Support to the third survey and cleaning of data on the implementation of COVID-19 related State aid measures by Member States

The purpose of this project is to provide support to the European Commission in the implementation of the “Third Survey on the use of the Temporary Framework by Member States”.

The main task consists in validating the data on approved State aid granted to companies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemics until 30 June 2021 and produce a consolidated EU-wide database.

Set-up of the survey and cleaning of data on the implementation of COVID-19 related State aid measures by Member States and the UK

The purpose of this project is to provide support to the European Commission in the implementation of the “Second Survey on the use of the Temporary Framework by Member States”.

The main task consists in validating the data on approved State aid granted to companies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemics until 30 June 2021 and produce a consolidated EU-wide database.

Exploratory study: filling in the knowledge gaps and identifying strengths and challenges in the effectiveness of the EU Member States’ minimum income schemes

The aim of the project, awarded to Applica and ICF (leader), was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the challenges in the effectiveness of the EU Member States’ minimum income schemes. The main tasks included

  • mapping existing schemes;
  • identifying strengths and challenges in their effectiveness for alleviating poverty and facilitating labour market transition and social inclusion;
  • and the impact assessment of various measures aiming at enhancing the effectiveness of these schemes.

The final report can be downloaded here: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8540&furtherPubs=yes

EU-JAPAN joint study on demographic change and territorial policies

DG REGIO and the Japanese City Bureau of Ministry of Labour, Infrastructure and Transport launched a joint study to analyse – including through case studies – common demographic challenges, and to provide forecasts of population for regions and cities. The study identifies policies and tools that can help regions and cities respond to these challenges, in particular those related to demographic ageing. Applica is involved in the analysis related to the EU.

Study on the feasibility of a child guarantee for vulnerable children: Phase II

The study aims to provide a thorough economic and financial analysis of the design, feasibility, governance and implementation options of a possible future Child Guarantee Scheme in all EU Member States. To achieve this, it has prepared a detailed comprehensive study exploring what would be the most cost-effective strategy for the competent authorities to realise a child guarantee for all children at risk of poverty in the EU. The study complements the Study on the feasibility of a child guarantee for vulnerable children: Phase I.

 

ESF Data Support Centre

A part of the multiple framework contracts for the provision of services related to the implementation of Better Regulation Guidelines, the project aims at the production of ESF statistics, including methodological and harmonisation aspects. The Data Support Centre assists the Member States and the Commission to fulfill the monitoring and reporting obligations set out in the Regulations governing the European Social Fund. This covers:
– Providing methodological support to the Commission
– Providing methodological support to the Member States
– Providing ESF data plausibility and consistency checks
– Reporting of ESF data.

Support for Social Protection Statistics (ESPROSS)

The project was conducted for Eurostat by the consortium composed of Applica (leader) and Alphametrics. The overall purpose of the project was to support Eurostat in the continued undertaking of ESSPROS related activities and to assist in the work to further develop the ESSPROS system.

Main tasks in the project:

  • developing the existing ESSPROS data collections.
  • supporting the extension of the ESSSPROS system through the development of the methodological basis for a new data collection on the number of recipients/beneficiaries of social benefits in the unemployment function.
  • assisting Eurostat in the preparation and delivery of meetings that underpin the ongoing process of exchange and consensus building amongst ESSPROS stakeholders.
  • statistical training for ESSPROS domain.

Eighth Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion

The aim of the contract is to assist the European Commission with the preparation, production and translation of the Eighth Cohesion Report which reviews regional developments in the EU over the past few years. The main tasks include advising on the content and the socio-economic analysis, drafting, editing, designing the page lay-out as well as coordinating the translation into all EU-languages.


View Eighth Cohesion Report

 

Study on the adequacy and sustainability of social protection systems: attitudes in the EU

The overall purpose of the study is to collect and report policy-relevant evidence on preferences of the citizens for social protection. The analysis aims, in  particular, at identifying the type of social contract that is favoured by people, at providing a clear overview of the factors that influence the demand for social protection and solidarity, and at exploring the potential for EU-wide solidarity and protection.

Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of support to Employment and Mobility

The purpose of the study is to provide the Commission with evidence and analysis that will allow building up its evaluation of the ESF support to employment and mobility (i.e. TO8 excluding support to youth employment). The report aims at taking stock of the results of ESF related support for the period 2014-2018, building in particular on the relevant ESF evaluations carried out by the Member States. The results of the report should also feed into the next programming period by providing lessons and supporting the negotiations of the OP for the ESF+.

The study is a part of the multiple framework contracts for the provision of services related to the implementation of Better Regulation Guidelines.

ESF Synthesis of Annual Implementation Reports submitted in 2018 and 2019 and ad-hoc reports

A part of the multiple framework contracts for the provision of services related to the implementation of Better Regulation Guidelines, the objective of the contract is to collect, analyse, synthesise and aggregate monitoring and evaluation information provided by Member States through Annual Implementation Reports (AIR) and, where relevant, progress reports12 in order to provide evidence on the performance of the ESF over the 2014-2020 programming period, for the AIR 2017 submitted in 2018, the AIR 2018 submitted in 2019 and the Progress Reports submitted in 2019. The information is presented in a standard and easy-to-read manner. The aim is also to collect additional information from Member States through interviews and surveys for the ad hoc reports. These reports are used to communicate results to stakeholders and other institutions.

Study supporting the 2019 Evaluation of Youth employment

A part of the multiple framework contracts for the provision of services related to the implementation of Better Regulation Guidelines, the study aims at providing DG EMPL with evidence and analysis that will allow building up its evaluation of Youth employment planned for December 2024. The purpose is twofold. On the one hand the evaluation aims at taking stock of the results of youth employment-related ESF support for the period 2014-2020, and on the other hand the results of the evaluation should feed into the next programming period by providing lessons.

The evaluation will assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and EU value added of youth-oriented operations funded by YEI and other ESF actions during the period 2014-2018.

European Social Policy Network and MISSOC

The European Social Policy Network (ESPN) brought together independent experts on social inclusion and social protection and government experts on social protection systems (the Mutual Information Systems on Social Protection – MISSOC).

The ESPN provided high quality and timely independent information, advice, analysis and expertise in monitoring progress towards the EU’s social (protection and inclusion) goals and helped the Commission to identify and stimulate debate and discussion on effective policy developments and innovative developments in Member States.

Applica was responsible for coordinating the work of the government experts on social protection systems (MISSOC) and for communication activities (seminars, publications and online resources).

Public consultation on Cohesion Policy

The purpose of the project is to analyse the replies received in the public consultation on Cohesion Policy, in line with the procedures described in the Better Regulation Guidelines. The results will be used for preparation of post-2020 cohesion policy programmes and their impact assessment.

Trust in institutions in the 21st century

The objective of the study is to understand trends in institutional trust in Europe and their relation to societal changes. The research seeks to characterise groups in society with higher or lower trust in national and EU institutions and to consider why patterns of trust have changed over time.

Framework Contract (Lot 2) – Study on the monitoring and evaluation systems of the ESF

The objective of the study is to provide an assessment of the implementation of ESF monitoring and evaluation systems in the Member States for the 2014-2020 programming period and to make proposals on how to improve these systems for the post 2020 period. To this end, three assumptions are considered: a) the scope and delivery mechanism of the ESF remains unchanged, b) ESF is merged in a single fund encompassing most of the human capital activities of the EU, and c) ESF is implemented through conditional support.

Seventh Report on Economic and Social Cohesion

The aim of the contract is to assist with the preparation, production and translation of the Seventh Cohesion Report which will review regional developments in the EU over the past few years. The main tasks include advising on the content and the socio-economic analysis, drafting, editing, designing the page lay-out as well as coordinating the translation into all EU-languages.
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Women and men in decision-making

The aim of the project is to further develop and maintain the database “Women and men in decision-making” which contains details of the relative numbers of women and men in decision-making positions in various areas of political, judicial, economic and social life in the EU Member States, the EEA countries  and the candidate countries as well as in the European Institutions.

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, Work Package One

The objective of the contract is to synthesise the work packages of the ex post evaluation of the ERDF and CF in the 2007-2013 programming period, to support Commission services in the organisation, coordination and quality assurance of all the work packages of the ex post evaluation and to produce concise reports on the developments and achievements in each of the 28 Member States which were in receipt of financial support over the period.
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Descriptive Statistics on Regulated Professions

The objective of this project was to provide comparative statistics in seven occupations/sectors (accountant, civil engineer, lawyer, architect, patent agent, real estate agent, tourist guide) for all 28 Member States and, where data were available, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, for the period 2011-2015.

International Jury – competition for the best evaluations of EU Cohesion Policy

The objective of the contract was to assist DG Regional and Urban Policy and DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in identifying the best submissions to the competition for best evaluations of EU Cohesion Policy. The submitted evaluations had to assess the effectiveness of operations co-financed by Structural or Cohesion Funds and use at least one of the following three methods: Ex-post cost benefit analysis (CBA), Theory-based evaluations (TBE), Counterfactual evaluation (CIE). The winning evaluations were presented at the 7thevaluation conference on “Effectiveness of EU Cohesion Policy” on 16-17 June 2016 in Sofia (Bulgaria).

Economic Challenges of Lagging Regions

The aim of this project is to deepen understanding of the factors limiting investment, growth and convergence in the lagging regions of the EU, and which policy measures could be taken to overcome these limitations and fully exploit the lagging regions’ development potential.This study will assess the degree to which these regions are held back by the fiscal and macroeconomic conditions under which they operate, as well as the primary requirements of these regions in terms of the need for structural reforms.

The EU Social Situation Monitor

The aim of the project is to analyse trends in income distribution, poverty, social exclusion and material deprivation as well as health across the European Union, the position of different groups in society in these regards and the social welfare systems in place in different Member States for tackling problems of inequality and deprivation.

Review of evaluations of Cohesion policy 2007-13 and of structured approach to the review of the 2014-20 evaluation plans

The central aim of the contract is to develop an approach which will support a future ‘Evaluation Helpdesk on Cohesion policy’, i.e. to compile a list of the evaluations undertaken by the Managing Authorities and other research produced within the Member States in 2013 and 2014; to review a sample of evaluations, and to develop a structured approach to the quality review of the 2014-2020 evaluation plans.

DG Regional and Urban Policy, 2015 (with Ismeri Europa).

Investigating existing datasets on social protection

The aim of this contract was to investigate existing datasets on social protection (including the ILO Social Security Inquiry, ESSPROS, the Social Security Administration’s Social Security Programs Throughout the World) with a view to develop a methodology to advance towards a consistent global database. The work implied mapping existing datasets, identifying major gaps in the data and setting up a framework to integrate them into the macroeconomic structure of the UN Global Policy Model (UN GPM).

DG Regio – Evaluation Helpdesk

The aim of the contract is to provide an “Evaluation Helpdesk” to the Commission that reviews the 2014-2020 evaluation plans, identifies evaluations undertaken by Managing Authorities in 2015-2019, reviews a sample of evaluations, and provides support to Member States in refining their evaluation plans and designing and managing evaluations. In addition, the Helpdesk provides structured information on the outcome of the reviews of evaluations to support the European Commission’s syntheses of evaluation findings.

The Future of Manufacturing in Europe

This project explores scenarios for future developments in European manufacturing employment in the context of globalisation and rapid technological change. The key objective is to consider whether a revival of manufacturing could or should be based on foreign led growth or on a co-ordinated expansion of internal demand, which might have very different implications for the distribution of overall employment (i.e. both within and outside manufacturing) across Member States. A further objective is to gain a deeper understanding of how far recent technological and other developments are changing methods of production and the organisation and location of manufacturing activities.

Sixth Report on Economic and Social Cohesion

The aim of the contract is to assist with the preparation, production and translation of the Sixth Cohesion Report which will review regional developments in the EU over the past few years. The main tasks include advising on the content and the socio-economic analysis, drafting, editing, designing the page lay-out as well as coordinating the translation into all EU-languages.
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European Social Policy Network and MISSOC 2014-2018

The European Social Policy Network (ESPN) brings together the work previously done by the independent experts on social inclusion for the assessment of national social inclusion policies,  the independent experts for the analytical support on social protection reforms and by the government experts on social protection systems (the Mutual Information Systems on Social Protection – MISSOC).

The ESPN will provide high quality and timely independent information, advice, analysis and expertise in monitoring progress towards the EU’s social (protection and inclusion) goals and will help the Commission to identify and stimulate debate and discussion on effective policy developments and innovative developments in Member States.

Applica is responsible for coordinating the work of the government experts on social protection systems (the Mutual Information Systems on Social Protection – MISSOC) and for communication activities (seminars, publications and online resources).

Industrial Relations 2012

The aim project is to provide to provide advice and assistance with the statistical and quantitative aspects of the next edition of the Industrial Relations Report.  Mainly the service will be to produce statistical tables and graphs on a range of indicators related to social dialogue, employment and macro-economic issues.

Policy lessons report of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) series

The aim of the project is to provide a comprehensive report on the policy lessons of the 5th European Working Conditions Survey which analyses relationships between different working conditions, identifies groups at risk, monitors trends and contributes to European policy development. The report will draw policy conclusions from the EWCS and contribute to the preparation of the 6th wave of the survey, which is planned for 2015.

Expert Evaluation Network delivering Policy Analysis on the Performance of Cohesion Policy 2007-2013

The general purpose of the contract is to coordinate an expert evaluation network. The network has the objective to deliver policy analysis and evidence on the performance of Cohesion Policy, based on the monitoring and evaluation work underway in the Member States and the analysis of these results in the context of statistical and policy research available.

DG Regional Policy, 2010 and 2011-2013 (with Ismeri Europa, IT).

MobilityLab – European Job Mobility Laboratory

The purpose of the project is to establish a network of experts and practitioners in job mobility that will work to support the Commission in collecting and analysing information about mobility, providing policy advice and promoting awareness of the issues through a series of studies, workshops and conference.

Study on “Monitoring Sectoral Employment”

The objective of the study is to provide a systematic analysis of the interdependencies and linkages between the sectors, their sensitivity to cyclical variations and measures, and sector strategies which could reinforce the employment dimension of the crisis exit and EU 2020 strategy.

Fifth Report on Economic and Social Cohesion

The aim of the contract is to assist with the preparation, production and translation of the Fifth Cohesion Report which will review regional developments in the EU over the past few years. The main tasks include advising on the content and the socio-economic analysis, drafting, editing, designing the page lay-out as well as coordinating the translation into all EU-languages.
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