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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated

Territorial Approach

Philip McCann

University of Groningen

Special Adviser to the European Commissioner for Regional Policy

Johannes Hahn

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: What?• October 6 2011 Proposals for the New Cohesion

Policy Regulation• Common Strategic Framework: The European

Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: What?• EU regional policy is an investment policy. It

supports job creation, competitiveness, economic growth, improved quality of life and sustainable development. These investments support the delivery of the Europe 2020 strategy.

European Commission Inforegio Website

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: What?• Europe 2020: A European Strategy for Smart,

Sustainable and Inclusive Growth [COM (2010) 2020] 3.3.2010

• Smart Growth: Improving the conditions for innovation,

research and development; Improving education levels • Sustainable Growth: Meeting climate change and

energy objectives • Inclusive Growth: promoting employment; Promoting

social inclusion (in particular through the reduction of poverty)

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: Why?• Europe 2020 Agenda: smart growth, sustainable

growth and inclusive growth• OECD ‘Gold Standard’ Growth: stronger, cleaner

and fairer growth• US Government growth strategy: sustainable

communities, innovation clusters, revitalizing neighbourhoods

• Growth and development are always multidimensional

• Externalities, spillovers, networks, globalisation - - we are all interconnected - all part of the societal challenges and all part of the solutions

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: Why?• 2009 Report of the “Commission on the

Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress” (Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi)

• OECD-hosted “Global project on measuring progress”

• December 2010 Report “Monitoring economic performance, quality of life and sustainability” jointly produced by the French “Conseil d’analyse économique” and the German Council of Economic Experts

• UK case - “Atkinson Review: Final Report, Measurement of Government Output and Productivity for the National Accounts”

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: Why?• Emphasis on a place-based territorial approach• Social cohesion and territorial cohesion are core

elements of the Treaty• Alignment of Cohesion Policy with Europe 2020

objectives – smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth – all these are explicitly spatial in terms of mechanisms and outcomes

• Cohesion Policy is uniquely positioned to deliver on all aspects of Europe 2020 – as long as there is a shift of policy emphasis from actions and financial means to results/outcomes → real added value

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: How?• Integrated place-based approach – provision of

public goods tailored to the regional context• Local ↔ global and regional ↔ national• Place-based policies focusing on linkages and

synergies between smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

• Build on local knowledge, promote stakeholder engagement, encourage community mobilisation

• Policies have to be place-based to facilitate partnership and to allow sub-national variation and tailoring – no “one-size-fits-all” policies

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: How?• Thematic concentration and a limited set of

priorities• Results-oriented and performance oriented• Multi-level governance – vertical and horizontal

partnerships - policy coordination and delivery across jurisdictions and institutional ‘silos’

• Smart specialisation → results indicators → governance opportunities and challenges → CSF

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: In What Way?• Smart specialisation – a methodology for

choosing • Prioritisation is essential both because of the

need for concentration of resources – and also budget constraints

• Smart specialisation provides a lens through which to identify potential and needs, to focus on challenges and opportunities, and to look for new linkages, new dynamics, new possibilities

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: In What Way?• Use of results indicators makes policy intentions

explicit • Results indicators can be quantitative and/or

qualitative• Use of results indicators is not because the

results/outcomes are known in advance but in order to drive the policy process correctly (Rodrik 2004)

• Help steer and adjust policy as necessary• Evaluation, monitoring, sharing → policy

learning

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: In What Way?• Smart specialisation and results indicators are

designed to change behaviour – a change of mindset

• Proposed regulations, CSF, European Code of Conduct on Partnership – and elements such as Joint Action Plans, Community-Led Local Development, Integrated Territorial Investments - are all designed to provide the framework and the means to facilitate and act on these changes

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The Europe 2020 Strategy and the Challenge of an Integrated Territorial

Approach: In What Way?• Beneficiaries are communities, institutions,

economies and environments• Local, regional and EU-wide capacity-building

and experience are fostered• Policy innovation is facilitated• Institutional reform and multi-level governance

are encouraged• Wider growth and development agenda is driven

across the EU and all dimensions of growth• Europe 2020 looks towards 2030 and 2040