The objective of the OP is:
“To facilitate innovation, ensure sustainable development, improve accessibility and develop the urban fabric within the region, in order to enhance overall productivity and competitiveness.”
The development strategy to achieve this objective is to focus and concentrate resources on three broad areas, as follows:
Innovation, ICT and the Knowledge Economy
Environment and Risk Prevention
Urban Development and Secondary Transport Networks
The justification for these priorities is based on EU and national/regional considerations. The Priorities have taken account of:
The EU policy context set by the Lisbon & Gothenburg Agendas;
The Community Strategic Guidelines and the strategic priorities defined in the National Strategic Reference Framework;
The requirement that a minimum of 75% of national expenditure in “Regional Competitiveness and Employment” Programmes should be earmarked for actions which support the Lisbon objectives;
The range of intervention eligible under the ERDF Regulation, the limited Funds available to the region under EU Cohesion Policy and the profile (frontloading) of the funding;
The need to maximise Community Added-Value.
At a regional and national policy level, the OP has also taken account of:
The agreed vision for the region, arising from the Regional Foresight exercise;
The SWOT analysis and the specific areas of need identified in the previous chapter;
The importance of selecting investments that would facilitate the on-going convergence of the region towards the EU and national averages;
The need for both concentration of resources and for balance in interventions (both spatially and thematically);
The National Spatial Strategy and other relevant strategies;
The need to ensure complementarity with other EU co-financed programmes and financial instruments; and
Investments to be undertaken under the NDP and its constituent investment Programmes and the requirement for this OP to complement these.
A diagram setting out the principal factors that influenced the development of the OP is presented overleaf. The scale of resources available under this programme means that the programme has selected a number of niche investments under these Priorities. These are designed to address specific issues, consistent with EU and national objectives that will help the region to achieve its convergence objectives. The scope of these niche investments must be considered in the context of overall Government investments in the BMW Region, particularly under the NDP 2007-13.
The niche strategy approach adopted consisted of identifying specific types of intervention that are focused on, add value to and reinforce the attainment of the strategic objectives defined for the OP, taking account of the EU, national and regional determinants outlined above and the need to complement other EU-funded programmes and mainstream national initiatives. In priority 1, this is reflected in the focussing of resources in the areas of innovation, ICT and the knowledge economy. In priority 2, addressing the most pressing environmental risks (water quality and energy efficiency) has been selected. In priority 3, strengthening the spatial structuring of the BMW region through focusing on investment in gateways and hubs and accessibility is the focus of investment. The selected interventions will in many instances provide valuable demonstration effects with the potential for mainstream application and in all cases will be accorded high visibility within the region. This is also a pragmatic response to the level of funding available under the OP and the need to prioritise the allocation of financial resources.
A further notable factor is the multi-annual profile of the funding available to the BMW region. This funding is heavily front-loaded with c.79% to be committed within the first three years of the programme. As a consequence, and drawing on the lessons of previous evaluations, the Managing Authority has sought to identify focused interventions that address EU, national and regional priorities, but that do not have long lead times.
