European Week of Regions and Cities 2016
Master Class on EU Cohesion Policy
Brussels, 9-13 October
Programme outline (12 August 2016)
Objective
The aim of the Master Class during the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) Master Class is to improve the understanding of EU Cohesion Policy and its research potential among selected PhD students and early-career researchers. Held for the fourth time as part of the EWRC University from 9-13 October 2016, the objectives of the Master Class are:
· to present recent research on European regional and urban development and EU Cohesion Policy;
· to enable PhD students and early career researchers to exchange views with EU politicians, officials and senior academics;
· to facilitate networking among participants from different countries and with the wider EU policy and academic communities; and
· to raise awareness and understanding of the research potential in the field of EU Cohesion Policy.
Participants
30 participants from 17 EU Member States and two non-EU countries (Albania and Russia) were selected from a total of about 90 applicants to the Master Class. Paper outlines had to reflect upon one of these themes:
· Promoting inclusive growth and social cohesion, including the territorial dimension and the integration of urban and rural development.
· The significance of the network economy: policy learning; transfers between regions and cities; knowledge spill-overs.
· Improving the Cohesion policy delivery system: performance, simplification and accountability.
The successful participants will need to submit their full paper with a maximum of 3,000 words to the RSA by 5 September 2016.
Organisation
The Master Class will be organised by the European Commission, DG for Regional and Urban Policy, the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Regional Studies Association (RSA), the European Regional Science Association (ERSA), and the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP). A selection panel drawn from these organisations will be responsible for reviewing the applications and selecting participants. The programme for the Master Class will include the following:
· research presentations and feed-back sessions, lectures, debates and social events on 10, 11 and 12 October;
· attendance at other European Week of Regions and Cities workshops on 12 October morning;
· a role play session on 13 October.
Draft programme
Sunday, 9 October
15:00-18:00 Informal meeting of participants, Hotel St. Catherine
With short paper presentations by participants to get to know each other's research area.
19:00-21:00 Exploring Brussels’ centre
Monday, 10 October
9:00-11:30 Guided tour from the city centre to the CoR
City walk with Stefan de Corte, Free University of Brussels (VUB)/Cosmopolis-Centre for Urban Research, and Nicola Francesco Dotti, VUB and RSA research network on the EU Cohesion Policy
11:30 – 11:50 Welcome by the organisers
CoR, Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99, sixth floor, room JDE 63
12:00-14:00 Sandwich lunch with paper presentations by participants and debate with EU officials and researchers (1)
This session is expected to have seven presentations while having sandwich lunch. Each paper presentation lasts eight minutes. For the discussants, there will be 10 minutes each for comments.
Theme 1: Promoting inclusive growth and social cohesion, including the territorial dimension and the integration of urban and rural development.
· The Impact of Policies on Intangible Assets and Urban-Rural Relations
Milad Abbasiharofteh, Leibniz University of Hanover, Institute of Economics and Cultural Geography, Germany
· Collaborative governance at city-region level and sustainable place-shaping
Lorena Felicia Axinte, Cardiff University, Sustainable Places Research Institute, Geography and Planning, United Kingdom
· What occupational mix should an EU region aim to create in order to promote a smart and inclusive economic growth?
Mariachiara Barzotto, Birmingham Business School - University of Birmingham, Department of Business and Labour Economics, United Kingdom
· Renewable energy projects' interactions with the communities: impact on the peripheralization dynamics
Sorin Cebotari, Babes-Bolyai University, Department of geography, Romania
· Socio-economic transformation of the Fier's region and regional development challenges
Nevila Cinaj, University "Aleksander Moisiu" Durres, Department of Tourism, Albania
· Community participation in urban development in post-socialist city and obstacles to community participation specific to contemporary Russia
Maria Gunko, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Socio-Economic Geography Department, Russia
· Governance of the urban dimension of EU Cohesion Policy and its effects on local governments and policies
Brice Lamenie, Université Paris 7 Denis Diderot, UMR 8504 CNRS Géographie-Cités, France
Discussants
· Ann-Kerstin Myleus (and others), European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy (tbc)
· Florian Hauser (and others), European Commission, DG Employment (tbc)
· Andrea Forti (and others), European Committee of the Regions
14:30-16:30 EWRC Opening Session, European Parliament, Hemicycle, Rue Wiertz 60
The session opens the 14th European Week of Regions and Cities and will be addressed by Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Creţu, CoR President Markku Markkula, and the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso. The scope of the session will be built around challenges and opportunities related to investment, innovation and implementation of the EU Structural and Investment Funds. Some 700 local leaders – including about 200 Members of the European Committee of the Regions – and regional policy experts will attend the Opening Session.
17.00-19.00 Cocktail reception, CoR
Tuesday, 11 October
CoR, Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 93, REM building
9:00-10:30 Implementing EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020: the state of play
Presentations by and discussion with DG REGIO and DG EMPL officials
· Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, Regional and Urban Policy DG
· Zoltan Kazatsay, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (tbc)
10:45-12:45 Paper presentations by participants and debate with EU officials and researchers (2)
This session is expected to have 13 presentations. Each paper presentation lasts eight minutes. For the discussants, there will be 10 minutes each for comments.
Theme 1: Promoting inclusive growth and social cohesion, including the territorial dimension and the integration of urban and rural development.
· Phenomenon of marginality and peripherality in differentiated rural structures in Slovakia
Lucia Máliková, Comenius University in Bratislava, Department of Human Geography and Demography, Slovakia
· Assessing urban social inclusion in times of crisis
Anastasia Panori, Panteion University of Athens, Economic and Regional Development, Greece
· Features and territorial implications of the renewable energy cluster in Norte Region of Portugal
Ana Pego, FCSH - Nova University Geography and Regional planning, Portugal
· The Quest for Growth, Innovation and Jobs: Financial Instruments for SME Support in Cohesion Policy 2007–2013
Hugo Pinto de Abreu, University of Porto, Management and Business Studies — School of Economics and Management (academic), Portugal
· EUCP 2014-2020: promoting social inclusion in the realities of the regugee crisis
Marcin Tomasz, Chruściel University of Wroclaw, Institute of International Studies, Section of European Union Studies, Poland
Theme 2: The significance of the network economy: policy learning; transfers between regions and cities; knowledge spill-overs.
· Metropolitan sustainability in the Cohesion Policy – analysing capacity for integrated governance in Cluj Metropolitan Area
Julia Nagy, Babes-Bolyai University, Geography – Regional Studies, Faculty of Geography, Romania
· Knowledge spillover: increasing the innovative capacity of European regions
Sergio Botelho Junior, Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE), School of Business, Ireland
· Spillovers in Cluster Initiatives: Effects of Position in Inter-Organisational Cooperation and Knowledge Networks on Firm Innovation
Wojciech Dyba, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management, Department of Regional Policy and European Integration, Poland
· Blending cluster policies into smart specialization strategies through a comparative learning framework for coherent regional development in the European Union
Anastasiia Konstantynova, Orkestra – Basque Institute of Competitiveness Territorial Development, Innovation and Clusters, Spain
· On the path dependence of regional policy in Central and Eastern Europe
Bradley Loewen, University of Economics, Institutional, Environmental and Experimental Economics, Prague, Czech Republic
· Actions for innovation: how can local government intervene?
Jaan Looga, University of Tartu , School of Economics and Business Administration, Estonia
· Cohesion Policy Research and the Place-based approach: guiding principles on what the reconstruction of the place-based approach would involve
Syed Omer Husain, Wageningen University, Rural Sociology Group – Department of Social Sciences, the Netherlands
· How different participatory methods have been applied in the food and gastronomy field?
Chiara Rinaldi, University of Gothenburg, School of Business, Economics and Law, Sweden
Discussants:
· Ann-Kerstin Myleus (and others), European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy (tbc)
· Florian Hauser (and others), European Commission, DG Employment
· Andrea Forti (and others), European Committee of the Regions
12:45-14:00 Lunch break
Participants may use the CoR’s self-service restaurant
14:00-16:00 Paper presentations by participants and debate with EU officials and researchers (3)
This session is expected to have 10 presentations. Each paper presentation lasts eight minutes. For the discussants, there will be 10 minutes each for comments.
Theme 3: Improving the Cohesion policy delivery system: performance, simplification and accountability
· The politicisation of CP Implementation in Central Eastern Europe: the Case of Poland
Sylwia Borkowska, University of Strathclyde, European Policies Research Centre, Poland
· Why European Cohesion Policy Fails in the Mezzogiorno
Mattia Casula, LUISS University, Italy
· The use of financial instruments (FI) in EU Cohesion Policy: the Scottish Co-Investment Fund, a glimpse at a veteran early stage equity supplier
Margaret Coughtrie, University of Strathclyde, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship/ European Policy Research Centre, United Kingdom
· Case study of ERDF in the Netherlands: how different actors in this policy area look at the accountability situation
Maaike Damen-Koedijk, University of Twente, Department of Public Administration, the Netherlands
· Evaluating the impact of regional funding on Malta's labour market, household income and value added using input-output analysis
Migle Dziugyte, University of Malta, Institute for European Studies, Malta
· Financial pressures and effective engagement with EU cohesion policy: examining the local level factors determining success
Christopher Huggins, Keele University School of Politics, Philosophy, International Relations and Environment, United Kingdom
· Developing methods to empirically study 'Institutional thickness' framework CBRs
Nino Javakhishvili Larsen, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Business, Denmark
· Assessing cohesion policy effects on EU regional well-being: a dose-response function to the transfers' intensities
Antonella Rita Ferrara, University of Calabria, Department of Economics, Statistics and Finance, Italy
· Role and importance of European Cohesion Policy and its main challenges: EU less developed regions and of the “new” member countries
Pavel Zdrazil, University of Pardubice, Institute of Regional and Security Sciences, Czech Republic
· Can European Cohesion Policy support development of the Tourism Economy? Evidence from Structural Funds Implementation in selected Polish Region
Joanna Zielińska-Szczepkowska, University of Warmia and Mazury, Department of Economic and Regional Policy, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Olsztyn, Poland
Discussants:
· Ann-Kerstin Myleus (and others), European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy (tbc)
· Florian Hauser (and others), European Commission, DG Employment (tbc)
· Dr Magdalena Sapala, European Parliament Research Service (tbc)
16:15-18:00 Regions, cities, rural areas: evidence-based policy-making, evaluation and research
Roundtable discussion with European Commission officials and researchers
Referring to the three themes of the Master Class, panellists will present their views on current research trends and comment on recent regional and urban policy developments at EU level.
Speakers:
· Peter Berkowitz, European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy;
· Santiago Loranca García, European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion DG;
· Martin Scheele, European Commission, DG Agriculture and Rural Development
19:30 – 22:00 EWRC official reception including RegioStars 2016 Awards
Bozar, Centre of Fine Arts, Rue Ravenstein/Ravensteinstraat 23
Wednesday, 12 October
EWRC workshops and/or meetings organised participants
On Wednesday morning, participants are free to either attend other EWRC workshops and/or to organise meetings, which they wish to plan themselves. With regards to the latter, participants are invited to interact and send suggestions for meetings to the organisers.
14:30-17:00 Research for policy-makers: the European Parliament
European Parliament, ASP building, room 06 D 128
The workshop will look into how the EP incorporates research on cohesion and regional policy into its work. It will be divided into three distinct parts: (a) an introduction that explains how the EP conducts research (via both the EPRS and outsourcing) and how this knowledge feeds into the work of MEPs; (b) a testimonials section where EPRS colleagues formerly employed in the academic world discuss how parliamentary research differs from academia and what the EP needs from researchers;(c) an interactive section that gives Master Class students the chance to share their views through discussions in three groups covering a) online communities b) future trends in cohesion policy and c) bridging the gap between parliamentary and academic research.
Speakers:
· Sarah Sheil, European Parliament Research Service
· Diana Haase, European Parliament, DG for Internal Policies
· Katarzyna Szczepańska, Parliamentary assistant to MEP Jan Olbrycht (tbc)
· Laura Tilindyte, European Parliament Research Service
· Magdalena Sapała, European Parliament Research Service
· Agnieszka Widuto, European Parliament Research Service
· Vasilis Margaras, European Parliament Research Service
· Christiaan van Lierop, European Parliament Research Service
18:00-21:00 An audience with…
Co-working les Galeries, Galerie du Roi 30
Buffet dinner followed by an informal discussion with representatives from national and regional managing authorities implementing ERDF and ESF programmes
Chair:
Prof John Bachtler, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom (tbc)
Thursday, 13 October
CoR, Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99, Seventh floor, room JDE 70
9:00-12:45 Negotiating Europe
Coordination:
Wolfgang Petzold, Amélie Cousin, European Committee of the Regions;
Prof John Bachtler, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom (tbc)
During this simulation, students will learn to anticipate a typical negotiating situation in the EU – the agreement on the budget (or “multiannual financial framework” = MFF) for the years 2021-2027 - and to identify interests of the EU institutions and the Member States. The overall objective is to become familiar with typical bargaining situations in the Council of the EU, to analyse different positions, and to achieve a result by the end of the simulation. For the purpose of the exercise, rules and figures are fictional and simplified. Participants will receive the outline and instructions by email before the start of the Master Class.