ESF 2007-2013 Ex-post evaluation: Supporting the integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market and society Final Report Volume III- Analysis of in-depth countries Written by ICF International February, 2016 Social Europe EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Directorate G — Audit and evaluation Unit. G4 - Evaluation & Impact Assessment E-mail: [email protected]@ec.europa.eu European Commission B-1049 Brussels EUROPEAN COMMISSION ESF 2007-2013 Ex-post evaluation: Supporting the integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market and society Final Report Volume III- Analysis of in-depth countries Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 © European Union, 2016 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Please quote this report as: ICF (2016) 2007-2013 Ex-post evaluation on supporting the integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market and society, for the European Commission, Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion The opinions expressed are those of the Contractor only and do not represent the Commission’s official position. AIR Annual Implementation Report CIE Counterfactual impact evaluation CSR Country Specific Recommendations EEN ESF Evaluation Network ESF European Social Fund IB Intermediary body MA Managing Authority MS Member State NRP National Reform Programme OP Operational Programme PA Priority Axis PES Public Employment Service SI Social Inclusion SFC System for Fund Management Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 2 The overall strategy for ESF investment to assist the integration of disadvantaged groups ............................................................................................................. 2 2.1 The priority ‘social inclusion’ (integration of disadvantaged groups) as defined by the ESF Regulation .......................................................................... 5 2.2 National ESF thematic objectives and Priority Axes – coverage of SI priority theme and structure ........................................................................................ 6 2.3 Significance of ESF investment in ‘Social Inclusion’ in the OPs of the eight Member States covered ................................................................................. 35 2.4 Target groups for ESF investment in ‘Social Inclusion’ in the OPs of the eight Member States covered ................................................................................. 37 2.5 Outputs and results indicators for the SI priority axis ............................... 58 2.6 Links between national ESF thematic priorities and objectives and European priorities ...................................................................................................... 60 2.7 The ESF OPs Intervention logics ............................................................ 63 3 Analysis of interventions selected for in-depth study ...................................... 67 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 67 3.2 Overview of interventions covered in the Phase 2 research ....................... 68 3.3 Cluster 1 - Supporting and enabling actions ............................................ 80 3.4 Cluster 2a: Labour market integration through advice, counselling, guidance and training ................................................................................................ 103 3.5 Cluster 2b: Labour market integration: actions with employment as an output 143 3.6 Cluster 3: Pathways approaches ........................................................... 164 3.7 Cluster 4: Systemic measures .............................................................. 201 4 Cross-cluster analysis ................................................................................ 221 4.1 Financial implementation rates ............................................................. 221 4.2 Participation ...................................................................................... 222 4.3 Outputs and results - the in-depth interventions..................................... 226 4.4 Cost per output .................................................................................. 232 4.5 Cost per result ................................................................................... 233 4.6 Analysis of in-depth interventions by convergence, competitiveness and multi-objectives ........................................................................................... 235 4.7 Sustainability of interventions aimed at individuals ................................. 236 4.8 Sustainability of interventions after ESF support ..................................... 238 4.9 Community Added Value ..................................................................... 240 1 Introduction This is the third volume of the report for the study: ESF 2007-2013 Ex-post Evaluation: Supporting the integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market and society. The main purpose of this report is to provide an assessment of the 58 ESF funded interventions selected in the eight Member States (Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK) which were studied in depth for this ex-post evaluation. Furthermore, this report analyses the overall strategy for ESF investment in Social Inclusion (SI) in the eight countries. The remainder of this report is structured as follows: . Section 2 presents the overall strategy for ESF investment in integrating disadvantaged groups in the eight in-depth study countries; . Section 3 provides a cluster analysis of in-depth interventions based on the data available from the national information collection phase of the evaluation; and . Section 4 presents conclusions and lessons learned based on the experiences of the eight Member States. February, 2016 1 2 The overall strategy for ESF investment to assist the integration of disadvantaged groups The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the strategic objectives for ESF investment in the integration of disadvantaged groups in eight Member States, setting this in the context of the social inclusion (SI) challenges faced by each Member State and the overall priorities of the ESF and other European policies1 in relation to social inclusion. The chapter provides an assessment of the extent to which the strategic priorities set out in the Operational Programmes (OPs) respond to national SI challenges by: addressing the right target groups; and by providing for the implementation of measures to allow disadvantaged individuals move towards the labour market and thus combat social exclusion. An overview of the main findings in this chapter is provided below. Main findings National ESF thematic objectives and Priority Axes – coverage of Social Inclusion priority area and structure . Interventions in the field of SI are positioned differently within the Operational Programmes across the eight Member States. Three groups emerge: - Countries where SI interventions are grouped within a single Priority Axis – for example in Austria (Priority Axis 3 - the integration of those furthest from the labour market), Finland (Priority Axis 2 - promoting access and sustainable inclusion in the labour market and promoting social inclusion2) and Romania (Priority Axis 6); - Where SI interventions can be found among sub-priorities of Priority Axes which bring together mainly Access to Employment and SI Activities (e.g. Cyprus, AT- Burgenland, Lithuania, Netherlands); and - Where SI interventions are mainstreamed across all Priority Axes – for example in the case of the UK, where SI is predominantly mainstreamed across all Priority Axes. However even when the main SI interventions are contained within specific Priority Axes, it is common for disadvantaged or vulnerable groups to feature as target groups in other Priority Axes. This is not surprising as both adaptability and access to employment priorities are of great significance for groups at a greater disadvantage in the labour market. The former can, for instance, assist in supporting older workers or lower skilled individuals to retain their jobs, while the latter encompasses a wide range of relevant active labour market policy measures. Significance of ESF funding in the national context . Mapping the volume of financial investment of the OPs in the SI policy area is challenging. In some countries, it is not possible to calculate the exact amount of such investment, since SI interventions are spread across different sub- priorities. The calculated share of investment in SI – when assessing funding by Priority and sub-priority axes - varies from just under 10% in Luxembourg to about