ESF+ financed financial instruments are increasingly being taken up by managing authorities across the Member States. Nevertheless, there remains potential for a wider use of this form of support, as shown by the fact that financial instruments were established in only eleven EU Member States during the 2014-2020 programming period. Against this background, the assignment delivered two ESF+-specific fi-compass publications, which aimed to raise awareness among managing authorities, financial intermediaries, and final recipients about the potential of financial instruments, while also strengthening stakeholders’ capacity to design and implement them.

To achieve the assignment’s objectives, the work was divided into two streams. The first publication addressed the specific issue of combining financial instruments with grants, resulting in an ESF+ factsheet. This factsheet provided both a review of the opportunities offered by the applicable regulatory framework and practical, detailed examples and ideas on how to combine financial instruments and grants in ESF-related areas and topics. To enhance usability and relevance, a series of workshops and interviews were organised with stakeholders, including representatives from each geographical unit of EC-DG EMPL, as well as with managing authorities and financial intermediaries.

The second stream of work focused on the creation of a handbook on financial instruments under the ESF+ in the 2021–2027 period. This handbook provided comprehensive guidance for the implementation of financial instruments under ESF+, including a description of the lifecycle of financial instruments and an analysis of the opportunities for managing authorities to deliver on ESF+ specific objectives through financial instruments. As for the first product, the development of the handbook was informed by a review of existing instruments and by interviews with managing authorities on their experience of setting up financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period. Additional input was gathered through surveys, discussions, and a dedicated workshop with the EIB and other relevant stakeholders.

The handbook can be consulted here, and the factsheet is available here.
The study, led by the t33 internal expert Giovanni Familiari, was carried in consortium with EY.