This week has been an important week for preparation for the next generation of EU funding programmes for External Projects Team and also bought news of our local EU funding allocation. Our LEP has been given a notional allocation of €161.6m (£137m) of Structural Investment Funds 2014-2020, which equates to the 14th highest allocation out of the 39 LEP’s.
The Structural Investment Funds, formerly known as the Common Strategic Framework (CSF), bring together ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), ESF (European Social Fund) the Cohesion Fund, EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) and the EMFF (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund). Emma Davies presented at the first Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP EU Investment Strategy Working Group meeting on Monday. This group will be leading the preparation of the LEP’s Structural Investment Fund and Investment Strategy (SIFIS). It was agreed that a series of challenge groups over the summer will be run to allow stakeholders to input into prioritisation for the draft strategy required for Autumn. Further information will be circulated on how university colleagues can input into this process. Tuesday followed up with a review of the West Midlands Socio-Economic Framework, prepared by West Midlands European Service. This will form part of the evidence base for our local SIFIS.
Wednesday was the Universities UK conference Europe: at the heart of internationalisation. This conference was focussed on the opportunities and policy drivers the EU presented for internationalisation of UK HEIs, considering the Bologna Process and funding opportunities for research and teaching. It was announced at this event that the Erasmus for All programme will be changing its name to Erasmus Plus!
For further information please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk. Details of the Structural Investment Funds and the West Midlands Socio Economic Framework can be found at http://www.wmemployers.org.uk/wmescsf. Presentations from the UUK conference can be found at http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/events/Pages/EuropePresentations.aspx.
