ΕΝ ΙΑΜΕΣΗ ΑΞΙΟΛΟΓΗΣΗ Π.Κ.Π. INTERREG IIIA/CARDS Ελλάδα- Πρώην Γιουγκοσλαβική ηµοκρατία της Μακεδονίας

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1 0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 0.1 Introduction The present Draft Final report refers to the Mid Term Evaluation of the INTERREG IIIA / CARDS Greece FYROM Programme for the period The 1 st chapter includes a brief description of the scope of the work and the project team, as well as the structure and organization of the present report. In the 2 nd Chapter the structure and key data of the Programme INTERREG IIIA / CARDS Greece FYROM, for the period , are briefly presented. The 3 nd Chapter includes the detailed evaluation of programme planning, namely the analysis of the Ex-ante Evaluation, the socio-economic environment, the actualization of SWOT analysis and assessment of the validity of Programme s strategy. The 4 th chapter includes the quantification and the revision of the specific objectives, as well as the recommendations concerning the revision of the Programme The 5th Chapter assess the efficiency of the Programme, and presents the forecasts for the progress of the Programme (until ) as well. In the 6 th Chapter the implementation, monitoring, managing and control mechanisms, are presented and evaluated. In the 7th and 8th Chapter the conclusions and the recommendations that arise from the Mid Term Evaluation, are presented. In Annex I methodological texts that describe in detail the methodological approach of the Mid Term Evaluation from the Consultant, are attached. 0.2 Programme Planning The planning of the Programme INTERREG IIIA / CARDS GREECE-FYROM, should be considered as satisfactory. The basic development philosophy and its strategy continue to be suitable, having incorporated the priorities of INTERREG IIIA, the priorities of CARDS and the general policies of European Community, as well. The internal synergy of the Programme is considered satisfactory. Despite some minor changes in the International and National environment of the participating countries from 2000 up to day, the SWOT analysis of the Programme, remains valid and support the priorities and the distribution of financial resources of the Programme. ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 5

2 Programme s strategy supports the opportunities of the eligible area and proposes the necessary measures to overcome the weaknesses In the Ex-ante Evaluation but also in the Programme Complement of INTERREG IIIA / PHARE CBC Greece-FYROM there are cases in which the placed objectives do not respond to the needs of the cross-border region as well as cases that, according to the latest data available, the Consultant appreciates that they would need to be updated or amended. The main reasons are the shortcomings of the initial bottom up process, as realized by the Regions, as also the important delays in the assessment of the Programme; therefore as first priority of the Programme has been placed its revision, in order to satisfy the objectives set. For the revision of the Programme, the update of its objectives and the redefinition of the indicators, it is needed to: Add, suppress or modify the actions of the Programme Modify the list of Final Beneficiaries of the Programme Add, suppress or modify the indicators of the Programme Update the quantification of the indicators of the Programme While the Programme INTERREG IIIA / CARDS Greece-FYROM constitutes a cross-country Programme supporting common projects of crosscountry collaboration, it is not financed by a common means of financing. The fact that the Greek side is financed by ERDF and the side of FYROM from CARDS, creates difficulties in the implementation and monitoring of the Programme, mainly due to the differences of the legal framework of the two means of financing which in turn affect the eligibility criteria, project duration and size, the exchange of information etc, as well. The activation of the New Neighbourhood Instrument, is expected to improve the cooperation between the different financial means and also to face the existing weaknesses concerning the implementation of the Programme. 0.3 Programme Implementation Regarding the progress of the Programme up to , it must be pointed out that although more than a year from its start, has passed it substantially has not begun. More specifically, up to the Programme INTERREG IIIA / ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 6

3 CARDS Greece-FYROM had presented low activation but no financial absorption or progress. As a result of this delay, the Programme lies well behind from the initial annual financing planning. The delays in the activation of the Programme are due to respective of delays in the required processes, which are summarised in the following: The Managing Authority of the Programme INTERREG IIIA / CARDS Greece FYROM, which handles 12 more Programmes of INTERREG III, was only founded in the middle of 2002 through the ministerial decision /196 on 13 June 2002 Further delays, have been occurred during the recruitment of the Technical Secretariats. This task was completed on and respectively. On 13 June 2002 (ΚΥΑ / ΙΟΕ 196/ ), the first core of the Managing Authority was established, which, however, presented considerable lacks of human resources. The Managing Authority was constituted by only 9 persons, despite the fact that the abovementioned decision anticipates 35 persons. Within 2002,the personnel of the Managing Authority reduced to 7. In 2003 the staff of the Managing Authority has been raised by 8 persons, reaching 15 persons. The amount of the present staff is still insufficient to handle the procedures which are necessary for the immediate activation of the Programme, taking into consideration that the Managing Authority is responsible for the management of 13 Programmes. Moreover, that there is a general lack of executives in the market, regarding the actions of cross-border collaboration. The large number and the diversity of the final beneficiaries of the Programme, has created additional needs for further information, a process which however is in particularly primary stage, due to the fact that the Publicity Action Plan has not been activated. Main problem from the FYROM side, is the lack of the national financing participation in the Programme, which further complicates the implementation and realization of common projects. ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 7

4 The programming process aims to achieve a unified cross border development strategy treating the whole geographical area on both sides of the border as a single economic entity. This created further needs of briefing and information of the final beneficiaries, since the determination of the crossborder character as a concept of each proposed project, should become sufficiently comprehensive. Additional difficulties for the smooth implementation of the Programme are caused by the inconsistencies identified in the Programme Complement (e.g action categories, financing tables and final beneficiaries). An important problem is also the non activation of CARDS, up to day. 0.4 Evaluation of the implementation, monitoring, managing and control mechanisms Monitoring Committee The role, the duties and the responsibilities of the Monitoring Committee are explicitly defined and their application is considered satisfactory. The synthesis of the Monitoring Committee is representative of the institutions that participate in the Programme and of their role in this, as well. It is noted that, since the national financial participation of FYROM in the Programme has not been ensured at present, the representatives of FYROM participate in the Committee without having the right to vote. This fact affects to the cross-border character of Programme and intensifies the necessity of activation of CARDS Steering Committee The role, the duties and the responsibilities of the Steering Committee are explicitly defined and their application is considered satisfactory. The synthesis of the Steering Committee is representative of the institutions that participate in the Programme and of their role in this, as well. ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 8

5 It is noted that, since the national financial participation of FYROM in the Programme has not been ensured at present, the representatives of FYROM participate in the Committee without having the right to vote. This fact affects to the cross-border character of Programme and intensifies the necessity of activation of CARDS Managing Authority As it has been already analyzed in the previous chapter, the recruitment of the Managing Authorities of INTERREG III Programmes is considered numerically insufficient for the importance of the undertaken task which concerns thirteen Programmes. Taking into consideration the delays in the implementation of the Programme and the necessity to catch up, it should be emphasized that the MA should work with faster pace than the initially planned. That would require not only the immediate recruitment of the MA with the anticipated personnel, but also with personnel of such quality and experience that would immediately meet the needs of the undertaken task. A further problem is the poor communication between MA and the Final Beneficiaries that results to the lack of proper information of the final beneficiaries which in turn causes delays in the specialisation of the Measures and the implementation of the Programme. Shortcomings are presented in the collaboration between MA and the Technical Secretariats; the latter having shown low degree of activation. The maximisation of activation of Technical Secretariats should be useful for the successful implementation of the Programme, since it should be the natural extension of MA in the Region and moreover as residing in the Region, should easier to collaborate with the Final Beneficiaries and with the crossborder partner as well, since the MA attends the progress of undertaken projects. The insufficient collaboration between the MA and the cross-border partner, mainly in the level of middle management, consists another significant shortcoming of the Programme. This collaboration is considered essential for the Programme because of its cross-border character and refers to the continuous cooperation between executives having the same responsibilities, ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 9

6 aiming to the best possible validation of the Programme resources and also to the establishment of confidence and good collaboration between them. The absence of internal regulation for the operation of MA, is important, that is why MA proceeds with the elaboration of an internal regulation of operation, which will result to the smoother operation of the MA and consequently to greater effectiveness Given the time lag in the Programme implementation, the revision of the Programme is needed. The choice of implementation Institution for the Measure 2.1 "Aid to business activities", the determination of the aproval s criteria for the actions of the Programme, the mobilization of the Technical Secretariats, the thorough information of the Final Beneficiaries and the establishment of communication with the cross-border partner should be the immediate priorities of MA The elaboration of a market research in the eligible regions, aiming at the more accurate determination of needs of these regions for the revision of Measure 2.1 "Aid to business activities", is proposed Technical Secretariat As it has been already mentioned, the role of Technical Secretariat in the Programme is particularly important for the successful implementation of the Programme. Nevertheless the activation of its role has not achieved the desirable degree, yet. The elaboration of pre-evaluation of the actions to be included in the Programme by the Technical Secretariats is expected to contribute to the acceleration of the Programme s further activation and progress. The embedment of the Technical Secretariats in the managing authority of the regional OP, results in an important additional work load and particularities, because of its cross-border character, for the managing authorities of regional OP. It is noted that according to the relevant decisions, the change of personnel in the managing authorities of Regions of Central Macedonia and Western Macedonia concerns the increase at the level of three (3) individuals of category of Academic education and one (1) individual of category of Technological education, in each Region. The additional personnel is considered insufficient, to respond to the two roles that the MA of ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 10

7 the Regions have to execute, which are MA of the Regions and Technical Secretariats of the INTERREG IIIA Greece FYROM Programme Recommendations General The revision of the Programme, has critical importance for its implementation, in order to cover the shortcomings of the initial planning at this level. The actions that will come up from this update must reflect the real needs of the eligible region and the targets should correspond to the budget of Measures and the annual forecasted (expected) absorption. For this reason but also because of the Programme delay, the financing tables of Programme should have to be revised. The immediate activation of all the institutions related to the Programme, the determination of the role of institutions where it is not clear and the continuous communication between them are necessary. It is noted that the role of Technical Secretariat and its effective collaboration with the MA are particularly important for the success of the Programme. Therefore the re-consideration of the embedment of the Technical Secretariats to the Managing Authorities of Regional Programmes and their action as a local department of MA should contribute to the effective implementation of the Programme. Continuous contact of MA with the cross-border partner, in order to timely identify and solve problems and to organize and schedule the issues of the Programme, avoiding further delays. Continuous contact between the MA and the Final Beneficiaries for the smooth and regular implementation of the Programme. Completion of the internal regulation for MA operation. The catching up of the delays in the implementation of the Programme, presupposes increased activation in the organizational sector. For this reason, the assistance of the managing authority from a Consultant, is proposed. Immediate activation of all the Measures of the Programme Completion of the staffing of the managing authority Immediate implementation of the Action Plan for Publicity ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 11

8 0.5.2 Measure 1.1: "Transport Infrastructures and cross-border networks" The immediate activation of the Measure, should be an important priority for the MA, taking into consideration the importance of this Measure for the Programme and the existence of projects proposed in the CP having the necessary maturity Measure 1.2: "Improvement of external borders security" Measure 2.1: "Aid to business activities" Due to the fact that this Measure is addressed to Final Beneficiaries, who have a lower degree of familiarization with the Community Programmes than the Final Beneficiaries of the other Measures, while also the interpretation of the determination of cross-bording may create additional problems, the Consultant proposes the publication of a guide, for their information and guidance, so that the proposed projects would be in accordance with the Programme A market research, aiming at the precise determination of needs in the eligible regions should be necessary in order to overcome the shortcomings of the initial bottom up process. The selection of Institutions through which, the Measure will be implemented should be the immediate priority for the MA, since it is considered to be crusial for the on-time implementation of the Measure. Revision of financing table, according to the chapter Measure 2.2: "Development of alternative forms of tourism/ Promotion of cultural and tourist resources" ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 12

9 0.5.6 Measure 2.3: "Human resources and fostering of employment" Measure 3.1: "Improvement of Quality of Life" Unification of Measures 3.1 and 3.3 (Protection, Promotion and Management of natural environment), according to chapters and Measure 3.2: "Health Protection" Measure 3.3: "Protection, Promotion and Management of natural environment" Unification of Measures 3.3 and 3.1 (Improvement of quality of life), according to chapters in and Immediate elaboration of the necessary Environmental Management plans by the responsible Environmental Agencies Measure 3.4: "Cooperation of educational institutions for the promotion of cross-border collaboration" Measure 4.1: "Management of programme" Great emphasis should be given from the MA to the management of the Programme, since the proper use of this Measure can considerably help in the catching up of delays in the implementation of the Programme Measure 4.2: "Technical Support" Great emphasis should be given from the MA to the Technical Support of Programme, since the proper use of this Measure can considerably help in the catching up of delays in the implementation of the Programme, especially by helping the Final Beneficiaries. ΕΕΟ GROUP Α.Ε.- GLOBAL VIEW A.E. 13