The Logic of Intervention and Indicators for the ESF

The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) supported DG EMPL on methods for establishing links between ESF Operational Programmes and Europe 2020.

TIHR developed logics of intervention and indicators for Member States and Managing Authorities to demonstrate a clear link between regional and national needs, ESF activities and the overall Europe 2020 targets.

The study developed:

• methodologies for establishing logics of intervention between ESF activities and overall EU policies;
• logics of intervention for selected Operational Programmes across three policy areas (access to employment, social inclusion and institutional capacity and governance);
• common output and result indicators on ESF activities.

Context

The next structural funding programming period runs from 2014 to 2020. There will be an emphasis on ESF Operational Programmes to demonstrate a clear community added value (CAV). This means that Managing Authorities will have to be able to demonstrate a clear link between ESF activities and the Europe 2020 agenda of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Methodology

The study team worked with EC officials and a cross-country working group with MA representatives from 15 Member States. The working group was presented with draft intervention logic tables and indicators over the course of four workshops. The workshops aimed to engage participants actively in the development of tables and indicators by a combination of small and large group work. The study team also tested the intervention logic tables across selected Operational Programmes. The indicators are reflected in the draft ESF regulation for the 2014-2020 programming period.

Impact

The study proposed a number of tables for Managing Authorities to use for creating links between regional needs, Operational Programmes and Europe 2020 and a total of 20 output and results indicators to support this. The indicators can contribute to estimating the Community Added Value of Operational Programmes, because they indicate numbers of people reached by interventions. The indicators and intervention tables can also be used to feed into evaluation of Operational Programmes.Download a PDF of the final report: ‘Developing logics of intervention and related common indicators for the next ESF Operational Programmes’