Some definitions of partnerships: where we are

1. ITALIAN EXPERIENCE OF PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT STRUCTUREMalta ‘ESF – Exchange Event’17-18 of January 2008

3. Economic and social Partners (ESPs) Vertical partnership ADMINISTRATIONS EC Europen ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIPS National Support Framework Operational Programmes Institutional partnerships State National Regions Regional LOCAL DEVELOPMENT EQUAL DPs Local (+ other players) Local Authorities Horizontal partnership Some definitions of partnerships: where we are

4. Part 1 - The TA to Economic and Social partners

5. The Italian context • At national level: • from the ’90s strong partnership on welfare and distribution policy; • Policy management strictly in the hands of PA (with the exception of continuous training) • At regional level traditional North / South differences in partnership: • Central role / Marginal role of ESPs • Formal and structured / informal and occasional models of partnership • In objective 1 regions: • Actors (PA and ESPs) are often weak; • Direct political relationships prevail on partnership; • Recent trend for more participation and more attention to partnership from PA

6. The causes of the TA • After a wide involvement in the initial phase, in 2003 the integration of ESPs in programming was very weak, specially at regional level: • Poor contribution of ESPs to the decision making; • Difficult dialogue between PA and ESPs; • Potential conflict of interest and not representative agreements; • Lack of continuity; • Distance between programmes and territories. • Negative effects on the overall development strategy (oriented to making active and developing local resources) and diffused de-responsibility among the different actors

7. Brief history of the Italian experience • In 2003 an agreement between the National Authority and more than 30 associations identified the need for a support to partnership; • In 2005 the Technical Assistance (TA) to Economic and Social Partners (ESPs) in objectives 1 regions was launched; • In these years the TA supports the ESPs in participating to the regional and sectoral programmes; • Every 6 months a Steering Committee, including administrations and with the majority of social partners, address and verify the TA; • In June 2008 the TA will end, but it will be replicated in the new programming period; • At the moment, it is a pilot experience in EU and it is appreciated as a best practices.

8. The administrative design of the TA • ESPs can not directly manage resources and would scatter them in many single associations; • The National Managing Authorities of the CSF launched a call for tender and selected Ismeri Europa • A Steering Committee, including NMA, objective 1 Regions and some representatives of the ESPs addresses and controls the activities of TA (based on six-months plans); • The President of the Steering Committee is a representative of the ESPs; • ESPs have the majority in the Steering Committee

9. The main objectives of the TA • Promote a stable and organised relationship between PAs and ESPs; • Increase the skills of the ESPs in structural funds procedures and rules; • Support the ESPs in territorial animation and transmission of knowledge; • Define and introduce a new partnership model more efficient and easy to manage.

10. LINES SERVICES OBJECTIVES A - Knowledge Development of favorable conditions for partnership Promoting shared partnership models Studies and reinforcement of partnership models, National-regional linkages, “State of art” increase competences and know-how of ESPs B – Competences – Stimulation and growth of competence Seminars, workshops and direct support in decision making at regional level C- Communication and back office Improvement of information flows for ESPs and production of specific documents Put in place a functioning model of partnership Main activities of the TA

11. Some tools • Partnership meeting – ESPs and Managing Authority plan together the next activities of the TA on the basis of their needs and objectives • Workshops – presentation and discussion with ESPs of a critical theme (sectoral strategy, programme advancement, etc.), possibly involving the responsible department in the PA • Vademecum – summary of interventions and documents oriented to improve ESPs activity (examples of themes: aids of state, evaluation, use of the national resources, etc.) • Direct support (suivi) to ESPs – specific analyses and dossier preparation before a meeting or for supporting a proposal of the ESPs (frequently used in the new programming)

12. Some results • Constant and direct involvement of about 200-250 representatives of ESPs and about 15-20 regional and national departments; • General improvement in the relationships between PA and ESPs • Increased participation of weaker ESPs and territorial diffusion of knowledge • A high number of documents and guides are available and diffused • Social and Economic partnership was an important focus of the new programming debate; • Definition of a new partnership model adopted in the NSF

13. Part 2 - Identification of a partnership model

14. Background of the partnership model • EU do not provide / propose partnership models • Existing regulations refer to national practices, whereas the Monitoring Committee do not provide a real arena for ESPs participation • Existing regional/national acts some time recognise partnership, but generally do not provide rules and organisation model

15. Partnership in the National Support Framework • Involvement of ESPs in the whole decision-making process (planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation); • Promotion of Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) between PA and ESPs on “the rules of the game” and codes of conduct among associations; • Reinforcement of the ESPs responsibilities • More attention to results of partnership • Starting off an in-depth dialogue – at least once a year - about the cohesion policy at political level

16. The approach to the model • Incremental approach: • Starting from current experience in order to integrate and improve it; • Making the most of less developed scenarios, without changing advanced ones; • Paying attention to innovation to testify to a lack of continuity

17. Basic conception 6 elements: • The role of ESPs in Structural Funds; • The representation of stakeholders; • The contents of partnership; • Operation; • Organisation; • Information flows to support partnership. 5 principles: • Inclusion • Information and advertising • Integration • Organization • Concreteness

18. Factor 5 – Organisation • The partnership is organised at three main levels: • Political level • Coordination of partnership activities • Operational and technical level • Three innovative solutions are introduced: • The Partnership Forum, needing a wide representation • The Pilot Committee responsible for organizing and verifying the activities of the partnership • The Partnership Office, within the administration and devoted to partnership • The OP Monitoring Committee doesn’t have any new tasks; it reports about the activity of the partnership

19. MOUs Forum Political Level Common Tasks Proposal on general programming Course trend of partnership activities Annual Report of partnership’s activities Partnership’s Office Coordination level Common work plan and control Operational level Proposals for implementation Pilot Committee (mixed office) Partnership Activities Control The managing Authority’s Calendar Technical Support The partnership’s Agenda Thematic Table Other ways to acquire knowledge Proposal for sectorial programming and Operational suggestions. operational suggestions Factor 5 - Flowchart of relationships

20. Considerations on the organization • The organization should be the same for ESF and ERDF • The Partnership Office is a staff function, (not necessary a service with many officials). It witnesses the effort of the PA; • The Pilot Committee provides for a wide participation of ESPs, and for this: • It is flexible (can assume different shapes according to the context); • It manages and facilitates dialogue in an unbiased manner; • It supervises over activities and reports to the Forum. • In some Italian regions, almost all these structures are already in place

21. Part 3 - Conclusions and lessons

22. Lessons • TA to ESPs is not a simple task (political influences, tackling different capacity levels, high number and often conflicting associations, continuous changes in the PA agenda, etc.) • … but it is useful (results are positive and the experience will continue) • Partnership needs systemic framework and organisation (connecting political and technical levels; promoting territorial diffusion of the partnership method); • ESPs need support, but they have not to change their function (becoming “expert”) • Instruments have to be adapted to the context and the habits (i.e ESPs are not intensive web users)

23. Conclusions • This experience promoted capacity building in the Italian Objective 1 regions; • TA to ESPs is useful everywhere and can be diffused, but it has to be adapted; • The first client of the TA should be the ESPs, not the managing authorities, which have to cooperate and benefit of it; • Support to the PA is also necessary (how to “get” knowledge from ESPs, how to organise work in a partnership environment, how to interact with political representatives, etc.).

24. ISMERI EUROPA • ASSISTENZA TECNICA AL PARTENARIATO EX OB.1 • VIA C. MIRABELLO, 17 • 00195 ROMA • Sede centrale: G.G. BELLI, 39 • 00193 ROMA • TEL.06.87 44 0752/32168121 • PROJECT MANAGER: • Andrea Naldini • COORDINATOR: • Rosario Caravano • STAFF: • Rosario Caravano • Barbara Befani • Clelia Cipolla • Emanuele Coletti • Carlo Miccadei • Marco Pompili • partenariato@ismerieuropa.com www.partenariato.org