ESIF Programme Monitoring Committee communications update paper: May 2022

Purpose

To update members on the implementation of the communications strategy since the last meeting of the Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) in November 2021.

Recommendation

The PMC is invited to give an opinion on ways to increase effectiveness of communications activities aimed at promoting activities and projects supported through the European Social Funds (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programmes.

Events

On Tuesday 14 December 2021, the Managing Authority (MA) hosted an online annual publicity event to celebrate the year’s achievements of the 2014-2020 ESF and ERDF programmes. Over 90 stakeholders heard presentations from Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work; Stirling Council, about their ESF-supported ‘New Scots in Stirling’ operation which assists refugees; Aberdeenshire Council, about their ERDF-supported ‘Business Gateway Aberdeen City and Shire’ operation; and EKOS, about draft findings of their evaluation of the delivery model of the 2014-2020 programmes. Out of 33 feedback survey participants, 45% rated the event as ‘very good’, 48% rated it as 'good' and 6% rated it as ‘fair’ (no respondents rated it as ‘poor’).

On Wednesday 11 May 2022, the MA held a spring Lead Partner (LP) event which was attended by almost 100 stakeholders. The overarching theme of the event was the importance of improving the financial performance of the programmes, and included presentations from the PMC working group and various members of the MA.

Case studies booklet

The 2021 case studies booklet was launched by the Minister at the 2021 annual publicity event and published on our website on the same day. The booklet celebrates the achievements of the 2014-2020 programmes in Scotland and features ten stories from operations that help our aim of boosting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Website, blog and social media

The MA continues to review its website every quarter and make any necessary changes, including significant ongoing work to improve the accessibility of ESIF documents. We also continue to use the blog as a platform to publish important programme information for LPs, such as programme end dates.

The MA continues to use its Twitter account @scotgovESIF to raise awareness of ESIF-related projects and activity among the public, though we also use it to direct stakeholders towards blog posts, website updates, and other changes.

Newsletters

The MA has issued e-bulletins in December, February and March to live Strategic Intervention (SI) and operations managers as listed on our claim payment system EUMIS, containing a range of topics relevant to stakeholder at time of issue.

Media coverage and monitoring

A selection of media coverage of ESIF-supported operations generated by LPs over the last six months is below:

• 17 January 2022: ‘New content partner announced for the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project centred on multi-million transformation of major landmark’ (ERDF – NatureScot’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund) - Ross-shire Journal
• 3 March 2022: ‘Two Moray charities to share in £250,000 to tackle poverty and social isolation’ (ESF – Poverty & Social Inclusion Moray Challenge Fund) - Press and Journal
• 19 April 2022: 'Work under way to transform access to Scotland's iconic Fairy Pools in Skye’ (ERDF – NatureScot’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund) - The National

Future activity

The MA plans to hold two more events in 2022, which we expect to be physical rather than virtual. We are also at the early stages of planning substantial publicity materials (possibly in the form of videos) to celebrate the huge range of achievements of the 2014-20 programmes, with the aim of releasing the materials in 2023 as we approach closure.