One of the main objectives of the structural funds’ working group is to provide a platform for exchange, mutual learning and common action in view of strengthening structural funds’ contribution to fighting social exclusion, from the local to the European level. Members of the working group are also responsible for initiating exchanges in their own national network and taking an active part in implementing the common work programme.
- Contact person for the Structural Funds working group: Vincent Caron (vincent.caron@eapn.eu)
Members of the working group
- See list of members
- To know more about the activities of the working group members, please have a look at the Document “Getting to know the members of the Structural funds taskforce, “developed in October 2007, as well as “EAPN members’ current priorities on structural funds” (June 2008)
Our priorities and work programme
The working group’s 2009 work programme (to be found by clicking here) identifies the following priorities :
1) Capacity-building and network development, i.e. strengthening the National Networks’ capacity to engage with structural funds. This includes the development of Manual on Structural Funds in April 2009.
2) Policy and advocacy work on the following issues: funds for social inclusion; partnership with civil society and NGOs’ access to structural funds; mainstreaming of EQUAL and transnationality
3) Alliance building with NGOs and other key actors involved with structural funds
Please click here to see a summary of the latest actions.
Take action!
The last meeting of the working group took place on 20 February 2010 in Dublin. Click to see the minutes. In the coming months, working group members are in particular encouraged to:
- Support dissemination of the structural funds manual and try to seek technical assistance funding for translation and impression.
- Contribute to the Survey on the Implementation of the Funds. Based on a questionnaire to be sent out in April, it will serve as a basis for EAPN’s key pieces of work in 2009: June shadow report on implementation and November contribution on the future of cohesion policy.
- Get in touch with their managing authorities to see if any change is foreseen to the Operational Programmes as a result of the crisis. Send EAPN any relevant information on how the funds are changed as a result of the crisis. Ensure that there is a real effort put on simplification and that our key concerns are taken into account.
- Define their national network’s priorities on structural funds for 2009, building on the capacity-building seminar outcomes (see the notes).
- Send the social indicators’ document to their managing authority and monitoring committees if this was not done yet get involved in activities around evaluation and closing of the programming period, to promote a social inclusion perspective
- join the Communities of Practice set up on the different aspects of EQUAL, and call on their managing authorities to do so as well: www.esflive.eu
- EAPN Networks are encouraged to try to contact the desk officer following their specific country (list), and to inform the secretariat of their main concerns.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the structural funds working group will take place on 27-28 May 2011 in Brussels.
Current areas of work
This section makes key documents at the core of the work of the group – including drafts – available in order to facilitate the follow up of the working process by members.
Assessing the current programming period 2007 – 2013
EAPN SFWG Social Inclusion Survey
EAPN Political Paper on Cohesion Policy and social Inclusion (in English) – in Lithuanian
Contributing to the debate on the future of the cohesion policy