Implications of Brexit for UK ESIF programming and future regional policy

The UK referendum on EU membership resulted in a vote to leave the bloc. The UK and EU are currently in limbo whilst the withdrawing Member State prepares to trigger Article 50 and formally notify its intent to depart. The financial, legal and economic implications are expected to be wide-ranging although the process of unpicking the interlinkages across different policy areas has not yet begun. In the case of Cohesion Policy, the negotiation of an end date for eligibility and the extent to which the established regulatory procedures around N+3 and programme closure will be applied to the departing UK will be crucial, not only in determining the exact financial ‘hit’ to UK regions of Brexit but also in terms of implications for programming on the ground. Regulatory specificities mean that the withdrawal process could be characterised by regions who voted to leave the EU still spending their EU allocations and required to comply with EU law long after UK withdrawal

Territorial impact and responses to COVID-19 in Lagging Regions.

This report has been prepared as part of the Lagging Regions project of the JRC, which aimed to support the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies in selected low-growth and less developed regions in EU Member States. In April 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a series of questions was sent to Lagging Regions partner territories in order to determine their policy responses, specifically in the context of initial European Commission initiatives such as the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) under Cohesion Policy. This paper collects and builds on the responses received in order to give an indication of the potential consequences of the global public health crisis on some of the least developed regions of the European Union.JRC.B.7 - Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt

ERDF and RRF Funding for skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship 2021-2027

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming in the 2021-2027 financial period allows for investment in skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship. This research analyses ERDF allocations to skills for S3 across the EU-27, alongside similar investments under the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) within the context of the European Semester recommendations.JRC.B.7 - Innovation Policies and Economic Impac

Funding Synergies for Innovation, Industrial Transition and Entrepreneurship

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming in the 2021-2027 financial period rec-ognises the role of human capital in place-based approaches to territorial development and innova-tive transformation, allowing for investment in skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship. This research quantifies the amount of investment earmarked across the EU-27 for this, alongside similar investments under the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), acknowledging the importance, and yet complexity, of ensuring complementarity between the funding streams. Whilst the legal basis for both resides in the Union’s goal of strengthening eco-nomic, social and territorial cohesion and reducing disparities, the design and implementation of the two instruments reflects different governance models, performance frameworks, policy priorities and actors. The analysis aims to capture how these two instruments support skills development rel-evant to the twin transitions and smart specialisation domains across heterogeneous socio-economic and institutional territories within the context of the European Semester recommenda-tions. However, it provides an overview of proposed investment at the point of adoption of the two sets of programmes in 2022 and 2023, recognising that the results and impact of the allocations, and their integration and connection with their local innovation ecosystem, will depend upon the ter-ritorial context, the projects and beneficiaries selected and implementation approaches.JRC.B.7 - Innovation Policies and Economic Impac

European Universities, Knowledge Alliances and the EIT’s HEI Initiative within their territorial ecosystems

Higher education (HE) is increasingly recognised as a driver of innovation and an actor of change in territorial transformation. Three EU initiatives specifically support the contribution of HE to territorial development and transformative innovation and were analysed to determine the extent of their impact. The impact of the initiatives and projects funded is highly heterogeneous, reflecting distinct territorial, institutional, policy and sectoral contexts across the EU, as well as varying institutional capabilities.JRC.B.7 - Innovation Policies and Economic Impac

Higher Education for Smart Specialisation - A Handbook

The Higher Education in Smart Specialisation (HESS) project has been developed in collaboration with DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) since 2016 and seeks to engage stakeholders from Higher Education in regional development processes and regional innovation ecosystems to ensure places contribute to local and broader European growth and transformation. This Handbook is the result of more than four years of analysis and cooperation with regions on how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can contribute to the design and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3), as part of the 'Higher Education for Smart Specialisation' (HESS) project. The first edition of this handbook was published in October 2018. This learning journey has since continued and is now entering a new phase, with a new EU multiannual financial framework for the period 2021- 2027, new policy priorities and new funding instruments. In particular, Smart Specialisation is evolving, with a new enabling condition for the good governance of smart specialisation with seven fulfilment criteria aimed at enhancing the refinement and implementation of S3. Higher Education and human capital more generally can play an important role in meeting these criteria. Against this background, it is clearly time for a second edition of the handbook. This new edition retains the core aim of supporting both regions and HEIs in the implementation of smart specialisation and the effective dissemination and application of knowledge through cooperation as well as the supply of high-quality human capital. It also builds on the valuable guidance presented in the first edition, supplemented by new evidence and analysis to support understanding of and alignment with the new criteria. As with the first edition, this Handbook has been informed largely by the HESS case studies but this updated version is based upon further knowledge co-created with regions and HEIs and takes on board feedback from both national and regional authorities as well as HEIs.JRC.B.7 - Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt

Implications of Brexit for UK ESIF programming and future regional policy

The UK referendum on EU membership resulted in a vote to leave the bloc. The UK and EU are currently in limbo whilst the withdrawing Member State prepares to trigger Article 50 and formally notify its intent to depart. The financial, legal and economic implications are expected to be wide-ranging although the process of unpicking the interlinkages across different policy areas has not yet begun. In the case of Cohesion Policy, the negotiation of an end date for eligibility and the extent to which the established regulatory procedures around N+3 and programme closure will be applied to the departing UK will be crucial, not only in determining the exact financial ‘hit’ to UK regions of Brexit but also in terms of implications for programming on the ground. Regulatory specificities mean that the withdrawal process could be characterised by regions who voted to leave the EU still spending their EU allocations and required to comply with EU law long after UK withdrawal

Interregional Cooperation and Smart Specialisation: a Lagging Regions Perspective

This report has been prepared as part of the Lagging Regions project of the JRC, which aims to support the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies in selected low-growth and less developed regions in EU member states. In the 2021-2027 programming period, smart specialisation strategies will be required to meet a series of fulfilment criteria around the relevant "enabling condition" of good governance. One such criterion relates to international collaboration, or ‘measures for enhancing cooperation with partners in different countries in areas designated as priority areas for smart specialisation’. Within this context of a new governance framework for a new programming period, the Lagging Regions project aimed to explore the implications for a specific set of regions and develop and disseminate relevant policy lessons. The potential for Lagging Regions to participate in interregional and international cooperation remains under-exploited, and this report determines specific challenges as well as potential benefits and opportunities that are relevant for low-growth and low-income regions to support them in their preparations for the 2021-2027 programming period. An exploration of interregional and international cooperation aims to contribute to a better understanding of its role in strengthening innovation ecosystems and its interaction with Smart Specialisation in the context of Lagging Regions.JRC.B.3 - Territorial Developmen

Winners and Losers: the EU Referendum Vote and its Consequences for Wales

In the June 2016 EU Referendum, Wales voted to leave the EU - in the face of strong political support to remain. Whilst Wales’s vote puts it on the ‘winning’ Leave side, the process of leaving the EU will bring with it some tangible losses that will impact Wales differently from the rest of the UK. In the immediate aftermath of the vote, there was widespread consternation about why Wales, as a net beneficiary due to significant receipts of Structural Funds, would see a majority vote Leave. The reasons behind this, and also the potential for a new regional policy are discussed in this article. In addition, it looks at a possible ‘win’ for Wales with the potential expansion in regulatory competence which may come from the repatriation of competences back to the devolved administrations on Brexit, though recognising that this may not be straightforward and may carry a heavy price tag

Winners and losers: the EU Referendum vote and its consequences for Wales

In the June 2016 EU Referendum, Wales voted to leave the EU - in the face of strong political support to remain. Whilst Wales’s vote puts it on the ‘winning’ Leave side, the process of leaving the EU will bring with it some tangible losses that will impact Wales differently from the rest of the UK. In the immediate aftermath of the vote, there was widespread consternation about why Wales, as a net beneficiary due to significant receipts of Structural Funds, would see a majority vote Leave. The reasons behind this, and also the potential for a new regional policy are discussed in this article. In addition, it looks at a possible ‘win’ for Wales with the potential expansion in regulatory competence which may come from the repatriation of competences back to the devolved administrations on Brexit, though recognising that this may not be straightforward and may carry a heavy price tag