Thematic evaluation report for the inner areas

The thematic report is developed within the framework of the unitary evaluation service for programmes co-financed with EU Funds in the 2014-2020 programming period, which has been outsourced by the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) region to Ismeri Europa.

The scope of the evaluation is to analyse the national strategy for inner areas (NSIA), included in the partnership agreement for the coordinated use of all 2014-2020 ESI (European Structural and Investment) funds.

The report investigates the effectiveness/efficiency, coherence, relevance and added value of the Friuli Venezia Giulia inner areas strategies.

Due to the difficulty in involving local actors in the survey, the collection of field information focused on a number of additional interviews with qualified individuals (NSIA beneficiaries) in the thre surveyed areas.

The focus group was then conducted based on a narrower, though no less qualifying, information audience than that which could result from the survey. The analysis concludes that NSIA FVG does not yet appear to have achieved its planned effects due to several endogenous and exogenous factors.

Endogenous factors include: i) the area delimitation that has kept out municipalities functional to the development of the territories and has limited its effectiveness; ii) the territorial authorities that have not always been able to effectively coordinate interventions in the area and to foster cooperation between the various actors, also due to the lengthy implementation of the Strategy; and iii) the lack of effective synergy between interventions (caused by inconsistent implementation timetables, e.g. training) between implementation instruments and between funding sources.

The main external factors that have had a significant impact on territorial development policies in recent years are COVID-19, the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and demographic trends typical of disadvantaged areas (e.g. depopulation).

As positive effects, the report highlights the development of an innovative approach to local development based on multi-fund synergy and on a listening approach to the territories. This has led to the creation and/or emergence of networks of local actors that, in some cases, have implemented interventions.

The activation of development dynamics is noted, but the need for a coordination activity between the authorities that manage the different sources of financing and a constant support (i.e. technical assistance) aimed at guaranteeing a broader and more effective participative process capable of fostering the involvement of both public and private actors in all the phases of the NSIA is highlighted, also in order to guarantee an effective growth of social capital in the territory.