1. How ESF Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies support partnership Leda Stott Content expert COP Workshop 07C16 - Supporting partnerships to foster employment and social inclusion OPEN DAYS Brussels - October 7th 2008

2. Methodology Material has been collected through: Desk research Interviews Collection of country fiches Good practice templates Online discussion Basecamp meetings

3. Key findings Limited awarness of rationale for partnership and added value The importance of context Tension between innovation and accountability Concern about how to promote ‘real’ partnerships that go beyond paper requirements Need for focused training in partnership competencies and skills Time needed to develop structures and systems and embed partnership idea

4. Rationale for partnership By drawing upon different sector competencies a common goal can be achieved more effectively, legitimately and sustainably than when each sector operates separately Partnerships are highly suited to addressing issues that face today’s employment, social inclusion and human resource development policies, which are too complex and interdependent for any one institution to effectively respond to alone.

5. Key Success Factor Framework

6. CALLS FOR & APPRAISAL OF PROPOSALS OP ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OP DELIVERY PLANNING ANIMATING MONITORING PREPARATORY WORK INITIATION DEVELOPMENT & TESTING MAINSTREAMING & FURTHER ACTION Evaluation

7. OP ANALYSIS AND DESIGN Contextual analysis Promoting an enabling environment Stakeholder engagement in analysis & design process

8. OP ANALYSIS & DESIGN Contextual analysis Ensuring careful study of the context of terms of needs and key target groups for programmes, in order to identify: - labour market and inclusiveness problems where partnership solutions can yield added value - potential barriers to the implementation of partnership i.e. regulatory issues such as tendering requirements

9. Contextual analysis Sweden Specific target groups identified for ‘cooperation projects’ Portugal Domains identified where working in partnership will add value such as skills training in areas where there are gaps and supporting holistic approaches to vulnerable groups entering the labour market Czech Republic ESF MA created own definition of partnership in order not to collide with public procurement legislation Austria A focus on innovation and cooperation has enabled Territorial Employment Pacts (TEPs) to develop and co-fund projects that try and bring in those on labour market margins

10. OP ANALYSIS & DESIGN Promoting an enabling environment Pressing for: Positive government policies Supportive legal and regulatory frameworks Encouragement of intermediary organisations Widening partnership knowledge and skills-base Flexible programmes

11. Promoting an enabling environment Portugal Postgraduate Partnership Project Management course developed for EQUAL DPs Ireland Pobal’s work to implementing principle of partnership Greece Legal framework developed for EQUAL DPs

12. OP ANALYSIS & DESIGN Stakeholder engagement in analysis and design process Ensuring stakeholders are clearly identified and brought into analysis and design process to make relevant connections to on-going change processes and achieve coherence between all levels and areas of intervention.

13. Hungary About 4000 partner organisations invited to advise on direction of OPs. Access and comment open to general public via webpage Stakeholder engagement in analysis and design process England Country-wide consultation with wide range of sector organisations - responses used to make adjustments to OP Belgium Flanders Workshops with relevant stakeholders to identify priority issues for new ESF programme Romania Integration of stakeholders at regional, county and local level through Employment and Social Inclusion Pacts Malta SWOT workshop with public dialogues held

14. OP DELIVERY PLANNING Setting up systems for stakeholder involvement Developing partnership support structures & networks

15. OP DELIVERY PLANNING Setting up systems for stakeholder involvement Ensuring that programme monitoring and decision-making procedures fully involve relevant stakeholders and that procedures and guidelines are in place to ensure value added stakeholder involvement in planning and implementation processes for projects.

16. Setting up systems for stakeholder involvement Belgium Flanders existing regional social dialogue structures have been integrated into the governance mechanisms for ESF OP Sweden Structural Fund Partnerships must include 50% membership from municipal and regional politicians plus social partners, NGOs and public authorities

17. OP DELIVERY PLANNING Developing partnership support structures and networks Establishing effective support structures, organisations and networks that are dedicated to assisting partnership management and development by providing information and guidance, partnership training and capacity-building.

18. Developing partnership support structures and networks Austria Partnership projects are provided with support, advice, information and exchanges through a neutral intermediary body, the Co-ordination Unit of Austrian TEPs or “Kooo” Italy Regional technical assistance structure for partnerships Ireland Pobal works as an umbrella organisation to support MAs on how to facilitate the implementation of the partnership principle at both programme and project levels.

19. CALLS FOR AND APPRAISAL OF PROPOSALS Focusing attention on partnership mechanisms and engagement at project level Drawing upon expertise of stakeholders in assessing proposals

20. CALLS FOR AND APPRAISAL OF PROPOSALS Focusing attention on partnership mechanisms & engagement at project level Ensuring clear and accessible advice / information is offered to project promoters on how to establish effective partnership mechanisms and encourage the engagement of all partners and make this clear in a proposal. Using assessment criteria for judging to what extent partnership is likely to add value and be executed well.

21. Focusing attention on partnership mechanisms and engagement at project level Belgium Flanders Assessment criteria for project proposals incorporate explicit questions regarding stakeholder involvement and partnership added value

22. CALLS FOR AND APPRAISAL OF PROPOSALS Drawing upon expertise of stakeholders in assessing proposals Ensuring that the particular expertise of different stakeholders can be channelled appropriately in drawing up calls and appraising proposals, without impairing objectivity and impartiality.

23. Drawing upon expertise of stakeholders in assessing proposals Belgium Flanders Three analysts judge quality of project proposal. One from MA & others from well- placed stakeholders Slovakia Participation of social partners, regional and local government authorities is being applied to evaluation and selection of submitted grant applications for OP Education

24. ANIMATION Providing proactive guidance and advice Promotion of partnering skills Sharing learning

25. ANIMATION Providing proactive guidance and advice Ensuring that support is given throughout the partnership project cycle with easy access to relevant materials /information /tools and advice to support engagement and further choices about appropriate partnership mechanisms.

26. Providing proactive guidance and advice Portugal MA personnel are viewed as accessible, proactive, warm - personal connection has assisted work Ireland Pobal provides a liaison system with officers who link up regularly with partnerships through Board and Management meetings Austria TEP Co-ordination Unit promotes information exchange, advises and assist TEPs on joint activities Czech Republic MA has provided standard contract to ensure partnership compliance with legal framework

27. ANIMATION Promotion of partnering skills Ensuring that management skills for working in partnership are constantly being developed with access and information to partnership projects staff in areas such as negotiation, brokering, facilitation, conflict resolution etc.

28. Promotion of partnering skills Portugal EQUAL thematic networks gave helped build and reinforce participants skills and create collaborative culture to assist partnerships

29. ANIMATION Sharing learning Ensuring that learning about partnership is captured and disseminated appropriately at both programme and project levels.

30. Sharing learning Sweden National Thematic Group on Partnership works to research and share knowledge about partnerships more widely Ireland Up/down communications stream facilitates communication of information and good practice in a structured manner Austria TEP Co-ordination Unit promotes learning exchanges between partnerships through joint publications, dedicated online platform, seminars and common TEP processes

31. MONITORING Reporting on status of partnership Reporting on financial management of partnership

32. MONITORING Reporting on status of partnership Ensuring attention is paid to reporting of project progress and that problems concerning partnership are identified in time and resolved properly.

33. Reporting on status of partnership Portugal Internet platform developed for management of data from ESF projects Austria In 2003 Kooo developed “TEP- Open Reflection Cycle” to learn from failures - reapplication planned for 2009

34. MONITORING Reporting on financial management of partnership Ensuring that procedures are in place for partnership projects that enable clear identification of specific problem areas relating to finances and assistance to partners so that they can work to address these.

35. Reporting on financial management of partnership Ireland A rigorous financial compliance system has been developed which has enabled partnership projects to focus on development of good practices

36. ONGOING EVALUATION Participatory evaluation Feeding back systematically into practice

37. ONGOING EVALUATION Participatory evaluation Ensuring that stakeholders are involved, both at project and programme level, in evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance and sustainability of all interventions.

38. Participatory evaluation Belgium Flanders EQUAL partnerships offered a standardised questionnaire to score project. Partners encouraged to use tool to identify divergences for discussion Portugal EQUAL self-evaluation exercises promoted reflection from different viewpoints and enabled contributions from the different partners and stakeholders

39. ONGOING EVALUATION Feeding back systematically into practice Ensuring that ongoing learning relating to partnership and its added value, is promoted and fed back into tools, guides, tips, case studies etc, which are useful at programme and project level.

40. Feeding back systematically into practice Portugal Learning culture promoted through dissemination of project work in meetings, seminars and dialogue Austria Online platform for TEPs shares learning via documents and case studies that are filled in on an ongoing basis

41. For more information www.partnership.esflive.eu www.partnership.esflive.eu