Current Programming Period Research Articles

Living Lab and Cities as Smart Specialisation Strategies Engine

The paper reflects the progressive attention given to Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) in boosting the implementation of Europe 2020 strategy at regional and local level. The aim is to focus on the potentials that the so-called Living Labs can reveal by connecting the urban regeneration with the S3, considering the current European programming period. The Living Lab, based on Open Innovation Model, is conceived as “smart interface” among enterprises, researchers, citizens and public authorities in order to respond the increasing service demand, to stimulate creativity for new ideas, markets with the use of KETs. Itcombines spatial dimension with innovation.

Evaluation of Eu Cohesion Policy Impact on Regional Convergence: Do Culture Differences Matter?

Abstract Attention to the harmonised economic growth by promoting regional economic convergence was paid in the 1960s, at the commencement of European economic integration. It served as a basis for initiation of programs intended to reduce disparities among regions. For the current programming period (2014-2020) over 350 billion euro was allocated to promote cohesion (more than 340 billion for 2007-2013 and about 213 billion for 2000-2006) and a considerable part of that funding went specially to promote regional convergence; therefore, the analysis of regional convergence in the EU countries is essential due to both economic and financial reasons. Regional policy can be considered successful if regional disparities are found to be decreasing; however, research on convergence/divergence issue has not provided any unambiguous conclusions. We aim to enrich this field of analysis by incorporating cultural dimension while analysing the factors influencing regional convergence. In order to identify a causal link between culture and economic outcomes, we define culture as the customary beliefs and values that ethnic, religious and social groups transmit almost unchanged from generation to generation. Our research hypothesis is that regional policy impact on regional convergence differs between groups of countries characterised by historically diverse cultural experience. Using panel data approach like FD and covering the two last programming periods along with a set of variables to control country-specific economic environment, we investigate whether the success of Cohesion policy has depended on cultural differences in the north, south, west and central-east groups of European countries.

Comparative analysis of the strategic objectives of European Union for the past programming period 2007-2013 and for the current programming period 2014-2020

The growing competition between different regions, thus their activities performed under both within and outside the European Union represents a fact of the "globalized" world in which we are living. For many years, the regional disparities in terms of development level and life quality were subject to national policies of the Member States. Many improvements have been observed since the European Union initiated the policy of reducing them. The Cohesion Policy of the European Union has an unique irreplaceable role in the coagulation of integrated development strategies, comprising interventions in different areas, such as infrastructure, research and innovation, employment, education, business, environment protection, climate changes and energy efficiency within a package of coherent policies addressing to regional or even local context, being one of the most visible policies, especially in what regards the relationship with citizens. Thus, the Cohesion Policy target is represented by supporting the process of reducing the disparities between the regions and Member States more developed of the European Union and the ones that are less developed.

Do the Czech Local Action Groups Respect the LEADER Method?

The article introduces activities of local action groups (LAGs) in the Czech Republic. Attention is focused on the history of LAGs, evaluation of LAGs’ activities in the 2007–2013 period and preparation for the 2014–2020 period. Although this period has already started, drawing on subsidies is still lagging behind. Evaluation of LAGs is based on a questionnaire survey among LAGs, information on grants from “Axis 4 – Leader” of Rural Development Programme for the period 2007–2013, content analysis of several Strategies of Community Led Local Development prepared for the current programming period and experience from the creation of several Strategies. The paper also identifies problems of the LAGs (not only in the Czech Republic) and suggestions how to avoid them in the recent programming period.

Regional ICT Innovation in the European Union: Prioritization and Performance (2008–2012)

In the current programming period, European Union (EU) regions and member states that want to use European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) are required to develop innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3) based on the idea of rational strategic management. In order to explore the relationship between strategic policy design and policy performance, this article maps regional strategies for information and communication technologies (ICT) and their effects in the period 2008–2012. Furthermore, it generates suggestions for relevant case studies. We first conduct a quantitative analysis of the effects of ICT strategies and ERDF expenditure on regional ICT performance in Western European regions. ICT is a relevant priority for many regions, and it reflects EU priorities fostering ICT activities through regional development funds. Second, we propose a framework to categorize EU regions in the context of ICT policy based on the expected distribution of regional ICT performance. Our analysis covers 97 regions in 9 EU member states, out of which 29 have had a dedicated ICT strategy. In line with ideas of rational strategic management, our working hypothesis states that regions with a dedicated strategy should display better performance. However, our findings suggest that having a dedicated ICT strategy has not had a clear effect on performance in terms of Internet and broadband access, while allocating dedicated ERDF and other expenditure to Internet infrastructure has had a positive effect. At first sight, this questions the effectiveness of rational strategic management. Yet, more research is needed to assess the quality of ICT strategies and their fit with broader innovation agendas. It is indeed the degree of embeddedness of ICT in the regional innovation ecosystem that is likely to condition the effect of strategies on performance. To this end, our mapping indicates interesting case studies, and we suggest additional factors to be taken into account in future analyses. New insights into strategy design and performance will also be important to inform the implementation of the new generation of innovation strategies for smart specialization.

Archimedes Interdisciplinary Research Programme Forges a Broad Spectrum of Academic Innovations

The basic goal of Archimedes III is to support research teams in Greek Technological Educational Institutes (TEI) and enhance their research capabilities by funding interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research. The programme aims also at attracting talented researchers and developing high quality research personnel. The TEIs, prior to their advancement to the tertiary sector in 2000, focused only on educational activities. Since then, development of research became part of their mission. In order for the Ministry of to support TEIsto develop their research capabilities, it designed research programmes targeting exclusively these organisations. Archimedes I and II were designed and ran in the previous programming period (2000-2006) while Archimedes III has been designed in the framework of the Operational Programme Education and lifelong learning of the current programming period, 2007-2013. The programme supports research projects in all research fields. However, particular emphasis is given to the fields of engineering and ICT where the main strengths of Greek Technological Educational Institutes are concentrated. The specific project of the TEI of Central Greece, described herewith, comprises 8 research subprojects in fields such as health, environment, energy and ICT with one additional subproject dedicated to management and dissemination. This paper is a comprehensive account of the research objectives and accomplishments of the research project as a whole.

The interplay between austerity, domestic territorial reform and European Union Cohesion Policy: Multi-level Governance and the application of the partnership principle in Greece

The purpose of this article is to assess the influences exerted by European Union Cohesion Policy to the patterns of governance of the sub-national actors in Greece and the role played by the latest wave of territorial reforms and the austerity measures that were introduced following the fiscal crisis of 2010 in these processes. It does that through the deployment of the theoretical frameworks of Multi-level Governance and the application of the principle of partnership. The principle of partnership has been an integral aspect of the regulatory framework governing the Cohesion Policy and has remained so after all the reforms of the Structural Funds. The aims of the partnership principle are mediated through domestic policy practices which, in the case of Greece, have been highly centralised. An assessment regarding the changes of governance towards greater sub-national involvement about the current programming period (2008–2013) indicates that there has hardly been any turn towards Multi-level Governance whilst the principle of partnership was only applied in a superficial way. These issues are pertinent in light of the ‘Kalikratis’ plan, which was introduced in 2010 in order to modernise the sub-national authorities, as well as the austerity measures that followed the fiscal crisis which has engulfed Greece since 2010. The interplay between the domestic territorial reforms introduced by ‘Kalikratis’, the austerity measures and the superficial patterns of internalisation of the principle of partnership has led to the rescaling of governance and to less spending, further undermining the already diminished capacities for participation by the sub-national authorities.

Support of strengthening cooperation and efficiency factors accelerating innovation processes in the food industry

The paper deals with the evaluation sub-measures of the “Cooperation for development of new products, processes and technologies, respectively the innovation in the food industry”. It is a sub-measure under the Rural Development Plan (I. 1.3.2). The rating refers to the current programming period, but it was made in the context of a preparation of the new programming for 2014–2020. Strengthening of the cooperation and efficiency factors accelerating the innovation processes in food can act as a tool to gain competitive advantage for the future. It was based on the on- line survey on innovation in food companies, which are mainly in addition of supporting the product and process innovation demonstrating the effectiveness of the promotion of energy-reducing effects, increasing productivity and improving systems of logistics and distribution. This survey is indicative only. Therefore, the survey was completed as an analysis of the approved and paid projects on the measure and interview. The support enables the participating businesses to reduce debts; it shows, however, a need of the simplification and shortening of the administration of request, especially by small enterprises.  

Enhancing the Financial Absorption Capacity of EU Member States Through the Reconsideration of Current Allocation Rules

The preparation process of the new European Union (EU) programming period 2014–20 provides an opportunity to make recommendations based on experiences from the current programming period. We argue that the allocation mechanism recommended in the EU Guide (Guide to Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment Project, 2008) does not ensure an increase in community welfare at the lowest possible public cost and is not in line with international practice. Regarding co-financing, projects with an expected return that is lower than the discount rate usually applied in the private sector but higher than the financial discount rate applied by the EU will not be supported. As a consequence, projects that promise a significant community welfare increase with the lowest public assistance will not be implemented. Our proposal is suitable for enhancing the financial absorption capacity of EU member states in spite of tightening funds.

Cross-Border Cooperation in Slovak-Czech Border Region under EU Programmes

AbstractCross-border cooperation is one of the development opportunities of border regions. Cross-border cooperation (CBC) along the Slovakia-Czech border is specific. It is due to several factors like common history under one state formation, historical ties and similarity of language and culture. Cooperation was realised also in the past. CBC got new forms and intensity after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia in two independent states - Czech Republic and Slovak Republic and the possibility to draw support from EU instruments for cross-border cooperation in the pre-accession (after 2003) and the programming periods 2004-2006 and 2007-2013. The aim of this contribution is to highlight the implementation status and opportunities of Operational Programme Cross-Border Cooperation Slovak Republic - Czech Republic 2007-2013 (OP CBC SK-CZ 2007-2013) and at a lower administrative level to evaluate the potential of local governments of the Trenčín Self-Governing Region (TSR) and three border self-governing regions (Trnava, Trenčín, Žilina) for involvement in cross-border cooperation. In the current programming period of 2007- 2013, cross-border cooperation is implemented also in the Slovakia-Czech border region under the OP CBC SK-CZ 2007-2013. Research pointed to a lower intensity of drawing funds on OP CBC SK-CZ 2007-2013. The main reasons are the lack of experience of local governments with grant applications, project implementation and difficult project administration. The problem is also long term of verification of the financial costs of the project activities what gets municipalities into trouble with co-financing of projects. It caused that municipalities have low interest to apply for new projects.

The Impact of EU Structural Funds on Regional Disparities within Member States

We examine the impact of structural and cohesion funds on regional disparities within EU countries over the period 1995–2006. We find that structural funds have reduced regional disparities over this period. Our empirical estimates also suggest that the effect of structural funds on regional disparities is potentially reversed above some level of transfer intensity (approximately 1.6% of country gross domestic product). This has implications for the desirable allocation of the funds across countries especially since, in the current programming period (2007–13), all the new member states of the Union except for Cyprus and Malta have a transfer intensity which exceeds this threshold.

UE REGIONAL POLICY IN THE PROGRAMMING PERIOD 2014-2020 : CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS

The regional Policy belongs to the most important activity areas of the European Union and absorbs an Essentials part of its budget. That is why the future shape of this policy gives way to controversies and emotion between the heads of state, European functionaries and citizens. The political and institutional frames of this policy have been established through the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon (December 2009), creation of the new European Commission (February 2010) and acceptance of the new longterm strategy: Europe 2020 (March - June 2010). The meetings and talks concerning the amount of EU budget resources in the next programming period and the allocation of these resources between various priorities and states will begin shortly. This paper indicates the problems, which are connected with the regional policy in the current programming period, as well as a forecast concerning the choice of cohesion states and regions based on status quo basis. It means, that it was assumed, that no wide ranging changes will be implemented in EU regional policy and the amount of structural funds for its financing will not be reduced. Finally, the proposals for the reform of the regional policy have been presented.

Cohesion policy and regional disparities: The recent experience of Greece

Twenty years after the beginning of the implementation of EU Cohesion Policy in Greece in the current programming period, 2007–13, for the first time Greek regions have been excluded from Objective 1 ‘Convergence’, a situation that it seems will continue in the next period. As it appears, Cohesion Policy has helped the country and its regions to converge to the European average. However, at an intra-national level, it seems that this is not the case, since internal inter-regional disparities appear to have increased in recent years. To these developments should be added the impact of the economic crisis, which according to early indications has negative repercussions for almost all Greek regions, with varying levels of intensity. These findings, combined with the constantly deteriorating economic situation at national and regional level, sustain the argument that Cohesion Policy will continue to be one of the most important policies of the EU and should constitute a powerful tool against the crisis and its regional dimensions.

Financovanie inovačných aktivít v krajinách V4 prostredníctvom štrukturálnych fondov Európskej únie

The article deals with monitoring the use of financial resources from EU Structural Funds to support innovative activities in the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary not only in the present, but also in the previous programming period (2000-2006). It describes the areas to which financial resources from the EU Structural Funds flow. It also indicates the operational programmes and their priorities that deal with the promotion of innovation and innovative activities in the countries, the total amount of financial resources allocated to support those activities, the numbers of proposed projects and numbers of projects approved for implementation. The actual use of financial resources from the EU Structural Funds and the State Budget is also described in each section. The article includes a description of which areas are the most supported by the EU Structural Funds in the current programming period (2007-2013) and a description of the support to the area of Research, technological development, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Europeanization of Bulgarian regional policy: a case of strengthened centralization

The study considers whether EU cohesion policy and related pre‐accession instruments have contributed to the development of a more compound polity in Bulgaria and promoted features of multi‐level governance. In order to examine the impact of the EU cohesion policy on the Bulgarian system of domestic governance, this contribution studies the nature and the extent of domestic change and attempts to trace its causes. The main finding is that Bulgaria's involvement with the EU has led to the creation of a weak system of multi‐level governance dominated by the central government. However, it would be premature to jump to any definitive conclusions before the end of the current programming period.

Instruments financed by the regional policy

The article describes the impact of financial integration on regional policies, instruments and types of financial instruments from the previous and current programming period in order to promote Polish regional policy