Lead partner: Prof. Guglielmo Trupiano, LUPT University of Naples, Dr. Victoria Primhak, LUPT University of Naples.

Project partner: Prof. Dr. Rita Schneider-Sliwa, Universität Basel Geographisches Institut, Stadt- und Regionalforschung, mit Dr. Tina Haisch. Subcontractor Basel Economics, Prof. Dr. Urs Müller.

The EU-funded research proposal Structured empirical analysis for convergence regions: identifying success factors for consolidated growth / SEARCH led by the Interdepartmental Research Centre L.U.P.T., Territorial Town Planning Laboratory, University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy) in partnership with the University of Basel, Urban and Regional Studies, Institute of Geography, Department of Environmental Sciences, was designed in response to the Specification for ESPON Targeted Analysis Based on User Demand 2013/2/4: SUccess for convergence Regions’ Economies (SURE) (2009-2010) which was published on 18 August 2008.

It is commonly accepted that convergence regions within the EU do not only suffer from far below average GDP per capita, but are also forced to grow faster than other regions. In order to tackle this reality, many EU-funded projects aim at accelerating regional performance of these regions. Convergence Regions have a common goal: they want to grow faster than the average and ensure that this growth is consistent. The challenge is to accelerate GDP growth rates to catch up with the EU’s mean welfare and sustain average growth rates. The gap between the current situation and the average GDP per capita is the potential gain in welfare for each region.

EU Cohesion Policy seeks to reduce economic regional disparities and, by doing so, improve the economic performance of European lagging regions. The success of Structural Funds varies according to the traditional indicators used for regional policy, such as GDP and unemployment which, sometimes, do not fully capture the territorial diversity associated with structural imbalances. Factors like demography, accessibility or urban-rural relations are critical to understand different development opportunities. Hence, the capacity to perceive the similarities in the physiognomy of lagging regions and the relevant success factors for economic growth in lagging regions will improve the implementation of Structural Funds.

The SURE Stakeholder Regions – Campania (Italy), Podlaskie (Poland), East Macedonia and Thrace (Greece) and Valencia (Spain) – seek to understand why convergence regions are unable to improve economic performance and competitiveness. This will be achieved by a systematic comparison of factors relevant for economic growth and successful cohesion projects over the last 15 years in convergence regions with both high and low growth rates. By using benchlearning models, particular attention will be given to possible policy actions for the implementation, and eventually adjustments will be provided for the interventions during the current programming period (2007-2013) in the stakeholders’ regions. This approach will also have a wider EU relevance for all convergence regions within the European territory.