ESIF Programme Monitoring Committee communications update paper: May 2023

Purpose

To update members on the implementation of the communications strategy since the last meeting of the PMC in October 2022.

Recommendation

The Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) is invited to to note the update detailed in the paper and give an opinion on ways to increase effectiveness of communications activities aimed at promoting activities and projects supported through the European Social Fund (ESF) and Euroepan Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programmes.

Events

On Wednesday 30 November 2022, the Managing Authority (MA) held an autumn Lead Partner (LP) event at the Clayton Hotel in Glasgow that was attended by approximately 70 stakeholders. This was the first in-person stakeholder event since October 2019. The agenda included presentations from the MA on recent EUMIS updates, revisions to outputs and results guidance, internal changes to make the claims process more efficient, and a discussion session on the closure process. Guest presentations featured the ERDF-supported ‘smart canal’ project in north Glasgow by ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City’ programme, the ESF-supported apprenticeships programme by Skills Development Scotland, and achievements of the Tannahill Centre in Ferguslie Park thanks to ESF and ERDF support.

According to our feedback results, attendees appreciated the rare opportunity to meet each other in person, the guest presentations and the chance to ask questions and discuss issues with the programmes. Suggested topics at future events included best practice for the claims process, guest presentations and good news stories. 11 respondents rated the event as ‘very good’, 20 ‘good’ and 1 ‘fair’ (nobody selected ‘poor’).

On Thursday 15 December, Richard Lochhead, then Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, visited the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC) at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus to promote the publication of the ESF and ERDF 2022 case studies booklet. The £3.1m centre is jointly funded by the ERDF via Scottish Enterprise’s Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund, the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, and Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Robert Gordon universities. The MDMC provides medical device developers and manufacturers with the advice, technical expertise and facilities essential for companies that are seeking to translate medical device concepts to commercial products.

The 2022 case studies booklet, published on 12 December, features the MDMC alongside other strong examples of ESF and ERDF support, including: the construction of a ‘smart canal’ in north Glasgow; a consortium of third-sector employability providers in Moray; and a West Lothian project that supports women who have become involved in the criminal justice system.

Website and social media

The MA continues to review its website each quarter and make any required changes, including significant ongoing work to improve the accessibility of ESIF documents. The Scottish Government’s website accessibility requirements means there are quite significant delays between when a new version of a document is officially approved and when it can be uploaded onto gov.scot.

The ‘preparing for closure – best practice guide and key deadlines’ document was the most important document published on our website since the last PMC meeting. The MA would like to remind all LPs and key stakeholders to read this guidance thoroughly, as it is key aspect of our closure communications plan.

The MA continues to use its Twitter account @scotgovESIF to raise awareness of ESIF-related projects and activity among the public, such as the opening of the ERDF-supported Life Sciences Innovation Centre on 18 April, and notify stakeholders of changes to webpages and documents.

Newsletters

The MA issued e-bulletins in December 2022 and February 2023 to live Strategic Intervention (SI) and operations managers as listed on our claim payment system EUMIS, as well as other key stakeholders.

Media coverage and monitoring

A selection of media coverage of ESIF-supported operations generated by LPs since the last PMC meeting is below:

• 7 December 2022: ‘Edinburgh unveils new ‘smart city’ operations centre’ (ERDF: Scotland’s 8th City – Smart Cities) - FUTURESCOT
• 25 January2023: 'Queens Cross secures £2.42m funding to transform Hamiltonhill’ (ERDF: Green Infrastructure) - Scottish Housing News
• 3 April: ‘Scottish walking tour business establishes new routes for growth following Business Gateway support’ (ERDF: Business support – Glasgow City Council) - Scottish Business News
• 27 April: 'Corrieshalloch opening' (ERDF: NatureScot) - NatureScot
• 30 April: 'Michel Barnier on the path of Old Man of Storr' (ERDF: NatureScot) - X/Twitter

Future activity

The MA plans to host site visits for colleagues from the European Commission in June. We are also in the early stages of organising stakeholder events for 2023 and 2024, and will communicate confirmed plans to stakeholders in due course.