Evidence Based Cohesion Policy Focus on performance incentives

1. EvidenceBasedCohesion PolicyFocuson performance incentives Thomas Tandskov Dissing Senior Adviser Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority Gdańsk, 7 July 2011

2. Setup for the Structural Funds in Denmark 6 regional growth forums: • Responsibility for regional growth and development. • Appraise projects for co-funding from the Structural Funds. • A partnership – 20 members - between the regions, the municipalities, social partners, enterprises and knowledge institutions (universities, regional business schools, etc.) DEACA: • Managing authority for the Structural Fund programmes • Administers Structural Fund projects • Advices growth forums about the Structual Funds Total community contribution 2007-2013 509.6 m Euro

3. National strategic reference framework Danish starting point: • The whole country is covered by the objective of regional competitiveness and employment. • A political intention to: • focus the use of the structural funds on creating as much regional growth as possible: Focus on the drivers of growth as identified by OECD. • Coordinate the European, national and regional efforts to create growth. • The government’s globalization strategy.

4. Danish Strategic RF OP Programmes National strategic reference framework 2007-2013 The LisbonStrategy Community’sstrategic guidelines Commission’sintegrated guidelines National Reform Program Focus Concretization DK Globalization Strategy Danish NSRF OP - Programmes Regional development strategies and action plans

5. Danish Strategic Reference FrameworkERDF & ESF (2007-2013) Innovation and Knowledge (ERDF) More and Better Jobs (ESF) Development ofhuman resources Establishmentand developmentof newenterprises Innovation,knowledgesharing andknowledgebuilding Utilisation ofnewtechnology Areas facing structural difficulties, urban areas and rural areas Environmental policy Equal opportunity policy Employment policy

6. Template for goals and indicatorsERDF & ESF (2007-2013) Objectives for overall effects in the longer term Impact / global objectives Effect of the individual projects Quantitative objectives  outcome of resources for the period 2007-2013 as a whole Results / specificobjectives Direct output of the individual projects Quantitative objectives set for the action Output / operationalobjectives Input

7. Innovation, knowledge sharing and knowledge buildingERDF OperationalProgramme ”Innovation and Knowledge” By 2013 at leasthalf of Danish enterpriseswillbe innovative (baseline : 40 % in CIS3, 1988-2000) By 2013 Denmark willbeamong the 5 most innovative countries in the EU (baseline: # 10 in CIS3) Impact / global objectives Objective 2 European Regional Development Fund Innovation and knowledge (priority) 1,000 enterprises / institutions / organisations will indicate, that they have become more innovative as a result of the ERDF action (baseline: 0) Results / specificobjectives Innovation, knowledge sharing and knowledge building Interaction in innovation Regional innovation capacity Indicator: Number of cooperations on innovation in projects 500 new cooperationswith the emphasison innovation 70 % of the participatingenterprises / institutions / organisations will have strengthenedtheir innovative competences Indicator: Number of enterprises / institutions / organisations in projects registered under the interaction on innovation framework condition Indicator: Number of enterprises / institutions / organisations in projects registered under regional innovation capacity framework condition Indicator: Number of enterprises / institutions / organisations indicating they have strengthened their innovative competences Output / operationalobjectives

8. Focus on performanceTheory of change at project level Project effect The short-termand/orlong-termeffectsgenerated by the project Project output The immediateresultsgenerated by the project’sactivities Project activities The mainactivities to beundertaken in the project

9. Capacity building – strengthening of impact assesment in cooperation with regional growth forums • Aims to strengthen the evaluation and impact measurement for the initiatives, that the regional growth forums initiate to strengthen regional business development and growth • Objective: to enhance the knowledge about which initiatives work best and give most value for money – mainly quantitively • The project includes: • Development of methods for measuring effect/impact of different types of regional projects • Helping regional actors to develop a sound evaluation design for specific projects • Performing effect measurement of a number of initiatives, including register data from Statistics Denmark • Strengthening the exchange of experience on successfull regional initiatives – what works well and why • Helping projects to enhance effects through theory of change

10. Register-based monitoring and impact measurement • Collaborative project with Statistics Denmark on the development of statistical tools for data-based monitoring and impact measurement of Structural Fund interventions. • All projects report VAT-number (for participating companies) and social security number (for participating individuals) • Statistics Denmark connects the VAT and social security number with a number of socioeconomic indicators, and thereby we are able to: • Draw a factual picture of the companies and individuals that the interventions have an effect on • Create a basis for an impact measurement by using control groups and hence draw a picture of the real contribution of the intervention (disentangling the effects of the intervention from the contribution of other factors) • Expamples of socioeconomic indicators: • Companies: localization, industry, turnover, employment, export • Individuals: residence, age, gender, educational level, employment, salary • We are starting to draw the first socio-economic picture of 9,000 VAT numbers (firms) and 23,000 social security numbers (individuals).

11. Lessonslearned in thisperiodTowards an enhanced performance orientation • A prior (ex ante) determination of clear and measurable objectives and performance indicators. Indicators should be easy to interpret, statistically validated and directly linked to policy interventions. • Objectives should be: • Indicators should be: • Capturing effects on a quantitative basis (control groups) and on a qualititative basis (strong theories of change). • It is important that indicators create the right incentives for concrete action. The need to create the right incentives is particularly important in the implementation of performance reserves Relevant Accepted Credible Easy Robust - against manipulation - easy to monitor - unambigous and easy to interpret - closely linked to the objectives to be achieved - by stakeholders Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely - a time frame that is reasonable and makes sense for the indicator - appropriate, achievable, ambitious, agreed - establishment of concrete criteria for measuring progress - straightforward: what, why and how - do-able and resourced