regions of Attica and Central Macedonia: comparative econometric analysis between the 2nd and the 3rd CSFs

The basic aim of this paper is to investigate the unemployment risk and job prospects of individuals in the two most populated Greek regions, Attica and Central Macedonia, during the implementation of the second (1994 to 1999) and the third (2000 to 2006) community support frameworks (CSFs). More specifically, we research what are the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of someone in the examined population finding a job, exploring individuals according to gender, age, marital status, residence location, level of education, immigrant status, registered in the manpower employment organisation (OAED) and participation in training courses. Also, we try to investigate whether university graduates face greater difficulties in finding a job than non-university graduates, as a series of studies or aggregate statistics for Greece conclude. We use individual anonymised records (micro-data) of the labour force survey (LFS) for both employed and unemployed at for nomenclature of territorial units statistics (NUTS)-2 level. The findings of the logit model are mixed for all the variables used, apart from those of gender, marital status, participation in training programmes and registered in OAED for which the results have no differences among regions and years. The paper does offer evidence that could be useful for comparative research among European regions.

State capacity and ‘embeddedness’ in the context of the European Union’s Regional Policy: the case of Greece and the third Community Support Framework (CSF)

This paper aims to explain the weak developmental impact that the third Community Support Framework (CSF) funding had for Greece by adopting a conceptual framework based on the theories of internal and interactive state capacities. It postulates that a series of characteristics of the domestic political economy – clientelism, corruption and low levels of social capital – did not allow the third CSF to substantially alter the endogenous capabilities of the Greek economy. Most of the Operational Programmes (OPs) faced significant delays whilst the strengthening of the monitoring procedures attempted by the Commission – exemplified through the ‘n+2’ rule – only served to exacerbate the situation. The reinforcement of the domestic administrative and territorial reforms that will improve the capacities of the Greek state is suggested as a possible way forward.

Evaluation of Operational Programme "Competitiveness" in the frames of the 3rd Community Support Framework - Action 2.11.2

1. Introduction In the period of economies' internationalisation, of rapid changes and intense technological developments, the key for the development and improvement of enterprises' competitiveness constitutes the promotion of productivity via technological changes and innovations. In this direction, subsidy OP were launched and it is appreciated that the Operational Programme Competitiveness has subsidized more than 32,000 investments in the various sectors of Greek economy with total budget more than 5 billions of Euros, element that implies a significant number of fortuned enterprises, employees and self-employed (Ministry of Development, 2007). In order Greece to achieve real convergence with the other economies of the European Union's member-states and to face basic lacks of the economic and social life, is supported with important resources by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in the frames of the European Regional Policy. This support is realised via the CSF, the Community Initiatives and the Fund of Cohesion (Ministry of Economy and Finance, 2007). The 3rd CSF was launched based on the Regional Development Plan that was submitted by Greece in the EU and it is an agreement in which the Greek Government and European Committee had reached for the community structural interventions to Greece for the time interval 2000-2006. The 3rd CSF constitutes the most important mean for the Lisbon Strategy objectives' achievement at this programmatic period and is consistent to a large degree in the overwhelming majority of its objectives, with 63% of the Structural Funds' available budget in Greece financing actions that contribute directly this Strategy (Ministry of Development, 2005). For the objectives' achievement of the 3rd CSF 2000-2006 were also launched and accomplished 25 Operational Programmes from which the Operational Programme Competitiveness was a complete Programme for the modernisation of the Greek economy and its competitiveness support, which despite the recent relative improvement, from the 106th place into the 96th place in the world scale, still appears to considerably fall short in the international classification by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and to remain far from better classifications achieved in the past (Ministry of Development, 2008). This element implies that the exploitation of EU's significant resources to Greece did not produce the expected results as the availability of these free charged funds led to policies of prosperity and laxity resulting the real convergence of Greek with European economy to constitute henceforth desirable and future objective (Negreponti-Delivani, 1979). It is appreciated therefore that this ineffective exploitation of resources was also emanation of the limited systematic and essential control of the supportive OPs (Nikolaidis-Christopoulou, 2003a, 2003b; Kanellopoulos, 2004; Petrakos et al., 2004). The above query strengthens the general opinion that in Greece, fundamental subjects that concern in the investments investigation, evaluation and the choice of attractive, viable and efficient investment plans, did not enjoy the proportional attention or were submitted in occasional analysis and evaluation by the Intermediary Management Agencies (Mirianthis, 1988; Nikolaidis et al., 2004). Under these circumstances, the evaluation of subsidy OPs in Greece constitutes necessary and important activity in order to achieve more rational and effective exploitation of their limited resources. Objective of this research is the acquisition of useful information regarding enterprises that were involved (accepted or rejected) in Action 2.11.2 Support for Very Small, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Tertiary Sector. At the same time, this study aims in the export of conclusions regarding the contribution of the Intermediary Management Agencies (IMA), the Action 2. …

The territorial approach to EU cohesion policy: Current issues and evidence from Greece

The importance attributed to the territorial dimension of the European Union cohesion policy steadily influences its successive reforms and adaptations, while in recent years there has been an evolution in the way this particular dimension of cohesion policy is perceived. Important evidence for this is the way in which the Community Strategic Guidelines on cohesion 2007-13 take account of the territorial dimension of cohesion policy. This paper discusses the territorial approach to cohesion policy in relation to both policy and practice. Specifically, it examines the territorial dimension of regional development planning in Greece as it has emerged in the relevant official documents, namely the successive three Community Support Frameworks since 1989 and the National Strategic Reference Framework for the current 2007-13 period. The territorial dimension of the organization of the planning system is also considered in an effort to understand limitations and prospects, in light of the importance of the territorial approach to cohesion policy post-2013.

La nouvelle exposition permanente du Musée de Thasos

The Archaeological Museum of Thassos, first built in 1935, the oldest museum in northern Greece, acquired a new wing during 1989-1999, funded by the Archaeological Receipts Fund and the European Union. The new permanent exhibition was materialized during 2003-2009, with funding by the Third European Community Support Framework. Today, the Museum covers 2.376 m2 with fully renovated exhibition galleries, conservation workshops, rooms for study and storage. Due to its central position in the modern capital of the island, next to the ancient Agora, the Museum meets the demands of a wide spectrum of visitors by shedding light on the historical role of the island from the prehistoric to the byzantine years. It provides a complete picture of the facets of life in the ancient city-state of Thassos, a thriving ancient Greek city.

Evaluation of Infrastructure Investments: The Case of the Southern Italian Transport Network

The EU Community Support Framework (CSF), in the transport sector, aims at implementing a sustainable network characterised by a more balanced modal split and by integrated connectivity among the transport nodes. This study provides a concise description of the CSF, PON and POR programmes and tests - by means of a multicriteria approach - the degree of coherence among them. The results highlight that the strategy pursued during the 2001-2006 period sought to strengthen some priority nodes located in the TEN-T network and that there is a marked heterogeneity between the PON projects and the POR projects.

A Non-Experimental Evaluation of Unemployment Risk in Crete and the Ionian Islands: Regional Evidence for Greece

The basic aim of this paper is to investigate the impact that individuals´ level of education and participation in training programmes (apprenticeship, intra-firm training, continuing vocational training, popular training) have on their job prospects in Crete and the Ionian Islands, both among Greece´s top tourist destinations, during the implementation of the first Community Support Framework - CSF (1989-1993). We try to see whether the level of education itself and participation in training programmes increased the chances of finding a job. More specifically, we examine the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of someone in the examined population finding a job, how those chances change (if they do) after the introduction of training courses and, also, whether university graduates, in contrast to most of the rest of the EU member states, face greater difficulties in finding a job than non-university graduates, as a series of studies for Greece conclude. In our analysis we use individual anonymised records (micro-data) of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for both employed and unemployed at NUTS-2 level.

Comparing the Probability of Unemployment in Northern Greece vis-à-vis the Entire Country

The basic aim of this paper is to investigate the impact that the educational level of individuals and participation in training programs had on their job prospects in the three Northern Greek regions during the implementation of the first Community Support Framework - CSF (1989-1993), and we compare this to the entire country. We research the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of someone finding a job, whether these change after the introduction of training courses and, whether university graduates face greater difficulties in finding a job. We use individual anonymized records (micro-data) from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for both employed and unemployed in all areas under examination.