Kansen voor West II
Mid-term Evaluation ITIsAdri Hartkoorn – Bucharest 20-21 June, 2019
What is it?
• Multi-level partnerships – 4 Provinces
– 4 big Cities > 4 ITIs
• Multi-fund – ERDF and ESF
• ITIs– Sustainable urban development through integrated actions (4
APs)
– Through multiple priority axis (1, 4, 8, 9, ESF Social Inclusion)
• Dedicated monitoring– Priority axis 8 (employ/labour mobility) + ESF Social Inclusion
Evaluation process
• Combined effort MAs > ERDF and ESF
• Coordinating/contracting role for ESF
• Preparatory meetings for ToR (Dec. ‘17)– Reps: Two MAs, ERDF MA/IB, Municipal ESF rep.
• Competitive negotiated procedure – four
consultancy firms
• Assessment (May ’18), Start interview (Jun ’18)
• Supervisory meetings
• Validation meeting
• Concept (Jan ’19), Final report (Feb ’19)
Theory Based Evaluation
• Theory of change– Does the intervention contribute to the set goals?
– Evaluation Guidelines EC (Refit)
The questions
• Central issue: – What is the additional value of ITIs, and what are the learning
points in respect to organisation and implementation
• Main questions:– Relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the input
– Positive and negative effects of the integrated approach
Introduction
• Job market supply and demand are not always well
synchronized in Dutch G4 cities
– G4 - greater (youth) unemployment, lower participation job
market, higher school dropout. Job market supply and demand
requires better coordination, better alignment of skills and
competences, and info at the right moment
• Coherent approach from the ESF and ERDF
– Integrated approach to the mismatch in the employment market,
in specific urban areas. ERDF > on employment potential and
high-quality employment/business locations; ESF > social
inclusion and employment counselling
Findings
• Relevance– Number of job vacancies rose, but still groups have difficulty
finding work. Qualifications do not match to employers needs.
– This (ITI) dedicated job-market programme focusing
comprehensively on supply and demand offers added value.
– Integration between social-economic policies. ITIs offer an
integrated approach beyond the bounds of single policy areas.
– Knowledge institutions, businesses and government
representatives can find each other much better.
– Greater mutual understanding – creates potentially a better
municipal policy with regard the job market.
– And highly important to deal with the mismatch in a lasting way.
So, future sufficient funding must be reserved in its support.
Findings 1
• Effectiveness – Reducing the mismatch between supply/demand job market.
– ITIs contain the right projects, but the degree in which it happens
is difficult to determine, mainly due to external factors.
– Bilateral ERDF/ESF approach in one project is limited. Mainly
due to different application periods and accountability of costs.
Integration needs to be seen at a higher (program) level.
– Support and cooperation by the municipality and municipal
departments increase the chance for a jointly initiated project.
– Joint projects uniting educational programmes, businesses and
municipalities, indicate that the ITIs indeed contribute to a more
integrated approach.
– Attention; how to measure employment of matches over the long
term?
– Location focus is hindrance and success factor at the same time.
Findings 2
• Efficiency– Financing the implementation, according to plan.
– Start was not smoothly. Unclarity about ESF deployment and
accountability new types of expenses. Both have been solved.
– Implementation costs are limited.
– Applicants experience a high administrative load. For ERDF the
application procedure and accountability during the project; for
ESF, initial unclarity regarding eligible costs, accountability
during the project, and control standards for final declaration.
– Acquisition of ERDF projects is sometimes difficult. Due to the
unfamiliarity of the instrument as well as the image problem of a
European fund grant.
– Sharing success stories can help create a more positive image
for ESF and ERDF, and hence for ITI.
Conclusions
– ITIs are added value for a programme that oversees job market
supply and demand in an integrated way.
– Integrated approach creates more collaboration and mutual
understanding between social and economic policy areas.
– Integration of ERDF/ESF primarily took place at the programme
level and less at the project level.
– Implementation costs for ITIs for the MAs were reasonable
because they are embedded in the existing ESF and ERDF
structures.
– The negative impact on efficiency is when integrated projects are
being blocked because funding rules come from two separate
European funds.
– The primary issues being the preparing of the application and
accountability.
Recommendations
– The integrated approach is extremely important in tackling the
mismatch, so sufficient funding must be reserved.
– Possible future various models should depend on:
1. Continuation of the ITIs under the current ERDF and ESF
regulations: Create the right conditions such that integrated
joint projects are easier to implement. Therefore optimize
simplification of regulatory frameworks project funding from two
European funds can be realized more easily;
2. Continuation of the ITIs under a separate regulation: Far-
reaching integration can be accomplished by means of one
fund only, under one regulation. Thought should be given on
how objectives, budgets and implementation costs can be kept
in balance.
Perspective on 2020+
– Economic & social > mismatch Labour market
– ‘Demand driven’ approach
• Open view towards the labour market
• All educational levels
– Territorial focus vs regional supply
– Organisational• Proportional to the amount of funding
• Smart use of capacity
• Integration of ERDF and ESF (single counter)
Europe in Rotterdam
• Long tradition (track record)
House of skills Amsterdam
A physical and online space
– ROCs (Regional Training Centres) and over 500 companies
– Inform employees and employers about life-long development.
– Assessing competencies, skills assessment and passport; register for modular
training courses, internships and learning environments; information about
potential career paths, promising professions, further training options.
– For employers it is a point of contact for the career development of their
employees and an opportunity to fill their vacancies quickly.
– Total costs €10.6 million, with a 35% contribution from Opportunities for West
and 15% from the ESF.
Knowledge and practice centre for
energy transition, The Hague
– The ROC Mondriaan, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the
municipality and 40 partners from the business community and knowledge
institutions
– Demand > well-trained staff to carry out the Energy Transition
– Set up of a knowledge and practice centre for energy transition.
– Focus is on the match between education and the demand of the labour
market and the practical preparation of students to work in the technical
sector.
– The total costs amount to €1.4 million, with a 50% contribution from
Opportunities for West.
South-Connected, Rotterdam
– Startcollege, National Programme South Rotterdam and employers
– Changing labour market and changing (training) requirements.
– 100 internships per year at elementary or lower professional level.
– Work packages: Intensive guiding young people, continuous link with
companies; developing an ecosystem of learning, working, and living where,
stakeholders work together to keep young people out of a negative spiral.
– Young people between the ages of 16 and 27 who are unemployed and
have no start-qualification. Collaboration employers healthcare, technology,
logistics and (facility) service sectors.
– Total costs €1.5 million, 50% contribution from Opportunities for West.
Werkspoorkwartier: Creative Circular
Manufacturing Area, Utrecht
– Consortium of building owners, developers and SMEs from the construction
and manufacturing sector
– Improve the business climate in the Werkspoorkwartier business park.
– Development of a circular test site, ‘Hof van Cartesius’, including space for
start-up creative entrepreneurs, transformation of the Werkspoorfabriek into
a site for new business activity, development of a Circular Hub for recycling
building materials, and transforming the Werkspoorhaven into a public
space for meeting and recreation. The area will be marked as a 'creative
circular production area'.
– Total costs €3.3 million, with a 38% contribution from Opportunities for West.