13 April 2006 - Publication of DWP research report Update to the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Community Support Framework for England/Gibraltar, Scotland and Wales
This report draws together the main findings from the evaluations of European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 3 in England and Gibraltar, Scotland and Wales. ESF Objective 3 aims to support Member States’ employment and training strategies. The report provides an overview of how effectively Objective 3 has been delivered across Great Britain subsequent to the mid-term evaluation report (December 2003). Over 2.5 million people have been supported by Objective 3 across Great Britain. The report indicates that it is not possible to provide an assessment of the overall impact of Objective 3, but it appears to be having a substantial impact in terms of improving participants’ employability and helping them achieve employment.
- All three country programmes have made progress since the mid-term evaluation in increasing the number of beneficiaries and, where appropriate, re-balancing programmes to ensure that targets are more likely to be met.
- Considerable progress has been made across the Objective 3 programme in developing models of project management, delivery, monitoring and review that take account of the varied nature of beneficiary groups.
- The varied nature of projects, the heterogeneity of beneficiary groups and the specific local labour market and institutional circumstances within which Objective 3 projects operate mean that there can be no one model or template for successful project management that will lead to jobs.
- Moreover, the nature of Objective 3 necessitates a wide variety of project activities that need to be managed in different ways. In this respect, drawing upon good practice and lessons learned from the EQUAL programme may be of real value.
- The report points to a need for a clear focus on specific groups of inactive and disadvantaged beneficiaries where ESF can continue to add value to and complement national policies and programming. Programmes need to reflect the difficulties involved in identifying and engaging some groups of inactive and disadvantaged beneficiaries.
The report will inform project activity during the remainder of the 2000-06 ESF programmes in England, Scotland and Wales. In all three programmes, there has been an increasing focus on tackling economic inactivity since the ESF mid-term review in 2004. The report will also inform the development of 2007-13 ESF programmes.
Notes to Editors
- ‘Update to the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Community Support Framework for England/Gibraltar, Scotland and Wales’ (Report 321) is published on the DWP website: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep321.pdf
- The European Social Fund is an EU fund which supports employment and training
projects in the Member States. About £3 billion of ESF Objective 3
funding is available in Great Britain in 2000-06. The funding supports the
following priorities:
- helping unemployed and inactive people into work;
- providing opportunities for people at a disadvantage in the labour market;
- promoting lifelong learning;
- developing the skills of employed people; and
- improving women’s participation in the labour market.
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