Download Integration between regional and rural

Integration between regional
and rural development policies
in the Italian National Strategic
Regional Framework
Bruxelles, 1st October 2009
Sabrina Lucatelli (Evaluation Unit)
Department for Development Policies and Cohesion
Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Cohesion
1
Some key principles for
the new programming…
• Unified Programming (EU and National Resources)
• Cohesion and Competitiveness objectives defined on
the basis of lessons from experience
• Priority of intervention and thematic concentration
• Citizen-centered and strong focus on essential services
• Links and complementarities with national ordinary
policies
• Governance and institutional capacities
… laid down in NSRF guidelines and
implementation rules
2
Strategy and Priorities
1. Human resources
2. Research and innovation for competitiveness
3. Energy and environment
4. Social inclusion, quality of life and security
5. Natural and cultural resources
6. Transports
7. Competitiveness of productive systems and employment
8. Cities and urban systems
9. Internationalization
10.Governance and competition
Rural Areas and Rural Objectives within each
priority;
Coordination with Rural Development Policy
3
National Regional Strategy and
Territorial Dimension
•Separation of Funds (structural and diversification rural
development measures where a part of Operational
Programmes for Southern Regions)
•Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion:
–taking into consideration rural needs
–diversification and improvement of collective services
–integration between regional policy and rural development
policy
•Considering rural areas necessities within different NSRF
Priorities
Coordination between the definition of Rural
Development and Regional Policy National
Strategies
4
Lessons from 2000 - 2006 Period
(Objective 1 Regions)
• A strong need of Integration between Regional
Policy and Rural Development Policy at local,
regional and central level
• Policy
mainly
concentrated
on
agricultural
competitiveness objective, not clear and general
understanding of effects on a major dynamism of the
agri-food sector
• Need to invest more and with more innovative tools on
rural diversification
• Need to improve local partnership and to extend the
participation of different actors to the local “rural voice”;
Improving local partnership
• Diversification and more innovative rural intervention
through Place Based Integrated Tools (Leader and
5 Integrated territorial projects)
Integration: a complex and tiring
process!
•Participation of MISE Officials to the Rural Development
Negotiation Process
•
•Participation of MIPAAF Officials at the 8 Thematic Tables
to negotiate the National Strategic Regional Framework
with Regions and the socio-economic Partners (Research
and Innovation; Human Capital and Local Development;
Environmental Issues)
•At Present, Participation of Regional Officials to the
National Rural Networks and to the Permanent Rural
Development Table
What
Process?
the
Result
of
such
a
Coordination
A “Common” – linked - Strategy between Regional Policy
and Rural Development Policy in favour of the
Development of Rural Areas
6
In the current programming period
coordination is facilitated by the
National Rural Network
• The NRN is a programme to promote implementation of rural
development policies in Italy during programming 2007 -2013
creating a network between different Administrations and
Organisations working in the field of Rural Development
• The programme (16 actions) promotes the creation of a new model
of rural development to pursue three global objectives:
1. Improvement of governance systems
2. Strengthening of the managerial and planning
capacities
3. Diffusion of good practices and knowledge.
• NRN establishes a system of relationships among various
Institutions; between economic activities and productive sectors;
within economic activities at inter-sectoral level; between public
and private sector; between national rural actors and other
international partners.
• The financial budget for the implementation of the NRN amounts to
82.9 M €, (50% funded by the EAFRD and 50% by national funds)
7
Two main Objectives
for Rural Areas in Regional Policy
1. Improving Socio-Economic
Conditions of Rural Areas to
facilitate agri-business and
other economic activities
Facilitating rural areas
capacities of attracting
qualified human capital and
companies
Improving marketing of agrifood products
- collective services;
transportation; ICT; logistics;
education and training
2. Improving rural areas’
attractiveness through local
economy’s diversification
and quality of life
improvement:
- Diversification into
activities related to
agriculture (agri-tourism;
social agriculture;
educational farms)
- Diversification into tertiary
activities (alternative
energy businesses;
tourism; cultural heritage
activities; small social and
health services activities
Place-based programming
tools
8
Coordination Mechanisms
between regional policy
and rural development policy
• Ensuring properly governance coordination systems
when managing programmes: regional level;
• Ensuring coordination at Central level (What the
best solution?) – Rural Proofing
• Using different funds within integrated territorial
projects;
• Financial primes for projects reinforcing integration
between these two policies
• Evaluating effects of both policies in Specific Areas
• Using Evaluation as a Tool of Coordination
What is happening at regional level?
9
The Evaluation Unit implemented
two Research Projects:
A) An analysis of the way in which rural priorities are translated in
Regional Programmes, and of existing coordination mechanisms
(extension of the analysis to programmes’ implementation and to
rural development programmes);
Following OECD Rural Review Questionnaires
B) A reclassification – on the basis of territorial criteria – of
all
the
2007-2013 Structural Funds categories of expenditure selected in
all the programmes approved
by the EC within the NSRF:
To Estimate (Ex Ante!) resources programmed in favour of rural areas!
Categories of expenditure are established by the European
Commission. The complete list is available in the Annex to EU
Reg. 1083/2006. Each Programme co-funded by Structural
Funds must select its own categories of expenditure from this list
and all the projects financed are classified in a specific category
10
The analysis of ERDF & ESF ROPs
A COMMON SCHEME of analysis to understand:
whether there is a territorial approach referring
particularly to rural in the context analysis;
whether there is an objective for developing rural areas
to be found in the high strategy;
if there are specific objectives for rural areas in the
priorities and axis of the ROPs;
how considering that both the NSF and the NSP foresee
the integration of the two policies, the same is realised in
the ROP;
Whether, regard to ROP implementation, there are
specific mechanisms foreseen to ensure a co-ordination
with the RDP;
whether the common evaluation plan at regional level for
ROP, RDP and national policies includes some evaluation
research with a territorial approach
11
Main Project’s Results
• Quite sophisticated socio-economic analysis, individuating
rural necessities but …
• Very few cases of explicit rural development strategic
objectives (and corresponding financial resources)
• Major attention to competitiveness aspects, rather than
investments to improve public goods and services
• Rural Areas issues within different priorities: classic and
innovative themes
• Classic Areas of Intervention:
-
Water and Irrigation
Sustainable and Environmental Valorisation
Tourism and Cultural heritage
Transportation and Accessibility
• New Areas of Intervention: Socio-Health Services (Services
Targets in Southern Regions); Energy (agro-energetic
resources); Logistics; Information Technologies and Digital
Divide’s overcoming.
12
Operational Regional Programmes
and Rural Areas
Territorial Dimension in EDRF Programmes of some Italian Regions
Regions
Context
Analysis
General
Strategy
Axes and
Prioritie
s
Integration
with RDP
Objectives
Coordinatio
n
Mechanism
s
Research
Evaluations with
Territorial
Approach
Calabria
2
3
3
2
2
2
Emilia Romagna
1
1
1
2
2
2
Lazio
1
2
2
3
2
1
Liguria
1
2
2
3
3
2
Puglia
3
2
2
2
2
1
Sicilia
2
2
3
2
2
1
Umbria
3
2
2
3
3
2
Veneto
2
2
1
2
2
1
0 = ABSENT
13
1 = LOW
2 = ENOUGH
3 = STRONG
Mechanisms of Coordination
• All Programmes contain criteria to mark out EDRF and EAFRD
interventions
• Coordination Mechanisms at different governance levels!:
- At Political Level: Cabina di Regia (Valenza Politica)
- At strategic level: A Common Strategy through the Unitary
Programming Document and/or the Regional Development Plan
(Calabria, Puglia)
-
At Operational Level: Co-ordination at Regional Presidency
Level (Puglia and Liguria), at Programming Department level or
through special Working Groups (Lazio; Umbria).
Decentralisation of coordination: Emilia Romagna
and “Integrated Plans at Provinces level” case
Generally, It exists a Common Evaluation Plan (How is
this a real tool?)
In one case it exists a Common Fund for Evaluations Activities
(Liguria!)
-
14
Very Little Cases of inter-fund Integrated Territorial Projects
(the difficult case of Umbria Region)
How many Regional Resources
planned in favour of Rural Areas?
Classification – on the basis of territorial criteria – of all the 20072013 Structural Funds categories of expenditure selected in all
National, Regional and Interregional Programmes approved by
the EC within the National Strategic Regional Framework
(Operational Programmes, within the following categories:
explicit rural interventions (renewable energy, regional and
local transportation, and promotion and valorisation of natural
resources);
horizontal interventions, non-place-based (research and
development expenditures, SME incentives, waste management,
environmental control and human capital improvement);
explicit urban interventions (major infrastructures such as
main highways, main railways, ports and airports; city
transportation systems);
interventions potentially devoted to both urban and rural
areas (the valorisation of cultural heritage; and social services
(social and health infrastructures; secondary transportation
investments).
15
Financial Analysis Results
Considering total EU and national co-funding
– Explicit rural interventions and interventions potentially
devoted to both urban and rural areas account for about
43% of total EDRF and SF programmes’ resources, 55%
taking into account just EDRF (Horizontal nature of SF
Programmes);
– Total Contribution of Regional Programmes to the
Development of Rural Areas can be estimated at 18% of
total allocated resources … about 10 billion euros!
Interventions potentially devoted to both urban and rural
areas have been imputed for 70% to Urban Areas
But this is just an analysis on planned resources
16
How to improve integration in
the future?
A Common Framework of rules and a Common Timing (not
approving rural development programmes before regional ones …)
The European Commission can play a stronger role in boosting
integration between different programmes – at programme
approbation level
Not discourage innovative tools!
There should be a major emphasis on economic diversification and
social services priorities in rural development programmes …
This should be linked to a major commitment of regional
programmes for rural areas (not just through good territorial
analysis). A financial reserve for the future?
Improving common territorial analysis tools (maps) and more
evaluation with territorial approach→ Rural Areas within Rural
Development Programmes
Evaluation can play a fundamental role for integration
Comprehensive Evaluation Plan and Inter-Funds Evaluations)
17
(A