East of England 3rd sector representative makes case for reform of EU budget
Mark Mitchell, Chief Executive of Community Action Dacorum, Chair of COVER and representing the 3rd sector European network was one of only three sectoral representatives to address a special hearing of the European Parliament Budget Committee. This hearing also summoned the EU commissioner for budgets, Janusz Lweandowski who spoke about "The tri-annual reform of the Financial Regulation 2010". Mark highlighted key challenges facing the involvement of voluntary sector organisations in EU funded projects and made a series of recommendations for improvements to the EU financial regulations.
Mark Mitchell, at the hearing on "A sustainable review of the Financial Regulation - boosting Europe's progress 2020" on June 1st in the European Parliament, addressed the importance of EU funding for the voluntary sector and made recommendations for improvements to the financial rules. He highlighted a number of exemplar projects from Dacorum and the East of England, including the Disability Essex and Southend YMCA’s projects funded under the East of England’s ERDF competitiveness programme. He compared the changes to the financial regulations between the current programmes and those pre 2007. The exclusion of volunteer time as In Kind match has all but excluded the participation of NGOs in transnational activities where they could make a significant contribution. Being cash poor but time rich makes voluntary sector organisations ideal partners in EU projects, but the custom and practice guiding the implementation of EU financial rules operating in the UK prohibits their use of volunteer time.
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Committee of the Regions showcases Essex’s Response to
Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion
As part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Exclusion, the Committee of the Regions (COR )- the EU institution which provides the regional and local levels with a voice in EU policy development and legislation – is hosting a forum on local and regional responses to poverty and social exclusion on 8th June in Brussels.
Cllr Kay Twitchen OBE, Committee of the Regions member and Essex County Councillor, nominated the Tendring Reach Out Pilot Project – which aims to promote the take up of social services amongst a deprived community in order to reduce poverty and improve health. This will be presented at the forum during the session entitled, Making Local Services More Accessible to All, as an example of EU best practice in this field.
Mrs. Debbie Healy, Commissioning Manager Health and Well Being North East Essex Primary Care Trust – the organisation behind the Reach Out Project – will be presenting the project at the COR to a range of European policy makers. The forum is designed to take lessons from this and other best practice examples to formulate the EU’s responses to poverty and social exclusion.
Further information about the Reach Out Project is available via http://www.east-of-england.eu/secure/documents/reach%20out%20evaluation%20report.pdf
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2010 LIFE + Call Published
The 2010 LIFE+ call for proposals has now been published. Some €19 million is available for projects in the UK focussing on the three strands of the programme: nature and biodiversity, environment policy and governance and information and communication. The deadline for submitting projects is 1 September.
For more details see: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm
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East of England Brussels Office hosts successful seminar on
Corporate Social Responsibility Project
The final project conference, “CSR - Local Experiences to the European Stage” was held in Brussels in March and comprised two events.
On 23rd March 2010, Richard Howitt MEP hosted a Reception in the European Parliament to promote the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility in shaping an inclusive society and the role Championing CSR Across Borders has played in meeting this objective. The Reception was attended by 40 people comprising MEP’s, their office staff and project partners.
On 24th March 2010 in the East of England Brussels Office a Seminar was held to share the practical lessons learnt through the project. Sue Bird from the European Commission and Carien Duisterwinkel from CSR Europe shared their knowledge and insight into the strategic direction of Corporate Social Responsibility at a European level.
The Seminar, which was attended by around 50 delegates from across Europe, also included a series of presentations on the theme of how Corporate Social Responsibility can make a positive contribution to improving the quality of life at a local level. The presentation topics covered:
- The programme of study visits to Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and UK.
- Tutoring in Academic Settings
- Good practice in employee volunteering
- Good practice in providing work experience and employment opportunities
- Tools for Measuring Good Practice
Both the Reception and the Seminar also learned about the example of Hotel Panda in Budapest. This is operated on a commercial model, is a 4 star hotel with above average occupancy for the city and where 95% of the staff have a disability. As a model, it is inspirational in terms of what is possible for a business to operate successful and fulfill an important social need.
For more information and copies of the presentations visit: http://www.csracrossborders.eu/
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Commission Launches Evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)
A group of independent experts has been appointed to undertake this review and will present their report – which will play an integral role in shaping the Eight Framework Programme - this autumn.
For more information about how to take part in this consultation and its applicability to the East of England please contact jackie.eveleigh@east-of-england.eu
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Region contributes to EU2020 strategy
The European Commission launched a consultation on its future EU2020 Strategy, designed to replace the current Lisbon Strategy. The consultation closed on 15 January 2010 and the region submitted the following contribution. This contribution is based on a number of recent positions adopted by the East of England European Partnership on key EU policies. The purpose of the contribution is to remind the Commission of some of this region’s key priorities. The key priorities of the East of England European Partnership are set out around the 3 key drivers:
- Creating value by basing growth on knowledge
- Empowering people in inclusive societies
- Creating a competitive, connected and greener economy
Please follow the link to access the full contribution here
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The East of England nets some EU funding
ERBI and CEBR, together with other Eureopan partners, triumphed within the 2009 Europe Innova Competitive Innovation Platform (CIP).
Advanced Biotech Cluster platforms for Europe (ABCEurope) project aims at developing and implementing the most effective services to biotechnology companies Euyrope wide.
14 of the most active cluster support organisations in Europe came together to develop a series of actions and after a significant effort, submitted a successful proposal. The project will start in September 2009, with a duration of 3 years.
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