Regions are the building blocks for successful national economies and competitiveness at the European level. Yet marked disparities persist with many regions continuing to lag whilst other once relatively prosperous regions face the challenges of restructuring and creating new identities. ICF GHK has developed and supported the implementation of regional and sub regional strategies, evaluated EU Structural Fund interventions, developed innovative methods to take account of sustainable development and contributed to the transnational exchange of experience in this area.
In the UK much of ICF GHK’s work is concerned with the evaluation of regional and sub regional programmes, applying the Regional Development Agency Impact Evaluation Framework, assessing the additional impacts of interventions on regional economies and taking account of Strategic Added Value. Assignments include:
- support for the development of regional strategies;
- advice on the development of regional partnerships and governance structures;
- economic and sectoral analyses,
- and research into factors influencing regional economic performance including skills, innovation, enterprise, energy, transport and the environment.
Increasingly, this work is expanding into sub-regional commissions.
Regional Growth Fund