Cohesion or Confusion: A Policy Searching for Objectives

Begg, Iain

doi:10.1080/07036330903375115

Cited by 67 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The idea of territorial competition is also used by states and the European Commission as a way of disengaging from difficult distributive issues and exploiting the positive connotations of competition in the modern era. European spatial policy is increasingly justified by a rhetoric of competitiveness (Begg [2010]), even to the paradoxical recommendation, inspired by the work of Porter (2001) that all regions should become more competitive although logically this is impossible.…”

Section: Coordinate Cooperative and Competitive Federalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europe as a multilevel federation

Keating

2017

Journal of European Public Policy

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European federalism must be conceived at multiple levels, not just that of the state and the EU. A regional level has emerged below and across the states, as a result of spatial rescaling: the migration of functional systems, political change and the institutionalization of the regional level. The sub-state region remains a contested space, both as to its territorial boundary and its control. The EU itself has used the regional level for the framing and implementation of its own policies. Regional politics are characterized by inter-regional competition. Demands for recognition and autonomy from below have added another dimension. There is not a uniform regional level of politics or policy but a variety of constructions of the region. Federalism helps us understand this changing dynamic, if it is seen not as a specific form of government but as a general principle of order, combining unity with diversity.

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Section: Coordinate Cooperative and Competitive Federalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europe as a multilevel federation

Keating

2017

Journal of European Public Policy

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“…However, the effectiveness of EU Cohesion Policy has been strongly criticized, especially by some richer member states. Begg (2010) calls Cohesion Policy ‘a policy searching for objectives', and emphasizes the confusion created by different, often competing yet incompatible policy goals.…”

Section: Evaluating European Union Structural Fundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical Perspectives on Approaches to Policy Evaluation in the Eu: The Case of Cohesion Policy

Hoerner

Stephenson

2012

Public Administration

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Cohesion Policy accounts for the largest area of expenditure in the EU budget. Because of its scope and redistributive nature, evaluation is particularly important. Policy analysis tends to overlook the evaluation stage. Few empirical studies seek to apply theory to EU policy evaluation. This article questions the relevance and usefulness of theorizing evaluation practice, exploring positivist, realist, and constructivist perspectives upon approaches to evaluating Structural Funds Programmes. It illustrates how political science theories can provide scholars with useful insights into the way EU policy evaluation is carried out. It develops a toolkit for analyzing real‐world approaches to evaluation and then applies it to three separate Cohesion Policy programmes. The analysis shows how, from a theoretical perspective – and contrary to the mixed methods rhetoric of the European Commission – positivism remains the dominant approach when evaluating the Structural Funds and considers why this is so, identifying the ability to demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness, cost, influence, and evaluation culture as key characteristics.

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“…A major goal of these efforts is to strengthen the scientific capabilities of these cohesion regions through various instruments focused on scientific research infrastructures, network development and knowledge transfer (Musyck and Reid 2007;Begg 2010). In doing so, cohesion policy intends to support structural conditions that facilitate participation in ERA.…”

Section: Era and Stratificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, the intended geographical effects of these efforts are uncertain and the abstract nature of the vision masks the fact that there are trade-offs between more specific objectives defined under the heading of ERA policy. For instance, there has been much concern that competitive research policies compromise the cohesion objective of the European Union (Sharp 1998;Begg 2010) as those policies are not intended to intervene in the European scientific and technological landscape at large, but to bundle resources with the purpose of supporting collaborative efforts between 'excellent' researchers in a few strategic scientific fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximity and Stratification in European Scientific Research Collaboration Networks: A Policy Perspective

Hoekman

Frenken

2013

The Geography of Networks and R&D Collaborations

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In this chapter we introduce a framework to understand the geography of scientific research collaboration with an emphasis on empirical studies that evaluate the policy efforts to create a 'European Research Area' (ERA). We argue that the geography of scientific research collaboration follows a logic of proximity that provides researchers with solutions to the problem of coordination, and a logic of stratification that provides researchers with differential means to engage in collaboration. The policy efforts to create ERA can then be understood as strategic policy interventions at the European level that affect the form and nature of both structuring principles. More specifically, the aim of reducing 'fragmentation of research activities, programmes and policies' affects the importance of several forms of proximity vis-à-vis each other, while the promotion of 'research excellence' results in new forms of network stratification at multiple spatial scales. We provide an overview of recent empirical findings to illustrate these claims, and discuss potential implications for future ERA policies.

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Cohesion or Confusion: A Policy Searching for Objectives

Cited by 67 publications

References 25 publications

Europe as a multilevel federation

Europe as a multilevel federation

Theoretical Perspectives on Approaches to Policy Evaluation in the Eu: The Case of Cohesion Policy

Proximity and Stratification in European Scientific Research Collaboration Networks: A Policy Perspective

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