1. ESIF 2014-20 The Government Priorities David Morrall Department of Communities and Local Government 24 April 2014

2. European Structural and Investment Fund A single Growth Programme combining ERDF, ESF and some EAFRD Aligned with other EU funding instruments such as Horizon 2020 and domestic policies and programmes National Operational Programmes for ERDF, ESF and EAFRD – the end of regional OPs 39 LEP area ESIF Funds strategies 2ESIF Government Priorities

3. Thematic Objectives and Strategies Menu of ten policy themes ‘Thematic Objectives’ Thematic Objective 1 (‘Innovation’) most relevant to Higher Education Local Enterprise Partnership areas have allocated £662,423,882 to this objective which equates to 22.22% of their ERDF allocations Most ESI Fund strategies identify opportunities for local business- HEI collaboration Very few propose cross-boundary working 3ESIF Government Priorities

4. Smart Specialisation – a New Approach Adoption of concept patchy across LEP areas eg. 26 of 39 ESI Fund strategies claim national/international excellence in Life Sciences Smart Specialisation Advisory Hub 4ESIF Government Priorities

5. Competitiveness and Innovation Horizon 2020 will be the largest financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, €80bn.Innovation Union In the current version of Horizon 2020 (FP7) the UK has won more than 16% of all funding to EU member states and 27% of European Research Council (ERC) funding. Funding for competitiveness and innovation makes up nearly 18% of the UK’s receipts from the EU, almost the same as the UK receives in Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF). Higher education consumes the lion’s share of this (70%). 5ESIF Government Priorities

6. Challenges ahead Cross –LEP area working in innovation space Role of HEIs to facilitate SSS Advisory Hub – what role could it play? Improved alignment with EU initiatives, especially Horizon 2020 Role of innovation/HE bodies – Universities UK, HEFCE, TSB, etc 6ESIF Government Priorities