Workshop 4: Using the EU
Structural Funds to support
Independent Living
Ines Bulic
European Network on Independent Living
Strasbourg Freedom Drive, 9 Sept 2013
What are the Structural Funds?
• Financial tools to implement the EU’s regional policy
• Convergence objective, Regional Competitiveness and
Employment Objective and European Territorial Cooperation
• Aim to reduce regional disparities within the EU
• All regions are eligible for funding, but the poorer ones
receive the most support
• Relevant funds – European Social Fund, European Regional
Development Fund, European Agricultural and Rural
Development Fund
• Current programming period 2007 – 2013, next period 2014
– 2020
• 2007 – 2013 – 347bn EUR – 201bn ERDF and 76bn ESF
Using EU Structural Funds to
support Independent Living
MS can use the European Social Fund (ESF) to support:
• Development of services, including early
intervention, family support, foster care, personal
assistance, rehabilitation, community-based
residential support, independent living schemes
and supported employment
• Management of the change process
• Development of a qualified workforce, including
retraining institutional care staff
MS can use the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) to support:
• Targeted investments in mainstream health and
social infrastructure, education, housing and
specialised services where necessary
ERDF should not be used:
• For building, renovation or modernisation of longstay residential institutions
Regulatory framework 2007 - 2013
• General Regulation
Article 16 – non-discrimination
• Fund specific Regulations
ESF to support actions “reinforcing the social inclusion of
disadvantaged people with a view to their sustainable
integration in employment and combating all forms of
discrimination in the labour market”.
ERDF to support “investments in health and social
infrastructure which contribute to regional and local
development and increasing the quality of life”.
This is not reflected in how Structural
Funds are used
• In Romania, 29 MEUR SF used to renovate 39 existing
institutions (2007 – 2013)
• In Slovakia, more than 185 MEUR SF invested in
renovating or constructing 130 institutions with 50+
residents (2008 – 2010)
• In Bulgaria, plans to build 149 “small group homes” for
12 – 14 children each
• In Hungary, SF can be used to build institutions for up
to 50 people
Lessons learned
• Lack of clear direction on developing alternatives to
institutional care
• Residential institutions reconstructed, expanded and
built
• Restrictive interpretations of the rules for Structural
Funds
• Barriers to the development of community services
• Lack of transparency
• Poor monitoring and evaluation
• Barriers faced by smaller to mid-size NGOs when
applying for SF
What next? Programming
period 2014-2020
• European Commission’s proposals for
Common Provisions Regulation and fund
specific Regulations
• Currently negotiated by the European
Commission, the European Council and the
European Parliament – the so-called trialogue
• To be negotiated by the end of 2013
Clearer objectives
• Supporting structural change in the health
and social care systems
• Combining investments into infrastructure
with workforce development and improving
mainstream services
• Supporting sustainable reforms
• Promoting social innovation
• Simplified rules
New regulatory framework 2014-2020
Common Provisions Regulation
Thematic objectives
Fund specific regulations (ERDF and ESF)
Investment priorities
Common Strategic Framework
Key actions
Common Provisions Regulation
• Objective on promoting social inclusion and combating
poverty
• Need to comply with EU and national law (i.e. UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
• Prevention of discrimination
Ex ante conditionalities
•Thematic – strategy for a shift from residential to
community-based care
•General – mechanism to ensure effective
implementation of UN CRPD
Fund specific regulations
• “Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty”
an investment priority
• Explicit reference to transition from institutional to
community-based care
• Principles of equal opportunities and nondiscrimination
•
Opportunities for civil society
involvement
Partnership contracts

ESF and ERDF Operational Programmes

Questions and indicators for the
selection of projects to be funded by SF
Monitoring
Evaluations
Toolkit on the use of EU Funds
Main principles
and the legal
context
Programming
stage
Implementation
Monitoring and
evaluation
• What we mean
by DI
• Human rights
argument for DI
• Potential of EU
funds
• Current
regulations 20072013
• Draft regulations
2014-2020
• Checklist for
Partnership
contracts
• Indicative list of
actions for ESF
and ERDF
• Output and
result indicators
for ESF and ERDF
• Operational
Programmes
checklists
• Checklist for the
selection of
projects
• Checklist for
monitoring
• Lessons learned
2007-2013
• Checklist for
evaluations
Practical exercise
Operational Programmes ERDF and ESF “Employment,
Education and Social Inclusion” of a EU country for the
period 2014-2020
• Identification of needs
• List of actions
• Indicators
Questions
• What infrastructure is needed in your
country/region to support Independent Living?
• What support services are needed in your
country/region to facilitate Independent Living?
• What list of actions would you propose to be
included in the Operational Programmes?
• Which indicators can be used to measure if the
Structural Funds are supporting Independent
Living?
Useful publications
• Toolkit on the Use of European Union Funds for
the Transition from Institutional to Communitybased Care, November 2012
• Getting a Life: Living Independently and Being
Included in the Community (legal analysis of SF
potential to contribute to achievement of Article
19 of the UN CRPD), May 2012
• The European Union and the Right to Community
Living: SF and the EU Obligations under the UN
CRPD, May 2012
Contact details
Ines Bulic
ines.bulic@enil.eu
Thank you!