1. European Funding Network
Networking Event and Reception for Voluntary and Community Sector Representatives on the Local ESIF Committees
Sandra Turner
European Funding Network
NCVO, London, 18 May 2015

2. ESIF 2014-2020 European Funding Network ESIF – the 2014-2020 Programme
VCSE Concerns
What’s missing
Any questions?

3. European Funding Network
Expertise on EU funding
ESF, ERDF, RDP, Leader, Interreg, Erasmus
EFN’s membership
social enterprise, cooperatives, charities, and key local infrastructure networks
geographic and thematic coverage e.g. environment, youth, health, rural, social entrepreneurship, social investment
Ensuring Local Reach
events, supporting local partners, sharing good practice
National Representation
ESF England Programme Monitoring Committee & its sub-committees e.g. Equality, Evaluation, Transnational
ESIF Growth Programme Board
Policy Contributions
consultations, briefings, reports, analysis and research
secondment to BIS Partnership Team & partnership working (Mas, BIG, LEPs, LGA, NHS…)
supporting Government working groups e.g. CLLD, governance, performance
Communication and feedback
newsletters, website, social media

4. How did we end up with ESIF?
Europe 2020: Sustainable, Smart and Inclusive Growth
Smart agenda: innovation; education; digital society.
Sustainability agenda: climate, energy, and mobility.
Inclusive agenda: employment and skills; promoting social inclusion & fighting poverty
Targets:
20m less people at risk of poverty
Education: ESL 10%, raise post secondary 40%
Environment: gases, consumption -20%, efficiency +20% (20/20/20)
Raise employment 75%.
R&D to 3% GDP
Innovations:
thematic concentration
results driven
placed-based approaches ;
reinforced partnership arrangements with civil society
simplification?

5. Why does this matter? ESIF mean:
Real money for voluntary organizations (particularly ESF)
New policy priorities e.g. gender
European priorities not reflected in domestic agenda
Additional resources to tackle important problems
Methods which can be enlightened, imaginative, effective
Benefits of programmes that extend beyond lifetime of a parliament
Code of conduct on partnership

6. …in the beginning the VCSE concerns were…
A dedicated priority for social inclusion
Ring-fencing for social inclusion activities
Appropriate outcomes e.g. soft outcomes
A strengthened focus on sustainability, gender, equalities and anti-discrimination and better monitoring mechanism (particularly ERDF)
Better alignment ESF and ERDF interventions
Improved and direct access to funding
Partnership principle
Technical Assistance and Match Funding
Volunteering Time as match funding in kind
A blend of funding mechanisms
Suitable methods e.g. community grants, technical assistance, trans-nationality, a dedicated ‘CFO’ for social inclusion, direct bidding
Local development approaches (active inclusion, fostering social innovation, regeneration of deprived urban, rural and maritime areas, community led local development)
Proportionate administration/rules, simplifications

7. VCSE concerns met Social inclusion priority  A dedicated CFO for SI 
Partnership/civil society  after a challenging start to LEP engagement…
Trans nationality ?
Local development  but only in a few areas
Community grants  but only in a handful of LEP areas
Volunteer Time as match  for ESF on exceptional basis
Social Innovation  ?
Social Investment  ?
Technical assistance  but the issue of match funding remains
Simplified administration 
Improved VCS access  small organisations?

8. What’s missing? Operational Programmes Opt-ins’ Programmes
Yet to be approved, some detail still missing e.g. targets, clld, social investment
Opt-ins’ Programmes
still working through the detail…
Funding to projects not until 2016
some time yet before we can assess impact of interventions and access for VCSE
ESIF local committees
Equalities representatives missing from many committees
Anything else?

9. Further information www.europeanfundingnetwork.eu
Thank you for listening
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