R&D

In 2025, t33’s R&D activities addressed performance-based delivery mechanisms, policy integration and the evolving role of capacity building in EU regional policy.

At the RSA Annual Conference (Porto), three scientific presentations addressed key reform dimensions of Cohesion Policy. The first analysed opportunities and challenges in adopting performance-based approaches, with particular focus on Financing Not Linked to Costs (FNLC) and payment-by-results schemes, and their implications for Local and Regional Authorities.

The second contribution examined the evolution of administrative capacity building (ACB) from a horizontal and centralised approach to a more vertical and regionalised model, highlighting the strategic role of roadmaps, peer learning and institutional transformation.

The third presentation discussed risks of re-centralisation in EU policies and their implications for multi-level governance, complementarity of funds and place-based development strategies.

In addition, two scientific papers presented at the 9th CERS Conference (Cluj) further consolidated t33’s R&D on Cohesion Policy added value and capacity building transformation. One paper analysed the paradigm shift in ACB in Romania and the need for evaluation frameworks capable of capturing intangible effects. The other examined the added value of Cohesion Policy beyond financial transfers, focusing on delivery mechanisms, resilience, and integrated territorial development.

Presentations delivered in Romania contributed to disseminating these findings in national and regional policy debates.

In 2024, t33’s R&D activities focused on the development of advanced evaluation methodologies for EU-funded programmes.
 
Two scientific papers were prepared for presentation at the Rimini conference. The first explored the evaluation of intangible effects in administrative capacity building, proposing methodological solutions to assess organisational learning, governance quality and institutional transformation beyond traditional output indicators. The second paper examined the integration of theory-based and counterfactual approaches in ERDF-funded programme evaluations, drawing lessons from recent evaluation experiences and highlighting the complementarities between causal inference and theory of change frameworks.
 
These contributions further strengthened t33’s work on mixed-method evaluation, evaluability, and the assessment of complex policy interventions.

During 2023, t33's research activities primarily focused on the digital transition.

In February, t33 participated in a Formez webinar on the report entitled 'The Digital Transition'. t33 also contributed to the realisation of the first section of the report, entitled 'Ideas and Reflections from DESI (Digital Economy and Society Index).

In October, as part of the REGIOPeer2Peer Communities of Practice, t33 had the opportunity to participate in a meeting focused on digital administration and IT systems. During this meeting, t33 experts provided valuable insights on leveraging E-cohesion for risk management and emphasised the importance of harnessing Cohesion data for business intelligence.

In 2022, t33 carried out research activities in collaboration with both the Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Italy focussed on three main topics.

The first topic is the future of Cohesion Policy. Within the scope of a seminar organized by the Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces, t33 discussed the distinction between Cohesion as a ‘policy’ and Cohesion as a ‘principle’.

The second topic concerned public procurement, with particular reference to SME access. t33's reflection, based on a historical and comparative approach between the Italian and French national contexts, was published in the CINSEDO Papers 2022 by the Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces. To actively pursue this objective, a Peer to Peer Community on public procurement was initiated on behalf of DG Regio in 2022.

In 2021, research activities were carried out in the two different national contexts, Italy and Romania, where t33 evaluated regional and national programmes financed by Cohesion Policy.

On the Italian side, prompted by the Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces, t33 studied the impact of COVID-19 on the regions and the operational paths for recovery. In particular, t33 published four articles in the CINSEDO Papers 2021 on the changes induced by the pandemic in the approach to programme evaluation, in the application of ESI funds to the health sector, in the use of financial instruments within the ESI funds, and in the construction of European Territorial Cooperation programmes. A further area of reflection was the strengthening of administrative capacities in Cohesion Policy.

On the Romanian side, t33 participated in the national conference on the evaluation of programmes financed by ESI funds 2014-2020 and on the prospects for evaluation in the period 2021-2027. Reflections were shared on the evaluation of intangibles in the programme for strengthening administrative capacity (POCA), as well as methodological elements related to the evaluation of the programme that finances large environmental infrastructures.

2020 was a special year for everyone, including t33 experts. It was necessary to reinterpret one's own themes in a radically different context, that of the pandemic.

This was the case of the financial instruments, one of the main topics of t33 research. In a paper entitled Financing working capital through financial instruments: an opportunity to be seized immediately, Michele Alessandrini and Clarissa Amichetti examined the modalities for supporting the liquidity needs of enterprises, especially SMEs, through European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). The paper was co-authored by Marco Naseddu, an official in the regional administration of Sardinia.

More generally, stimulated by Alessandro Valenza, the t33 experts reflected on how to maximise the Cohesion Policy resources to contribute to the 'reconstruction' after the pandemic phase. A proposal to extend the programming period was prepared. This sparkled an intense discussion, which was further stimulated by an article in which t33 experts outlined the benefits of a possible extension of the programming period.

Between 2012 and 2019, t33’s R&D activities laid the methodological and thematic foundations of its current expertise in Cohesion Policy evaluation, financial instruments and territorial governance.
 
Research during this period focused on the role of financial instruments in ESIF, the added value of evaluation across the policy cycle, and the development of advanced methodological approaches combining theory-based and counterfactual techniques. Contributions were presented at international conferences (RSA, ICSD, EUGEO, International Evaluation Conference) and published in peer-reviewed journals.
 
Significant work was undertaken on macro-regional strategies (EUSAIR, EUSALP), territorial evidence (ESPON), innovation and Smart Specialisation (S3), and the development of qualitative methodologies for environmental assessment, including the QUASAR approach for Strategic Environmental Assessment.
 
This period also included applied research on impact evaluation, monitoring systems, data visualisation and the integration of big, open and georeferenced data in performance assessment frameworks.