Analysis of the Coordination of EU Funding Programmes in Selected EU Member States

ESIF funding to the Czech Republic is expected to decline after 2020, due to an EU-level shift towards other budget headings. A key priority is therefore to assess opportunities to increase revenue from other EU funding programmes in future, notably those where projects are selected at EU level on a competitive basis i.e. where the budget allocated to the Czech Republic is not pre-determined. One possible means of increasing receipts from EU funding programmes could be to improve coordination between Czech entities responsible for managing and implementing ESIF and other EU programmes.

This study examines varied approaches to the coordination of ESIF and directly-managed EU funding programmes (COSME, Creative Europe, EaSI, Horizon 2020, and LIFE) in four Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia and Spain) and provides recommendations for improving coordination in the Czech Republic. It examines coordination at three levels (strategic planning; OP-level management and implementation; and project level engagement and implementation) and considers different intensities of coordination (active cooperation, consultation and dialogue, exchange of information and experience, and complementarity and coherence).

Coordination may be hindered by political, institutional and cognitive lock-in to existing networks and routines. Development policies (e.g. smart specialisation strategies or place-based approaches) often aim to open up the development process and funding opportunities to a wider range of stakeholders and to stimulate new forms of coordination and cooperation. High-level political commitment and practical incentives are needed to ensure that new ideas and connections are implemented and maintained over time. Boundary spanners and cross-sectoral forums can help to build and nurture connections across sectoral, thematic and organisational boundaries.