VALERA - Evaluation of the reindustrialization programme in the Lazio region
Economic measures taken by governments to stimulate the private sector to conduct research and development (R&D) have always been an important part of traditional industrial policy and, even more so, of recent innovation policy, particularly in EU and OECD countries.
The rationale for public support is based on the assumption that R&D conducted within companies directly or indirectly stimulates innovation, leading to the production of new marketable products, processes or services, increasing company productivity and stimulating economic growth. Given the small size of companies in Italy and in order to facilitate the transfer of know-how from universities and public and private research centres, such policies often aim to foster collaboration between these actors in the conception, development and/or implementation of innovative products and/or processes.
A relevant policy question is to understand how effective these policies are.
The project
The project aims to assess the impact of some of the measures of the POR LAZIO FESR 2014-2020 for the competitive repositioning of regional industry. These measures (9 calls) are part of a broader and unprecedented programme and implementation path to support the transformation and reindustrialisation processes of Lazio’s production system. The evaluation strategy envisages the implementation of two macro-lines of activities, an implementation evaluation and an evaluation of the impacts produced by the interventions.
The implementation evaluation is aimed at analysing the effectiveness and operational and management efficiency of the interventions, with particular reference to the selection mechanisms, procedures, management systems and the physical and financial progress achieved. The aim is to identify the achievement of the expected results, the success and failure factors with respect to the needs of the economic fabric and the objectives set in the Programme.
The impact evaluation aims to verify the interventions’ capacity to stimulate enterprises in terms of investments, innovation, new technologies adoption and internationalisation. A combined approach, which envisages the use of quantitative counterfactual and qualitative-quantitative Theory-based techniques (Theory of Change and Realistic Evaluation), is adopted to clarify the modalities through which the effects are determined and specific integrations of a financial nature (payback).
The project is financed within the framework of the POR FESR Lazio 2014-2020.
Results
The main results can be divided into five areas: innovation, research and development (R&D), investment, markets and internationalisation, and green economy. Given the events that occurred during the project’s evaluation period, such as international conflicts, the energy crisis, and the extension of the effects of the pandemic, the Lazio Region opted for an integration of the analysis with respect to the 2014-2020 period. The final results will be published after the project’s conclusion.
