Progress Report on the ESF Learning Networks October 2011

TNI-014

Progress Report on the ESF Learning Networks – October 2011

Eachnetwork heading in this Progress Report provides a hyperlink to a brief statement of the original aims and partners of the Learning Network (LN) concerned.

For more up-to-date information about the partners please see Annex A

1.0 First Tranche of LNs selected on the Basis of the Call issued in 2008

1.1 Inclusive entrepreneurship (COPIE)

The network’s overallobjective is to transform the policy environment so that entrepreneurship is a natural choice for people from all walks of life. The main achievement of the first phase of COPIE, during EQUAL, was to develop the diagnosis tool for entrepreneurship policies. The current learning network has brought in a new partner (Lithuania, on microfinance) and as well as continuing to implement the tool, has worked on enterprise education, quality in business support, action planning and access to finance.

In most of the thematic areas it has, by generalising from best practice, defined a series of about 20 products which can be used to improve ESF practice. The work in enterprise education has been a little different as most ESF programmes exclude school-age education, but some (e.g. Finland) are exemplary and the enterprise education WG has raised the profile of the issue and shown what can be done. COPIE’s new website ( presents these products as they are finalised, together with the people involved and news stories.A final conference will be held in spring 2012.

Many of the products are useful for ESF work in inclusive entrepreneurship, notably:

• Diagnosis and benchmarking tool for regional entrepreneurship policies;
• Stakeholder involvement and action planning methodology: four guides to vision, campaigning and legacy and evaluation;
• Quality assurance system for business advice agencies and advisers including a diagnosis tool, a standard and accreditation scheme, and a toolbox for adviser training;
• Manual on implementing microfinance in ESF;
• Wikipreneurship.eu that is an online knowledge base.

For further information please contact:Bettina Reuter,

Tel: +49 30 18527-6792

1.2 Increasing the participation of migrants and ethnic minorities in employment (IMPART)

IMPART has developed a Benchmarking Toolkit (BT) to guide the Peer Review Process (PRP) that will assess the critical factors for ESF-funded projects to be mainstreamed. The conclusions of this process should be used to inform future employment strategies for migrants. The BT was developed by three working groups on: Assessment and Validation - Valuing Migrant Competences; Fostering Anti-Discriminating Skills; Integrated Territorial Approaches. The members of these working groups were experts nominated by the partners.

The network is organising a meeting in December 2011, in Berlin, to review the BT and the Peer Review Process (PRP). The main participants in this meeting will be the experts who drafted the BT and some of the peers who have participated in the PRP. The network is investigating if it is feasible to invite some of the projects which were peer reviewed. Before the end of the funding period, IMPART will have organised a total of 11 peer reviews. For each peer review, a findings report is drafted by the network experts. The conclusions of these reports have been used to draft interim results and recommendations, which the network has disseminated. The network has also engaged an evaluator, who has submitted an interim report. This interim evaluation has highlighted some important issues, which have been/are being addressed by the Management Committee.

There are some concerns from partners about the BT and the PRP but these are products developed by the network that, with adjustments, should be of value to MAs during the next programming period. IMPART is also planning to organise a final Policy Forum in March 2012.

For more information please contact:Çiğdem İpek,

Tel: +49 30 9017 2328

1.3 Partnership(CoP)

The Partnership Community of Practice has successfully managed to fulfil the network’s work plan, with a six month extension that will finish in December 2011. There are now six full country reports on Partnership implementation in the ESF: Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Hungary. The last one will be Austria, to be completed after the final conference on 1112 October 2011.Several examples of Partnership implementation in the ESF have been published on the web platform (

The Partnership Conference in Vienna was a two-day event with approximately 60 participants from all 27 Member States including policy makers, programme designers, projects promoters and partnership experts. It took the shape of a ‘Partnership Fair’ that includedexhibition stands and many bi-lateral meetings. The event was an occasion to present best practice examples of partnerships adopted by the MAs at programme level. The outcomes of the Partnership Fair were:

• An overview of the existing national partnerships policies and the sharing of best practices, to be published as a ‘Learning Manual’;
• A‘Communiqué on Partnerships,’which was a joint statement of ESF-MAs.

For further information please contact: Annette Scopetta,

Tel: +43 1 49 50 442 58

1.4 Re-integration of ex-offenders(ExOCoP)

ExOCoP has now completed a series of 18 seminars, the results of which have been fed into five seminars on the themes of: Entrance; Education, Training and Employment (ETE); Aftercare; Special Groups; and Networking of Institutions. The work on ExOCoP’s two sub-projects on Knowledge Management and Evaluation is on-going.

Activities for the immediate future are geared towards ExOCoP’s final event which will be a Policy Forum held in Berlin on 1-3 February 2012. These include:

• The finalisation of a Declaration that sets out proposals for future cooperative activities to be endorsed by the Policy Forum;
• The recommendations for future policies and practice coming from the five seminars;
• A booklet on the ‘Lessons Learned,’ which will be a collection of good practices from those ESF (ex-) offender projects that started during or after 2008.
• A list of all ESF (ex-) offender projects.

Obviously, most of these resources will be of interest to MAs and IBs but the results of the Evaluation sub-project could also be important.In EQUAL, it was difficult to find empirical evidence that would support the case for a generalisation of EQUAL approaches for the resettlement of (ex)-offenders. This Evaluation sub-project is formulating a framework that will ensure that current and future ESF projects collect the data and make the measurements that will provide an acceptable standard of proof of the validity of their new approaches. ExOCoP is anxious to ensure a strong ESF representation at the Policy Forum and invitations are currently being sent by the Bremen Secretary of State for Justice and Labour to MAs, which are members of ExOCoP, and to all other national MAs. ExOCoP would also be pleased to hear from other regional MAs that might be interested in sending someone to the Policy Forum.

For further information please contact: Juergen Hillmer,

Tel: +49 172 451 7325

2.0 Second Tranche of LNs selected on the Basis of the 2008 Call

2.1 Empowerment and inclusion

This LN has just tested and revised a tool to measure the empowerment of the final beneficiaries of ESF programmes and arrangements have also been made to pilot this revised tool in Member States represented on the LN and also, potentially, in Scotland and Ireland.

The next meeting, in Dublin, on 29 November will be dedicated to finalising the arrangements for the development of:

• A tool or award for those agencies in the integration chain, such employment services and training agencies, that will help them to assess the empowering nature of their approaches by mirroring the beneficiary questionnaire to produce a 360 degree view;
• An award for employers, developed with reference to beneficiaries, as well as employers, that will recognise the inclusiveness of their workplaces;
• A manual on empowerment for ESF MAs, IBs and Project Managers that will explain how it is possible to create an environment, which develops the self-confidence and capacities of the project beneficiaries.

All of the LNs tools and publications of the LN are designed to be of practical assistance to MAs, and the case studies to be included in the Manual are currently being sought from MAs by telephone rather than by questionnaire. The manual, and indeed the beneficiaries’ tool, will both make the case that, particularly in today’s economic crisis, what is needed is proactive inclusion rather than active inclusion measures and that the capacities of citizens to play such a proactive role is vital both for their vocational integration and for the well-being of local communities throughout Europe.

For further information please contact: Pat Donnelly/Brita Terpe, /

Tel: +44 28 9074 8040

2.2 Public administration reforms(ACB)

The network is formed by Managing Authorities from convergence states and most partner institutions (Interior, Finance) have national public reforms as their core business. Five thematic workgroups are individually managed by each partner. Romania has nearly completed its tasks on ‘Strategic Planning’ and hosted a dissemination workshop in June 2011. Poland finalised its activity on ‘Business-Friendly Administration’ with a peer review held on 29& 30 September 2011. Bulgaria finalised its exploration of ‘E-government’ during its International Workshop held on 12& 13 October 2011.

Activities related to the ‘Partnership Principle for Better Regulation’ initially coordinated by Lithuania, as well as ‘Local Administration’ coordinated by Greece were reconsidered during the Steering Meeting held on 14 October 2011. These topics might be re-allocated amongst partners, including newcomers from Slovenia and the Czech Republic, during the capitalisation and dissemination phase. The network will probably extend the duration of the project until the end of 2012.

The thematic scope of this Learning Network is very broad, and its findings hardly relate to Social Fund policies. This is mostly due to the fact that the partners, except for the Czech ESF MA, represent other administrations or departments such Home, Finance, Tradeand Economic Affairs. The LN has developed a robust knowledge of regulatory procedures and inter-operability issues related to reforms aimed at reducing the administrative burden for citizens and businesses. There are similarities with the RBM network from the angle of policy performance and management. A stronger focus on ESF policy and programmes is now required for the dissemination phase.

For further information please contact: Monika Andrzejewska,

Tel: +48 22 330 3196

2.3 Results-basedmanagement (RBM)

The website ( of the RBM network has been designed for policy-makers and programme managers involved with the preparation, management, monitoring and evaluation of European Union Structural Funds programmes specifically ERDF and ESF. For the network, ‘Results Based Management’ or RBM is the way an organisation applies processes and resources to achieve its targeted results.

On the basis of the first Advisory Group and Premium Membership group meetings, the following topics were presented and jointly developed:

• ‘How to sensitise and convince stakeholders to focus on results’ (Poland, January 2010);
• ‘How to change organisational culture from input oriented to results oriented’ (Belgium, May 2010);
• ‘How to define results that are realistic, operational and for which the programme managers want to be held accountable’ (Lithuania, September 2010);
• ‘How to measure performance’ and ‘How to ensure good quality of information’ (the CzechRepublic, December 2010);
• ‘How to measure performance (indicators), including properly measuring the quality of products and results’ and ‘How to link finance to performance to justify the existence of the European Social Fund, in connection to financial simplification / greater clarity of the rules and auditors’ view of this’ (Italy, April 2011);
• ‘How to ensure that results can be attributed to projects /Build skills of self-evaluation on all levels (project, intermediate body etc.)’ (Sweden, September 2011);

The location and exact timing (January 2012 suggested) of another event on ‘Results oriented project formulation and appraisal systems’ and ‘How to design and appraise intervention schemes based on results chains are still to be confirmed). Three study visits are also planned for the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.

The COP was initially to conclude in April 2012 with a dissemination seminar organised in collaboration with EIPA for all the EU Member States and the European Commission. However, the Advisory Committee and the Premium Members have agreed to extend the duration of the network until December 2012, and the COP is currently asking for an official extension. The final dissemination meeting should then take place in September 2012. In terms of deliverables, the COP will produce a series of good practice descriptions and presentations. These will be used to draft a new Sourcebook on the sound planning and management of Structural Funds’ programmes to replace the current Sourcebook (

For further information please contact: Benedict Wauters,

Tel.+32 2 546 22 48

2.4 Social economy(BFSE)

This network aims to create an enabling environment for the social economy. It has analysed the existing legislation, practices and tools, and developed a set of solutions that governments can apply. The network undertook five strands of work: Community Law; State Aid and SSGIs; Measuring Social Added Value; Socially Responsible Public Procurement and PSPPs; Social Franchising and Financial Instruments.

Significant results so far have been:

• The creation of a tool for measuring the social added value of social enterprises, using a combination of social accounting and social return on investment methods;
• A research study on the extent and successes of social franchising. Thishas evoked considerable interest, and will be discussed at a conference in London on 18 October, which Nick Hurd, the UK Minister for Civil Society, is attending;
• A response to the Commission’s consultation on public procurement and identification of tools such as piani di zona and a cost-benefit analysis model for socially responsible public procurement;
• The identification of some pioneering ESF financial tools (e.g. Jeremie and global grants).

In 2012, the results of the work in strands will be brought together and communicated. The network is producing a number of useful tools for MAs and IBs, which are available on the website

For further information please contact: Monika Andrzejewska,

Tel. +48 22 330 3196

2.5 Transnational Cooperation(TCN)

This LN covers the transversal issue of transnationality in the ESF through dedicated training and communication tools such as the web site, which includes a common calendar of ESF calls, flash news and learning seminars. Out of the 10 Working Papers to form the final Handbook on Transnationality within the ESF, one on ‘The Promotion of Transnational Cooperation’ has been finalised, and the following four have been submitted for peer review: ‘Identifying and building Transnational Partnerships;’ ‘Evaluation of Transnational Projects / Added Value of Transnational Cooperation;’ ‘Transnational Project Selection;’ and ‘Designing and implementing Calls for Proposals on Transnational Cooperation.’

In addition, 11 good practice examples of ESF Transnational Cooperation Projects, six from Spain, two from the Czech Republic, two from Poland, and one each from Italy and France, are currently being reviewed and will be finalised during November 2011.

The second peer learning seminar held in Berlin on 15 & 16 September 2011 gathered some 80 participants to discuss the learning outcomes related to transnationality over the current programming period and to identify practical recommendations for its future implementation. This discussion was supported by a background paper prepared by the LN, entitled ‘Possible Implementation Modalities for ESF Trans-National Cooperation Initiatives during the EU Financial Perspective 2014 to 2020.’

For further information please contact:Markéta Pěchoučková,

Tel: +420 724 753685.

2.6 Youth employment

The network on youth employment set up three working groups to examine policies in the following areas: Youth Entrepreneurship; Mobility; and Educational and Vocational Guidance. Two study visits were also organised on mobility and on educational and vocational guidance. The findings and recommendations of the working groups have been used to draft the Common Reference Framework (CRF). This CRF is a policy document/tool for policy-makers and contains recommendations on the three thematic areas. The network organised two peer reviews to give feedback on the draft CRF. The peers, who were nominated by the partners, made excellent contributions and came up with very useful observations/recommendations, many of which were integrated into the new draft of the CRF.

To assess the usefulness of the CRF to ESF MAs, the network could test it out in the partner Member States but as this was not foreseen in the work programme, it may be difficult to organise. However, a consultation with stakeholders in Brussels could be feasible and could be organised with the support of the European Commission.

For further information please contact: Akis Nicolaides,

Tel: + 357 22400957

3.0 Only Tranche selected on the Basis of the Call issued in 2009

3.1 Age management(ESF-AGE)

The network held a kick-off meeting in October 2010, which was attended by Managing Authorities and national and European-level stakeholders to confirm that the proposed focus and outputs of the network were in line with the current and future priorities of policy-makers. The LN has held five peer review workshops to investigate and analyse, in depth, more than twenty national and/or regional programmes and projects that are promoting good practice in the field of age management. The network is engaging positively with individuals and other networks that have a responsibility for, or an interest in, age management issues. These include members of the European Parliament, officials from DG Employment, EURES, OECD, CEDEFOP, EUROFOUND and the Age Platform Europe. The LN has published four newsletters since December 2010 and network members are engaging with their national contact points for the European Year of Active Ageing in 2012.

The format and outline content of the outputs and tools, to be made available on the ESF-Age website, including the toolkit and travel guide produced by the network and an inventory of other available materials, will be agreed by the end of October 2011. The two-day age management training course to be delivered by the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA) will be tested at a network workshop and a further stakeholders’ meeting to be held in the spring of 2012.