ERDF

The European Regional Development Fund - ERDF is the tool with which Europe invests in the economic and social growth of the territories by implementing the Cohesion Policy. Through the ERDF, Europe allocates resources to EU member states and regions to support the development of regional production systems and reduce disparities between regions.
The resources of the ERDF are allocated for periods of 7 years. For the period 2014-2020, the Emilia-Romagna Region has developed its own planning strategy for the resources assigned, amounting to 481.8 million euros between European, national and regional resources. Resources which, together with those allocated by other European, national and regional programs, represent an important opportunity for a new phase of development:

  • more inclusive, because it is aimed at promoting a high employment rate that favors social and territorial cohesion;
  • more dynamic and intelligent, because it is able to develop an economy based on knowledge, creativity and innovation;
  • more sustainable, because it is capable of enhancing an economy that is more efficient in terms of resources, greener and more competitive.

The Program is based on the identification of a series of elements around which the backbone of the strategy is built:

  • the resumption of a growth path by supporting investments in research and innovation, internationalization, new business;
  • the centrality of the regional strategy for research and innovation (S3), the road that connects businesses and the regional production system with the broader knowledge system;
  • increasing the attractiveness of territories starting from urban centers and supporting the territorial cohesion of inland areas, those furthest from the development line, the Via Emilia;
  • the sustainability of development that must guide interventions such as the adoption of technologies and new opportunities for the green economy.

All elements will form the basis for an attractive and competitive regional system, composed of highly specialised production clusters and territories rich in infrastructure, with high levels of welfare, inclusion and social participation.
An important novelty lies in the adoption of an integrated approach for using European funds, an integration that is also activated with other instruments, resources and programs directly managed by the European Commission with other regional programs.