evaluation of eu funded infrastructure in wales · interviews, documentary analysis, and user,...
TRANSCRIPT
INVESTING IN OUR SHARED FUTURETHE 8TH CONFERENCE ON THE EVALUATION OF EU COHESION POLICY
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS• Identification of three clusters of ERDF
investments, Swansea, Port Talbot, and Ebbw Vale, where projects complement each other as part of an integrated development strategy.
• A large proportion of 2000-06 ERDF investment in Swansea was linked to the regeneration of the former docks, now SA1. Around £17.5m was invested in redeveloping the area or improving links with the city centre. Swansea University received £70m in both programmes for research infrastructure.
• Port Talbot received £77m in infrastructure investment, of which 80 % funded transport schemes, part of a long-term programme of transport improvements, freeing brownfield land and enhancing the TEN-T network. Transport investment was part of an integrated regeneration strategy for Port Talbot to provide new job opportunities, linked to increased activity at the port and inward investment for the new development areas.
• The closure of the former steelworks plant in Ebbw Vale resulted in many job losses.
• ERDF has been used to fund: improvements to the Ebbw Valley Railway allowing passenger services to reopen on the route, improving access to jobs in Cardiff; creation of a new north-south route through Ebbw Vale to provide access to the Works facilities for local communities and a link between the Works and the A465 (part of the TEN-T network); and constructing a modern FE campus for Coleg Gwent.
CONCLUSIONS AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIONSThe next phase of the work will explore the economic impact this has had on local communities.
PROBLEM SETTING AND DATA SOURCES USEDThe ERDF has supported key infrastructure projects in Wales. An evaluation completed at project delivery, or shortly afterward, cannot investigate how infrastructure is used. Thus, this evaluation uses stakeholder interviews, documentary analysis, and user, resident and business surveys to investigate infrastructure usage and maintenance; how projects work together for the benefit of regional economies, residents, and businesses; and to consider the feasibility of undertaking an impact evaluation.
FUND(S) COVERED• European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF)
PROGRAMMING PERIOD• 2000-2006 and 2007-2013
PROGRAMME(S) COVERED• OP ERDF West Wales and the
Valleys (Convergence)• OP ERDF East Wales (Competiveness)
THEMATIC OBJECTIVE(S)• TO01: Research and innovation • TO07: Transport• TO08: Employment• TO09: Social inclusion• TO10: Education
TYPE OF EVALUATION• Process
YEAR OF COMPLETION• Ongoing
AUTHOR(S) OF THE EVALUATION CONTACT PERSON Hatch Regeneris Kathryn Helliwell
Evaluation of EU Funded Infrastructure in Wales •
Welsh European Funding Office