FUNDAMENTAL

REFORMS

Government-Sponsored
Educational, Professional,
and Scientific Programs:
The Case of Romania

I. INTRODUCTION:
POLICY PROPOSAL QUESTION
How may EU Structural Funds be used to support education and
human resources development in the next 5 years?
EU Structural Fund are provided in the budget of the Multi-annual
Financial Framework (MFF), currently in the seven-year period
2014-2020.
We recommend additional oversight in the EU
administration of these funds to the member states.
The concerns with our question are two-fold: Concerning
1. the administration of structural funds and
2. the policy programs towards which these funds are used.

II. THE PROBLEM:

Low absorption capacity of Romania using structural funds.
These funds may be used to support human resources
development/education.

Absorption capacity can be defined as the extent to which a state is able

to fully spend the allocated financial resources from the EU funds in an
effective and efficient way.
The absorption capacity on demand side, from the beneficiaries which
are targeted by the funds, means the actual ability by project applicants
to generate acceptable projects.
The absorption capacity on supply side, from the institutional system
created by the state to administrate the funds, can be determined by
the following three main factors.

rence source: EU Funds in Central and Eastern Europe Progress Report 2007-2014

III. RECOMMENDATION #1:

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Require accountability from national governments to pay program
implementers
Reforms needed at the EU level to deliver funds directly to program
implementers in cases where the national governments are not accountable
Policy options:
1. Business as Usual (BAU)
2. Punitive action: (described as)
3. Incentive action: An automatic funding mechanism that delivers funds to
program implementers before they are delivered to the government.
4. System refinement action: Changes in central/local systems

III. RECOMMENDATION #2:

POLICY PROGRAM REFORMS
These programs may already exist in budgeting. Additional funding may
increase the capacity for delivering and effectiveness of these policy
programs.

Policy options Public Policy Content Enhancements:

1. Primary and Secondary Education Higher Education scholarship for
domestic and international studies
2. Apprenticeship internship training (for six to twelve months) funded by
the government (Finland has an example)
3. Investment in Research and Development (R&D) to support science
and innovation

IV. SOLUTIONS AND POLICY

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Implementation of administrative reforms to deliver
accountability and transparency together with at least
one of the Public Policy Program Reforms for Content
Enhancements
When there are less than two years before funds are allocated, additional
funding may be applied to increase the effectiveness of these policy
programs.

V. Stakeholder Analysis
EU level stakeholders
National level stakeholders
Citizen stakeholders

VI. IMPLEMENTATION
AND MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E)
1. Annual timeline for M&E reporting
2. Impacts for future funding

The policy recommendations are designed for these outcomes:

1. An increase in reimbursements to policy implementers
2. An increase in absorption of structural funds
3. More citizens participating in program delivery and benefitting
from the funds, in-line with the purposes of the structural funds