1. DG REGIO – Open Days 2004 Objective 1 – Theory into practice Mrs Sheila Maxwell Resident Twinning Advisor, Ministry of Economy and Labour, Warsaw, Poland

2. Objective 1 – Theory into practice Overview Practitioner’s experience of implementing Objective 1 in Wales and Poland in the current programming period Identification of many common issues Value in sharing experiences on practical matters, possibly via a network

3. Objective 1 – Theory into practice Mrs Sheila Maxwell Currently twinning advisor in Warsaw, Poland in the Ministry of Economy and Labour, advising 6 Managing Authorities Previously Director of ERDF Division in the Welsh European Funding Office implementing Objectives 1 and 2 and Interreg IIIA (Wales/Ireland)

4. Objective 1 – Theory into practice Background West Wales and the Valleys NUTS II qualifies for Objective 1 funding for the programme period 2000 – 2006 Total programme €3,9 Total SF €1,8 All of Poland qualifies for Objective 1 with a programme period of 2004-2006 Total programme €13,8 Total SF €8,3

5. Objective 1 – Theory into practice Major issues 1. Political and public expectations Objective 1 is a pot of money coming from Brussels and we can use it for whatever we need Reality causes disillusion in the public and private sector particularly when the implementation and payment process is long and complicated

6. Objective 1 – Theory into practice 2. Regional and local policies and strategies and implementation Links need to be understood Requires pre-planning Requires joined-up government Can be difficult for partnership organisations, requires ‘in partnership’ co-operation

7. Objective 1 – Theory into practice 3. Training staff and committees Treadmill of staff training, no formal courses or qualifications Loss of trained staff to better paid jobs Need to inform committees of what they can and cannot do Need to understand the negotiation background to the programme

8. Objective 1 – Theory into practice 4. Member State rules and methodologies Added burden to implementation Problematic areas – e.g. revenue generating investments, overheads methodology, VAT Eligible activities and expenditure Lack of experience and confidence in establishing national rules

9. Objective 1 – theory into practice 5. Financial forecasting, spend and n+2 Very difficult when setting up systems for the first time Need for an effective database Need good co-ordination between Managing Authority (commitments, payments) and Paying Authority (claims)

10. Objective 1 – Theory into practice Conclusion Whilst each member state is different there are common issues in practical implementation Sharing good and bad experiences is valuable, particularly for newcomers There would be value in an Objective 1 Practitioners’ network group