Annex 7 - Public Consultation

• Author: Cambridge Econometrics, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission), Eurocentre, ICF
• Pages: 466-526

Study supporting the evaluation promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any

discrimination by the European Social Fund (Thematic Objective 09)

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ANNEX 7 – PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Executive Summary

This report p resents the resul ts of the public consultation on h ow the E uropean Social

Fund (ESF) promotes social inclusion and combats poverty and discrimination (Thematic

Objective 9 (TO9)). The public consultation ran from 26 September to 19 December

2019 and received a total of 574 replies.

The results of the public consultation are presented taking into accoun t different types

of respondents: organisations not aware of ESF; organisations aware of ESF but not

playing a direct role in the delivery; organisations directly i nvolved i n the delivery of

ESF; persons having received ESF support; persons awa re of the ESF but not having

received support; and persons not aware of the ESF.

This analysis focuses on the five criteria defined for the evaluation of ESF TO9

interventions: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Coherence, and EU added value. The

key findings related to these evaluation criteria are presented below.

Key findings - Relevance

The majority of respondents agree that the European Union should be involved in

the promotion of social inclusion, in combating poverty and any discrimination.

ESF actions aimi ng at getting people into employment were most frequently deemed

relevant among all the respondents, regardl ess of their extent of their kn owledge of or

experience with ESF.

Two-thirds o f the respondents who indicated having received ESF support mentioned

having participated in ESF actions focused on training and education or on information

and guidance in job searching.

Most of the resp ondents who answered on behal f of organisations directly invol ved in

ESF delivery indicated that the support actions they provide are directed at people

unemployed for 12 months or more. A significant share of respondent s within this type

indicated that the support actions they provide are also directed at people with a

disability.

The review of position papers suggests that ESF Thematic Objective 9 is overall deemed

to have an ap propriate remit, supporting actions addressing social inclusion and anti -

discrimination issues which are as relevant today as they were i n 2014.

Key findings - Effectiveness

Overall, the large majority of respondents believe that all ESF actions are either very

useful or mostly useful.

Most respondents indicated that these actions brought about changes related to jobs for

participants, i mproved soft skills, increased self-confidence of participants, as well as

greater awareness of social inclusion poverty and discrimination issues.

Partnerships between Managing Authorities and NGOs and targeted or indivi dualised

support actions are some of the main factors identified as contributors to the success of

ESF actions.

Nearly all the respondents who indicated having received ESF support mentioned th at

their expectations from participati ng in ESF activities had either been partially or fully

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discrimination by the European Social Fund (Thematic Objective 09)

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met. Expectations mo st frequently related to obtaining better job cond itions, finding a

job or being actively included in society.

Key findings - Efficiency

On average, most respondents believe that the different activities implemented with

the European Social Fund are cost-eff ective (the resources invested were

proportionate to the results achieved), in particular activities related to: basic skills

training; training and education, information, guidance, tutoring in the search for a job;

and internships, traineeships to learn a trade.

Most organisations with a role in the delivery of ESF indicate direct, practical and

individualised support followed by flexible an d multidimensional support, as well as

support for integration to employment as the most cost- effective.

Several factors have also been identified as contributing to inefficiency, in particular the

so-called ‘creaming’ effects гprojects focusi ng on achieving set targets rather than r eal

social change), as well as the standardisation and rigidity of ESF delivery structures and

timeframes.

Key findings - Coherence

Overall, the ESF actions promoting social inclusion combating poverty or

combating discrimination programme are seen as coherent with other

schemes, in particular with national, regional or local prog rammes.

Regarding EU schemes, Erasmus+ was most frequently identified as complementing and

reinforcing ESF acti ons promoting social inclusion or combating poverty and

discrimination.

A trend noticeable in the review of position papers is that there will be scope under

ESF+ to further streng then coherence with the European Pillar of Social Rights (on

access to education and sustainable empl oyment) and with Interreg (on social

innovation).

Key findings - EU added value

An overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that one of the advantages of

having European Union interventions promoting social inclusion combating

poverty or combating di scrimination that more could be done than with

national or local resources only.

More than half also thought that ESF interventi ons allow for the coverage of new social

issues or the testing of new social services. V ery few respondents thought that ESF or

even EU-supported interventions do not make a difference in terms of promoting social

inclusion or combating poverty and discrimination.

Overall conclusion

The replies to the public consultation suggest that ESF support for TO9 has positive

value for a wide range of stakeholders including persons and organisations not aware

of the ESF to persons and organisations aware of th e ESF and involved in i ts delivery.

ESF actions are generally considered to be effective and offer value for money that could

not be generated by national or local resources. At the sam e time, the replies to the

public consultation highlight areas of concern and where potenti al improvements could

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discrimination by the European Social Fund (Thematic Objective 09)

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be made to the ESF, for example, 'creaming' effects that hinder the efficiency of actions

and the scope for greater coherence with the European Pillar of Social Ri ghts.

Introduction

The European Social Fund гESFд is the European Union’s main instrument available i n

EU countries for promotin g social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination,

also referred as thematic Objective nine (TO9).

As part of the study supporting the eval uation of ESF TO9, a public consultation was

carried out to obtain meaningful information and fe edback from all stakeholders of the

ESF in the EU countries, as well as from the wid er public, on the effects and impacts of

the instrument in terms of promoting social inclusion and combating poverty and

discrimination.

The public consultation aims to feed into the evaluation study in the sense that its results

contribute to informing the European Commission on the performance of ESF operations

for the period 2014-2018 – supporting the information collected from secondary sources

– while providing insights on whether and how ESF support can be improved to address

social inclusion, the fight against poverty and anti-discrimination issues even more

effectively. As such, the public consultation addresses the five evaluation criteria as

those defined for the main evaluation study. More specifically, respondents to the public

consultation were asked to express their views on:

 Relevance: the extent to wh ich the issues ESF TO9 seeks to address around social

inclusion, poverty and discrimination still deserve attention today.

 Effectiveness: the extent to which ESF TO9 has achieved its objectives of promoting

social inclusion, and of combating poverty and discrimination.

 Efficiency: the e xtent to whi ch the resources used by ESF TO9 a re commensurate

with the objectives achieved

 Coherence: the extent to whi ch the actions supported u nder ESF TO9 complement

and streng then thos e of other programmes (EU o r nati onal) in the field of social

inclusion, anti-poverty and anti-discrimination

 EU added value: the extent to which the contribution of ESF TO9 adds to actions

taken by EU Member States in terms of promoting social inclusion, and of combating

poverty and discrimination.

To that effect, respondents to the public consultation were asked both closed (single or

multiple-choice) questions and open (or free text) questions.

The public consultation questionnaire was designed to account for the knowledge and

experiences of different organisa tion types and individuals involved in ESF TO9 at all

levels: from the management of Operational Programmes (i.e. Managing Authorities) to

participation in ESF-funded project acti vities (i.e. individual beneficiaries of ESF

support). In line with the Better Regulation Guidelines, this public consultation also

sought the views of other interested parties not having been involved in ESF TO9, i .e.

organisations of all types and the general public.