Communication Strategy and Annual Action Plan Guidance Documents: Discussions on Scope, Contents, and Objectives

1. avec les Fonds européens 8th INFORM conference Workshop « A »: Communication strategy/annual activity plan Introductory statement Bertrand Millet (France) – 08/12/2011 Co-financé par l’Union européenne. L’Europe s’engage en France avec les Fonds européens www.europe-en-france.gouv.fr 1

2. Communication strategy / Annual action plan guidance documents: state of the art • The beginning: proposed structure by Belgium • Exchanges about the following topics by e-mail: • The project for new EC rules on communication: general agreement on both a pluriannual strategy and annual actions plans but variations on their scopes, contents and validation processes • The number of guidance documents: 1 or 2 ? • Table of contents: • What are the subjects that has to be included in the pluriannual strategy vs. those in the annual action plan • Scope and goal of each document • Evaluation • The scope of the strategy / action plan: • Clarification about the EC expectations and the EC rules possibilities • Pluriannual Communication Strategy for the member state from which every OP may implement its own strategy ? 2

3. Communication strategy / Annual action plan guidance documents: proposed subjects to discussion • Let’s discuss in small groups some specific subjects: • Possibilities regarding the scope of the Pluriannual strategy / annual actions plans: • The level of the pluriannual strategy: • MS – national contract • OP – whether they are local / thematic • Mono / plurifunds • The level of the annual action plan: • MS – national contract • OP – whether they are local / thematic • Mono / plurifunds • The question of validation of the strategy / action plan • At the beginning, once and for all for the strategy? • Every year during the monitoring committee • Links with the OP ? 3

4. Communication strategy / Annual action plan guidance documents: proposed subjects to discussion • Let’s discuss in small groups some specific subjects: • Contents of each document: the evaluation subject • More an “impact evaluation” on the strategy and results evaluation in the action plans ? • Common indicator about communication • Contents of each document: the monitoring subject • What partnership ? • Who / What / When / For what ? • Relations with civil society: more transparency and new relays ? • EU / National /Thematic or Local objectives regarding EU funds communication • What kind of links between the various strategies and action plans and their objectives? • EU main objectives : transparency / notoriety – How to implement them into national / specific objectives? • Links between those transparency and notoriety objectives and the political objectives of the EU / MS 4

5. Communication strategy / Annual action plan guidance documents: proposed subjects to discussion • Can we conclude on a common position ? • Regarding the scope of those documents? • Regarding the table of contents of those documents? • Regarding the main objectives and follow-up issues ? 5

6. THEMES • The scope of pluriannual strategy vs annual action plans MS (national contract) / OP (local or thematic) / mono – plurifunds • Validation process : • At the beginning and once and for all for the strategy? • Every year during the monitoring committee • Links with OP validation process and national contract validation process ? • Evaluation : • Impact evaluation to the strategy vs. result evaluation for the action plans ? • Common indicators ? • Monitoring: • Objectives : EU objectives vs local / specific objectives (by target groups, for thematic or territorial approaches…) 6