The document discusses key changes in the 2014-2020 EU Cohesion Policy, including a greater focus on innovation, ICT, and open data. Specifically, it will require (1) more funds allocated to research/innovation and ICT objectives, (2) use of open data to increase transparency and effectiveness, and (3) ex-ante conditionalities requiring countries to have digital and innovation plans to access EU funds. The goal is to better align Cohesion Policy with the Europe 2020 strategy and increase transparency.

1.
Innovation, ICT and Open Data in
the new 2014-2020 EU Cohesion Policy
Luigi Reggi
Department for Cohesion
Ministry of Economic Development, Italy
“ONE” Project Conference, Turin - May 30, 2012

2. Agenda
• New EU multiannual budget
• New rules of 2014-2020 programming period
• New role for Innovation and ICT
• Open Data for transparency and effectiveness
2

3. Towards a new cohesion policy
A long process…
5th Report
on Economic,
Social and Agreement
Territorial Proposals on MFF and
Cohesion & for Cohesion adoption of
public Policy new legislative
consultation 2014-2020 package
Nov. June Oct. March 2012 – 2013 2014
2010 2011 2011 2012
Proposal by the Common Entry into
Commission for Strategic force and
a Multiannual Framework adoption of
Financial programmes
Framework
(MFF)
3

4. EU regional context
GDP/capita*
Average
2006 ‒ 2007 ‒ 2008
< 50 75-90 100-125
*index EU27=100 50-75 90-100 > 125
Source: European Commission

5. EU Commission: “Ambitious but realistic”
reform of the Multiannual Financial
Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 (June 2011)
Source: European Commission

6. Simulation: eligible regions
< 75 % of EU average 75-90 % > 90 %
GDP/capita*
*index EU27=100
3 categories
of regions
Less developed regions
Transition regions
More developed regions
Source: European Commission

7. A less obvious concentration
More resources to developed regions
Less developed regions/MS Transition regions More developed regions
100 500
Cohesion Fund¹ 68.7 15,8
Less developed regions 162.6
90 % 450
Transition regions 38.9 80 11,6 400
%
More developed regions 53.1 70 350 307.1
European Territorial 11.7
Cooperation 60 300
Outermost regions and 0.9 50 250
sparsely populated areas
40 68,7 200
Total 336.0
% 72,4
30 150
20 100
10 50 119,2
0 0
Budget allocation Population covered
¹ €10 billion from the Cohesion Fund will be
allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility (in %) (in millions)
Source: European Commission

8. What’s new in 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy
Common Strategic Partnership Operational
Framework Contract Programmes
• Comprehensive investment strategy: aligned with Europe
2020 objectives
• Coherence with National Reform Programmes
• Coordination: cohesion policy, rural development,
maritime & fisheries funds
• Objectives and indicators to measure progress towards
Europe 2020 targets
• Reinforcement of administrative capacity, cutting red
tape (for final beneficiaries)
• Ex-ante conditionalties
• Macro-economic conditionality
8

9. Thematic objectives
1. Research & innovation
2. Information and communication technologies (ICT)
3. Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
(SMEs)
4. Shift towards a low-carbon economy
5. Climate change adaptation & risk prevention and
management
6. Environmental protection & resource efficiency
7. Sustainable transport & removing bottlenecks in key
network infrastructures
8. Employment & supporting labour mobility
9. Social inclusion & combating poverty
10. Education, skills & lifelong learning
11. Institutional capacity building & efficient public
administrations 9

10. Thematic concentration
Ongoing negotiation process under Danish Presidency
Concentration of ERDF investments
Energy efficiency & Research & innovation +
renewable energy Information Society* Competitiveness of SMEs
6%
60% 20%
44%
More developed &
Less developed regions
transitional regions
Flexibility – different regions have different needs
Special arrangements for ex-convergence regions
10
* Negotiation in progress!!

11. Thematic concentration: the case of Italy
(simulation based on existing allocation of
resources)
12,000
52,8%
10,000 45,5%
8,000
28,3%
6,000
22,4%
4,000
11,8%
8,4% 9,7%
2,000 6,7% 7,7% 8,1%
0
R&D Innovation SMEs ICT low-carbon Other
2007-2013 4,716 1,399 1,618 2,485 10,808
2014-2020 5,949 1,766 2,041 1,702 9,570
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Source: Ministry of Economic Development – Department Cohesion, Italy

12. Key Actions from proposed
Common Strategic Framework:
Research & Innovation
• Innovation in enterprises
• dissemination & adoption of new technologies, in particular Key
Enabling Technologies (through technology transfer, cooperation
with research and education actors)
• Capacity-building for R&I excellence and technological
change
• research infrastructures, facilities and competence centers,
science parks
• Capacity-building for economic exploitation of new ideas
from R&I
• clusters, cooperative partnership between research, education
and innovation actors
• Fields: services, cultural and creative industries, social
innovation, public procurement of innovation
GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
Differentiated actions depending on the type of region
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Complementarity with Horizon 2020

13. Key Actions from proposed
Common Strategic Framework:
ICT
• Roll-out of open, affordable and future-proof Next Generation
Access (NGA) Infrastructure in under-served areas
• eGovernment applications and take-up, eInclusion
• ICT applications to meet great societal challenges such as
eHealth, ageing population, reducing carbon emissions, resource-
efficiency, education, smart cities, etc.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
Investment in infrastructures in areas where market fails to deliver
Support should be provided through financial instruments
Ensure high level of competition
Complementarity with European Social Fund for eSkills, eAccessibility
13

14. Ex-ante conditionalities:
Research & Innovation
A national or regional research and innovation
strategy for smart specialisation is in place
that:
• is based on a SWOT analysis to concentrate Against the
resources on a limited set of research and “fractal effect”
innovation priorities;
• outlines measures to stimulate private RTD "the same from
investment; near as from far"
• contains a monitoring and review system.
A Member State has adopted a framework outlining
available budgetary resources for research and
innovation;
A Member State has adopted a multi-annual plan
for budgeting and prioritization of investments
linked to EU priorities (European Strategy Forum on
14
Research Infrastructures -ESFRI).

15. Ex-ante conditionalities:
Digital growth
A strategy for digital growth within the national or regional
innovation strategy for smart specialisation is in place that
contains:
• budgeting and prioritisation of actions consistent with the
Scoreboard of the Digital Agenda for Europe;
• an analyses of balancing support for demand and supply of
information and communication technologies (ICT)
• measurable targets for outcomes of interventions
• assessment of needs to reinforce ICT capacity-building.
A national Next-Generation Access (NGA) Plan is
in place that contains:
• a plan of infrastructure investments through demand
aggregation and a mapping of infrastructure and
services, regularly updated;
• sustainable investment models that enhance
competition and provide access to open, affordable,
quality and future proof infrastructure and services;
• measures to stimulate private investment. 15

16. Towards an open, transparent,
result-driven policy
Direct “control” by:
Citizen,
Data journalists,
civil society, etc.

17. Open data for transparency and policy effectiveness
New rules within the Information & Publicity Chapter
FORMAT: XML, CSV
ACCESSIBILITY: data accessible from a national portal
CONTENT:
• Beneficiary name (only legal entities; no natural persons shall
be named)
• Operation name
• Operation summary
• Operation start date
• Operation end date (expected date for physical completion or
full implementation of the operation)
• Total eligible expenditure allocated to the operation
• EU co-financing rate (as per priority axis)
• Operation postcode
• Country
• Name of category of intervention for the operation
• Date of last update of the list of operations
17

18. Open data for transparency and policy effectiveness
Level of compliance
to 2014-2020 rules
on data publication
of current Operational
Programmes
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Source: L. Reggi, The transparency on the beneficiaries of Structural Funds in Europe and Italy, DPS-UVAL 2012

19. Word cloud of
Thank you! 2014-2020 General
Regulation Proposal
@luigireggi
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luigi.reggi@tesoro.it