A new paper by Salvador Parrado, Victor Lapuente and Carl Dahlström of University of Gothenburgh titled “The abandoned Trustees. Explaining Corruption in Local Government” (QoG Working Paper Series, 2016:12) has recently been published and is available online at the following Expand

A new paper by Salvador Parrado, Victor Lapuente and Carl Dahlström of University of Gothenburgh titled “The abandoned Trustees. Explaining Corruption in Local Government” (QoG Working Paper Series, 2016:12) has recently been published and is available online at the following link.

The article engages in the debate about how different ways of organising relations between politicians and bureaucrats affect corruption. It explores the causal mechanisms linking the political autonomy of bureaucracy and low corruption by comparing public procurement processes in two Spanish cities. The authors show that independent bureaucrats can act as checks to prevent political moral hazard. At the same time,  other institutions must support the bureaucrats, such as, amongst others, merit-based human resources policies, rules and transparency.

On  13^th  June Alba Smeriglio (EPRC) and Paweł Śliwowski (EUROREG) participated in the workshop organised by the Regional Studies Association Research Network on EU Cohesion Policy and hosted by CEVIPOL and the Institut d’études europénnes (Université Libre de Bruxelles). At the event,... Expand

On  13^th  June Alba Smeriglio (EPRC) and Paweł Śliwowski (EUROREG) participated in the workshop organised by the Regional Studies Association Research Network on EU Cohesion Policy and hosted by CEVIPOL and the Institut d’études europénnes (Université Libre de Bruxelles). At the event, PhD Researchers Alba Smeriglio and Paweł Śliwowski presented a paper co-authored with John Bachtler. Alba and Paweł illustrated the theoretical framework of an EIB-funded study on administrative capacity-building in the context of EU Cohesion policy and the empirical findings from fieldwork conducted in Italy and Poland to an audience of senior policymakers and academics.

The workshop will result in a ‘book of lessons learnt’ to contribute to the debate on the reform of Cohesion Policy post 2020. More information on the event are available on the RSA website at http://www.regionalstudies.org/networks/network/eu-cohesion-policy and the EIBURS presentation can be downloaded here: Learning From Implementation and Evaluation of the EU Cohesion Policy. Lessons for a Research-Policy Dialogue’

John Bachtler  and Alba Smeriglio, of EPRC, participated at the RSA annual conference organised at the University of Graz (3-6 April 2016).At the event, professor John Bachtler and PhD Researcher Alba Smeriglio delivered a presentation which focused on the theoretical framework... Expand

John Bachtler  and Alba Smeriglio, of EPRC, participated at the RSA annual conference organised at the University of Graz (3-6 April 2016).At the event, professor John Bachtler and PhD Researcher Alba Smeriglio delivered a presentation which focused on the theoretical framework and empirical findings proceeding from the EIB-funded project on administrative capacity-building in the Cohesion policy domain. To access the PowerPoint slides, please follow this link: http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/AS_presentation_RSA.pdf

More information on the event are available on the RSA website here.

On Tuesday 8 March, professor John Bachtler and PhD Researcher Alba Smeriglio at EPRC participated at the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute 4^th Annual Meetings of the Knowledge Programme.

At the event, Alba Smeriglio delivered a presentation which focused... Expand

On Tuesday 8 March, professor John Bachtler and PhD Researcher Alba Smeriglio at EPRC participated at the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute 4^th Annual Meetings of the Knowledge Programme.

At the event, Alba Smeriglio delivered a presentation which focused on the preliminary results proceeding from the project on administrative capacity-building in the Cohesion policy domain. The PowerPoint slides can be accessed at the following link: http://institute.eib.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/06-Alba-Smeriglio.pdf

Organised every year at the EIB’s headquarters in Luxembourg, the meeting provides an opportunity for EIB staff and academics engaged in the research activities of the EIB institute to network and exchange ideas and to hear about the EIB and the Institute’s initiatives.

“The quality of its institutions, both governmental and judicial, is a key determining factor for a country’s economic and societal well-being. Administrative capacity is increasingly recognised as a pre-requisite for delivering the EU’s treaty obligations and objectives, such as creating sustainable... Expand

“The quality of its institutions, both governmental and judicial, is a key determining factor for a country’s economic and societal well-being. Administrative capacity is increasingly recognised as a pre-requisite for delivering the EU’s treaty obligations and objectives, such as creating sustainable growth and jobs. The EU supports Member States’ administrations through the European Semester process and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). The Toolbox aims to support, guide and encourage those who want to build public administrations that will create prosperous, fair and resilient societies. It is intended as a reference and resource, not a prescription or a panacea, by signposting readers to existing EU policies and international practices, illustrated by almost 170 inspirational case studies.

This abridged version of the Toolbox sets the scene for readers, lays out principles and values of good governance, summarises the seven thematic chapters (policy-making, ethics and anti-corruption, institutions, service delivery, business environment, justice systems and public finance management), and sets out some considerations for managing the ESIF’s thematic objective 11”.

This publication is available in printed format in English.

For more information please see: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jspcatId=738&langId=en&pubId=7757&type=2&furtherPubs=yes

The tweet chat using #EUChatRegio will take place on Thursday 11th December 16:00-17:00 CET.

Inforegio-Newsroom: “The performance of Member States and regions on the implementation of Cohesion policy programmes is to a large extent influenced by the quality of the administrative capacity of... Expand

The tweet chat using #EUChatRegio will take place on Thursday 11th December 16:00-17:00 CET.

Inforegio-Newsroom: “The performance of Member States and regions on the implementation of Cohesion policy programmes is to a large extent influenced by the quality of the administrative capacity of the public administration. Three key factors that have an impact on this performance are the structures of the administrations, the human resources and the availability of appropriate systems and tools. Performance with regard to implementation of cohesion policy is not equally spread and we are looking for ways to help Member States with weaker administrative capacity beyond the traditional scope of assistance in shared management”.

An interactive discussion on twitter will take place on Thursday 11th December 16:00 – 17:00 CET. Everyone is invited to join and share views on this topic.

A specific hashtag #EUAdCap will be used as it will be an open-ended one.  Additional comments and or suggestions are welcomed  even after the tweet chat.

The EPRC postgraduate community were once again represented at the Open Days in Brussels, with EPRC student Alba Smeriglio winning a place to attend the prestigious EU Open Days University Master Class, which ran from 5-8 October 2014 in Brussels... Expand

The EPRC postgraduate community were once again represented at the Open Days in Brussels, with EPRC student Alba Smeriglio winning a place to attend the prestigious EU Open Days University Master Class, which ran from 5-8 October 2014 in Brussels as part of the Open Days – European Week of Regions and Cities. The Open Days draws thousands of policy officials, practitioners and academics from across Europe and includes the Open Days University which presents new research on regional and urban development. Now its second year, the Master Class is run to improve the understanding of EU Cohesion Policy and its research potential among selected European postgraduate students and early-career researchers (ECRs), and is organised jointly by the Regional Studies Association, DG Regio and the Committee of the Regions. In addition to lectures on the latest developments in research on European regional and urban development and EU Cohesion Policy, the event enables postgraduates and ECRs meet with EU politicians, officials and senior academics in the field of European regional and urban development and policy and network with students from countries inside and outside the EU and with the wider EU policy and academic communities. Alba Smeriglio – who is undertaking a PhD on administrative capacity-building in Cohesion policy, funded by the European Investment Bank – was one of 30 students from throughout Europe participating in the Master Class. On behalf of the Regional Studies Association, John Bachtler contributed to the development of the Master Class programme, and coordinated a World Café debate among the students together with senior officials from DG Regio, DG Empl, DG Mare and the Committee of the Regions.

Contact: John Bachtler or Alba Smeriglio

Open Days University Masterclass 2014

On Monday 6^th June 2014, DG Regio hosted a workshop led by Hugh Goldsmith (Regio/E1 and EIB/PJ), Professor John Bachtler (Director at the European Policies Research Centre – EPRC) and Alba Smeriglio (Research Assistant and PhD at EPRC). The... Expand

On Monday 6^th June 2014, DG Regio hosted a workshop led by Hugh Goldsmith (Regio/E1 and EIB/PJ), Professor John Bachtler (Director at the European Policies Research Centre – EPRC) and Alba Smeriglio (Research Assistant and PhD at EPRC). The interactive workshop served to introduce the 3-year EIB University Research Sponsorship (EIBURS) “Administrative capacity-building and EU Cohesion policy” study, and represented a great opportunity for the research team to receive valuable feedback and suggestions from participants regarding the direction of the research.

Hugh Goldsmith kicked off the workshop by presenting an overview of the EIBURS programme before moving on to discuss the research topic. Key messages were that a central feature of the research would be its “operational usefulness”, which would be achieved by its progression alongside interventions to build capacity by Managing Authorities, European Commission and EIB, with a view to design better actions.

After introducing the EPRC and its two major research and knowledge exchange networks – namely IQ-Net and EoRPA – John Bachtler introduced the rationale for the study, research questions and methodology.

Alba Smeriglio presented the state of the art concerning the literature on administrative capacity-building and quality of government (QoG).

Finally, John concluded the presentation by discussing future challenges for administrative capacity in the 2014-20 programming period, priorities for the study and planned outcomes.

Contact: John Bachtler or Alba Smeriglio

Professor John Bachtler of EPRC and colleagues Professor Robert Thomson and Dr Fabrizio de Francesco of the School of Government & Public Policy and Dr Karol Olejniczak (University of Warsaw) have been awarded a 300,000 Euro University Research Scholarship by the... Expand

Professor John Bachtler of EPRC and colleagues Professor Robert Thomson and Dr Fabrizio de Francesco of the School of Government & Public Policy and Dr Karol Olejniczak (University of Warsaw) have been awarded a 300,000 Euro University Research Scholarship by the European Investment Bank for research on Administrative Capacity Building in Europe. This is the first EIB University Research Scholarship to be awarded to a university in Scotland and only the third in the UK. The three-year grant will be used to investigate differences in administrative capacity for implementing EU policies across Europe, focusing on the EU’s Cohesion policy. The research will contribute to the wider debate on the influence of ‘good governance’ on economic and social outcomes in Europe, and how the capacity of national, regional and local government to design and implement effective policies can be improved.

Contact: John Bachtler