The regional competitiveness and employment objective and policy prioritisation

In this paper we propose an analysis of policy strategies of operative programmes co-funded by Structural Funds in the current period in the regions eligible for the future Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective, adopting a forward-looking perspective. We analyse interventions eligible for the period 2007-2013 and compare this range with the actual policy strategies. We discuss about potential changes in policy prioritisation in the future programming period: the most important challenge concerns potential re-addressing of interventions needed to meet the objectives of the new regional development framework, as in the three-pronged menu of priority themes from the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas. This is particularly relevant in the framework of potential tensions between the rationales of new Structural Funds Regulations and the Lisbon strategies. A cross-cutting reading of policy priorities at the regional level reveals that in many regions certain typologies of investments can not be directly repeated. This adjustment to the new legal and policy framework can be pursued, in some cases, through a radical overhaul of regional strategy or, in some others, a fine-tuning of interventions towards Lisbon consistent policies.Structural Funds, Regional Policy, Lisbon Strategy

Cost-benefit analysis of Infrastructure Projects in an Enlarged European Union: an Incentive-Oriented Approach

The purpose of the paper is to analyse some results of cost-benefit analysis in a sample of ISPA (Structural Instrument for pre-accession countries) projects. The focus is particularly on the variability of financial and economic rates of return and how to integrate this information in the EU co- financing mechanism. We investigate, through the analysis of variance of co-financing rate, to which extent variability of rates is due to structural characteristics (sectors, countries) or to the existence of a residual variance due both to specificity of the project and discretional element of the appraisal method, which may constitute an information noise. We find that the variance of co-financing rate across countries is poorly explained by different composition of sectors of investment. This suggests the need to reinforce a more consistent approach to evaluation and co-financing. We suggest some possible solutions.Cost-benefit analysis, Project Evaluation, Structural Funds, European Regional Policy

Effectiveness evaluation of the ICE (Italian institute of foreing trade) promotional programme: case study

Evaluation and monitoring approaches and methodologies are spreading within the national and regional administrations directly involved in the management of the programmes co-financed by Structural Funds as well as within other institutional contexts where public policies are planned and implemented. The purpose of the present paper is to illustrate some results from a still ongoing training and consultancy project, on behalf of the ICE (Foreign Trade Institute), aiming at integrating ICE programming with evaluation and monitoring practices. Indeed, during the last year the ICE Programming Unit has been engaged in training and consultancy activities involving the application of evaluation and monitoring methodologies to the activities promoting ICE. The recipients of such initiative belong to the ICE Programming and Control Unit and they already gained experience in the evaluation area in the past within ad hoc working groups. More specifically, the purpose of this activity is to provide the opportunity to develop the means for a more effective management of the projects and start a broader process leading to organizational change and improvement.programme evaluation, effectiveness measure, customer satisfaction

Additionality and regional development: are EU Structural Funds complements or substitutes of national Public Finance?

This paper deals with the effects of the transfer of additional funds on the real economy of recipient countries, in particular the European Member States. The intended and unintended effects of additional funds on national public finances and, ultimately, economic performance are discussed. Understanding the real effects of additional public funds and the possible complementarity or substitutability with national public finance is important for shaping the policies for the allocation of Structural Funds. Verification of additionality plays a role in ensuring that additional funds are used to effectively complement national expenditure programmes. In the case of the European Union, it is widely recognised that the current verification mechanism is affected by weaknesses, that prevent it from providing reliable and useful data to effectively assess additionality. For this reason, the paper suggests the European Commission to move away from the current verification approach and to adopt a new one that could more effectively assess to what extent the Structural Funds complement national investments.Public investment, substitution, displacement

Long term impact of a major infrastructure project: the port of Gioia Tauro

This paper illustrates the story of the Port of Gioia Tauro, a major infrastructure investment co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the period 1994-1998, but whose origin dates back to the beginning of the 1970s. It draws from a recent ex-post evaluation carried out for the European Commission aimed at assessing the long term effects produced by a sample of ten major infrastructures in the Transport and Environment sectors and interpreting the key determinants of the observed performance. The analysis shows an emblematic story of great business success and unexploited potential for local development: the overall assessment of the economic impact of the project is mixed, stressing the multi-faceted dimensions of development plans. Although a significant effect in terms of job creation, the expected long term development effects, in particular in terms of industrial development in the surrounding area, did not materialise despite much effort (and money) being spent to that end. Wider effects of efficiency on the Italian and Mediterranean port system are additional benefits of the project, but they did not materialise at the local level and did not affect the living conditions of the local population. A key determinant of the past, present and even future performance of the port is the governance structure of the port and the broader area of Gioia Tauro (including in particular two industrial zones located close to the port area), which has been always characterised by fragmented actions and lack of coordination and clear political will. The number of actors, poor strategic direction, vested interests at national, regional and local level and, finally, conflicts between local public authorities are responsible for the current state of play and are the main difficulty to be resolved going forward. In addition, the weakness of the overall transport (and more specifically port) strategy at national level has exacerbated the existing governance problems. The paper discusses to what extent factors such as governance, managerial response and social acceptability can be key determinants of long term effects of a large infrastructure project, more than forecasting capacity or project technical design. It also offers a pilot case testing an innovative evaluation exercise combining cost-benefit analysis with qualitative assessment and adopting a long-run perspective (30 years), which extends into both the past and the future, and requires a mix of retrospective and prospective analysis

From scientific experiments to innovation : impact pathways of a Synchrotron Light Facility

Research infrastructures are commonly used by scientific and industrial communities to conduct research and experiments which translate in the creation of new knowledge. This knowledge may generate different outcomes (e.g. publications, patents, etc.) and find applications in different sectors and domains, ultimately triggering innovation developments. However, the pathway from knowledge creation to innovation is complex: it is split among different players, from the scientific community to industrial actors (even those not directly involved in the experiments) and may take time and significant investments. The objective of this paper is to assess innovation impacts arising from a Research Infrastructure and specifically tracing and describing the pathways according to which these impacts may materialize. The example used is the ALBA Synchrotron Light source facility located in Barcelona and in operation since 2012. The paper builds on the evidence collected through two surveys to direct and indirect users of ALBA (overall 384 questionnaires collected), in-depth interviews as well as an analysis of patents' citations. It draws from a pilot exercise carried out in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Ri-Paths project. It contributes to the broader discussion on the socio-economic impact assessment of Research Infrastructures and relevant methodologies and metrics

Ex-post evaluation of major infrastructure projects

Ex ante assessment of a project by means of cost-benefit analysis is quite common in transport. On the other hand, ex post evaluations are only done very infrequently, even though such analyses can be very useful. Ex post evaluation can be used to check whether projects really delivered the benefits expected from them at the time, and to learn which projects do better and which do worse than expected, and why. This paper reviews the literature for evaluating projects that have been completed (ex post evaluation). It also presents the methodology that was selected for the ex post evaluation of ten major transport infrastructure projects supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) between 2000 and 2013. A conceptual framework on the impacts of a transport project on society has been developed and worked out in terms of an ex post assessment methodology. The conceptual framework includes a typology of effects for investment projects in the transport sector and the timeframe of effects. Ten case studies (major transport projects) have been carried out using this framework, and the outcomes for these case studies are reported

Rapid identification of BCR/ABL1-like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients using a predictive statistical model based on quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction: clinical, prognostic and therapeutic implications.

BCR/ABL1-like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a subgroup of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that occurs within cases without recurrent molecular rearrangements. Gene expression profiling (GEP) can identify these cases but it is expensive and not widely available. Using GEP, we identified 10 genes specifically overexpressed by BCR/ABL1-like ALL cases and used their expression values - assessed by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR) in 26 BCR/ABL1-like and 26 non-BCR/ABL1-like cases to build a statistical "BCR/ABL1-like predictor", for the identification of BCR/ABL1-like cases. By screening 142 B-lineage ALL patients with the "BCR/ABL1-like predictor", we identified 28/142 BCR/ABL1-like patients (19·7%). Overall, BCR/ABL1-like cases were enriched in JAK/STAT mutations (P < 0·001), IKZF1 deletions (P < 0·001) and rearrangements involving cytokine receptors and tyrosine kinases (P = 0·001), thus corroborating the validity of the prediction. Clinically, the BCR/ABL1-like cases identified by the BCR/ABL1-like predictor achieved a lower rate of complete remission (P = 0·014) and a worse event-free survival (P = 0·0009) compared to non-BCR/ABL1-like ALL. Consistently, primary cells from BCR/ABL1-like cases responded in vitro to ponatinib. We propose a simple tool based on Q-RT-PCR and a statistical model that is capable of easily, quickly and reliably identifying BCR/ABL1-like ALL cases at diagnosis