Structural and cohesion funds/ESIF

The New ESF+ Regulations and Programmes 2021-2027

What does your new ESF+ Programme 2021-2027 look like? Are you confident that you will reach your target groups and spend the entire budget in the best way possible? Will you be able to achieve and demonstrate clear programme successes and measurable results? What are the challenges you will face to ensure that all spending is eligible and the audit trail is protected?

About this course

What does your new ESF+ Programme 2021-2027 look like? Are you confident that you will reach your target groups and spend the entire budget in the best way possible? Will you be able to achieve and demonstrate clear programme successes and measurable results? What are the challenges you will face to ensure that all spending is eligible and the audit trail is protected?

This 3-day EIPA course examines these questions and assesses the state of new programmes. We will ask whether you have a strong and adaptable project pipeline? We will ask what lessons have been learnt from current and previous ESF programmes? We will consider some recent cases of good practice from around the EU in the areas of programme and financial management.

EIPA experts will build on a series of successful EIPA seminar-workshops recently delivered under contract to the Flanders Region, the Brussels Capital Region, and the Wallonie region – assisting them with the preparation of a new generation of ESF+ programmes.

What you will learn?

Key elements include:

  • What priorities and financial allocations for your programmes stem from Country Specific Recommendations and Country Reports?
  • The relevance of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU Social Scoreboard
  • How best to coordinate of Structural Funds programmes and projects with RRF activities in the social area
  • Use of programme-specific indicators for ESF+ and how to use the new Performance Frameworks
  • financial planning and flexibility in new programmes
  • simplifying financial control and audit – expanding the use of simplified cost options and protecting the audit trail

How we work

The course will be led by highly experienced EIPA experts/consultants, Marco Lopriore and Robin Smail, who have been working with the ESF for more than 30 years. There will be keynote interventions from the Lithuanian ESF+ Agency, and from a former head of a Managing Authority in Slovakia, looking at innovations in new programmes and lessons learnt from previous programmes.

We aim to make the course as interactive as possible. Participants will have ample opportunity to exchange views informally on the course topics. Workshops will be used to help participants get to grips with practical tools and methodologies.

Who will benefit most?

This webinar is aimed principally at:

  • practitioners from Member State national, regional and local authorities working with ESF
  • the full range of economic and social partners working with the Funds – including universities, NGOs, employers’ associations, consultants.

Online Course
For this online course we make use of Zoom

Programme Organiser
Ms Rafaella Giussani
Tel: +31 43 32 96 372
r.giussani@eipa.eu

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged € 50 for cancellations received within 7 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 1 week before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed.

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Our experts

robin smail new photo 2024
Project leader

Robin Smail

Robin Smail Training & Consultancy

Programme

08.45Opening of ZOOM platform, welcome of participants
09.00Opening of the course, methodology of the course, Tour de Table
Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA, Maastricht, Netherlands
09.15Building an Inclusive Europe: policy context and key themes for the European Social Fund+

  • The key elements of the ESF+ Regulation
  • European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), youth and child guarantee, EU social scoreboard, link to the Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Transnational cooperation, capacity building for social partners and civil society
  • ESF+ and the Just Transition Fund (JTF)

Marco Lopriore

10.00Short Break
10.15Discussion: ESF+ priorities and financial allocations
10.35New ESF+ Programmes 2021-2027

  • programme structure, priorities, links to CSRs
  • specific objectives and financial allocations
  • preparing the ground: instruments & methods, Enabling Conditions, Concentration rules
  • financial flexibilities
  • the new Programme template

Robin Smail, EIPA Visiting Expert and Consultant (former national expert, EC)

11.20Coffee Break
11.35New ESF+ Programmes 2021-2027 (contd.)

  • strengthening the ESF+ project pipeline, project selection
  • programme performance, achieving results for ESF+

Robin Smail

12.10Discussion: Lessons learnt from previous periods and issues for new ESF+ programmes
12.30ESF+ synergies with RRF and other EU funds; good practice cases

  • New delivery modes for ESF+, portfolio approach,
  • Grants and financial instruments in ESF+
  • ESF+ and the demarcation issues, synergies and complementarities with RRF

Marco Lopriore

13.15End of first day
13.00Opening of the platform
13.15Review of day 1
13.20Workshop: Overview of ESF+ choices on use of the  Programme Template for Simplified Cost Options – Annex V, Section 8 and Appendix 1
13.35Extending Simplified Cost Options in 2021-2027

  • Review of key SCO options for ESF+ programmes
  • Gold-plating examples in ESF
  • Flat-rate for technical assistance: lessons from ESF
  • Audit and control of SCO

Marco Lopriore

14.20Workshops: Result orientation in ESF+ and Simplified Cost Options in 2021-2027

Marco Lopriore

15.00Coffee break and meet guest speaker
15.20ESF Social Innovation+ Initiative

  • Implementing Social Innovation+
  • Social innovation grant scheme
  • European Competence Center for Social Innovation; Communities of Practice
  • Q&A

Neringa Poškutė, Head of Department, Social Innovation and International Initiatives, Lithuanian European Social Fund Agency

16.10Short break
16.20Financial Management of ESF+ for 2021-2027

  • programme finance, co-finance rates, pre-financing, automatic decommitment
  • payment applications, the accounting year
  • Transmission of financial information; programme closure
  • Financial Control and Audit changes

Robin Smail

17.10End of second day
08.45Opening of the platform
09.00Monitoring and reporting requirements

  • Changes for the new 2021-2027 period
  • Real time reporting – financial and physical indicators
  • The New Performance Framework and the OP template
  • The new Reporting template

Robin Smail

09.50Workshop: programme-specific indicators for ESF+
10.20Coffee Break, meet the guest speaker
10.40Challenges for the Project Pipeline in Slovakia

  • The extent of the challenge: key issues, working with stakeholders, administration, financial management
  • Addressing the needs of marginalised Roma communities
  • Measuring progress and success – results and evaluation

Dr. Zuzana Poláčková, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, and former Head of ESF Managing Authority, Ministry of Labour, Bratislava (SK)

11.20Social Inclusion Case study: Supporting the Roma communities in Slovakia

Dr. Zuzana Poláčková

11.40Short break
11.50Eligibility of Expenditure

  • Key changes in ESF+: Highlight on direct staff costs, VAT, horizontal principles gender/equal opportunities, visibility
  • European Code of Conduct on Partnership and ESF+
  • Eligibility of ESF+ participants
  • State aid in ESF+

Marco Lopriore

12.20Workshop: ESF+ challenges / no-go areas
12.40Workshop: what do we need to evaluate? Evaluation questions
13.00Evaluation requirements, measuring success

  • The Evaluation Plan, preparing the ground for ESF evaluation
  • Evaluation criteria, measuring impact

Robin Smail 

13.15Evaluation of online course
13.20End of the course

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The New ESF+ Regulations and Programmes 2021-2027

7 Jun 2023 - 9 Jun 2023
Online
Register before: 31 May 2023

Simultaneous interpretation can be offered. Contact the programme organizer for more information and conditions.

 700 per attendee
 630 for EIPA members
Registration closed

Discount policy

EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?

Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount

For a limited number of training courses, EIPA offers an early bird discount.

For more information please contact us.

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Register before: 31 May 2023
Registration closed