ESF becomes ESF+ for the new programming period 2021-2027. The New Structural Funds Regulations have been agreed recently and are to be printed officially in June 2021. How do the agreed new regulations differ from the EC proposed regulations, and the 2014-2020 regulations? What will your new ESF+ programmes look like and what is the impact of the health crisis?

This 3-day EIPA seminar examines these questions and assesses progress of new programmes. We will ask how you are identifying your spending priorities for your new programmes and what important lessons have been learnt from current and previous ESF programmes? We will consider some recent cases of good practice from around the EU.

EIPA experts will build on three 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:

• Country Specific Recommendations, Country Reports, recommendations of the European Pillar of Social Rights, Social Scoreboard
• strategy design, methods for selecting programme priorities and financial allocations
• choices for programme-specific indicators for ESF+ and how to prepare the new Performance Frameworks
• financial planning and flexibility for new programmes
• simplifying financial control and audit – expanding the use of simplified cost options and protecting the audit trail

How we work

The seminar will be led by highly experienced EIPA experts/consultants, Marco Lopriore and Robin Smail, who have been working with the ESF for more than 20 years. There will be a keynote intervention from the European Commission DG EMPL.

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