Final Conference Horizon2020 Project COHESIFY<br/>Voices from the Regions: Rethinking the communication of Cohesion Policy
26 April 2018 - 26 April 2018
Belgium
The COHESIFY project, a major study to understand whether and how EU Cohesion Policy influences the European identity of citizens across the EU, was launched in March 2016. Led by Professor John Bachtler and Dr Carlos Mendez of the European Policies Research Centre (EPRC), the €2.4 million study involved researchers from 8 universities and 2 SMEs from 10 EU Member States with complementary disciplinary backgrounds and applied and creative expertise in communication, branding, and citizen engagement.
COHESIFY focused on four inter-related issues:
- How European identity and perceptions of the EU and Cohesion Policy vary at national, regional and local levels
- The impact of Cohesion Policy on citizens' perceptions of the policy and identification with the EU
- Whether and how Cohesion Policy communication strategies affect perception and identification
- What is needed to make Cohesion Policy more effective in terms of people's perceptions of the policy and the EU more generally.
The study employed an innovative mixed-method design including an original and representative survey of citizens in a sample of 17 EU regions, quantitative and qualitative analysis of EU-wide data and of programme implementation and communication strategies, framing and sentiment analysis of online and offline media as well as 50 focus groups including more than 250 citizens from the 17 sample regions.
Apart from advancing the scientific state-of-the-art on the relationship between Cohesion policy, perceptions on the EU and European identity, COHESIFY will deliver creative communication practice to disseminate its results through awareness-raising and outreach activities targeting policymakers, stakeholders and the public at large. In addition, the project will produce two sets of resources: a unique body of original, EU-wide comparative data that will be made available through open access arrangements to other researchers and policymakers for analysis and benchmarking; and an innovative online learning platform to collect data and share ideas among policymakers, stakeholders and academics on Cohesion Policy communication.
To register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cohesify-final-conference-voices-from-the-regions-tickets-43967179016
COHESIFY focused on four inter-related issues:
- How European identity and perceptions of the EU and Cohesion Policy vary at national, regional and local levels
- The impact of Cohesion Policy on citizens' perceptions of the policy and identification with the EU
- Whether and how Cohesion Policy communication strategies affect perception and identification
- What is needed to make Cohesion Policy more effective in terms of people's perceptions of the policy and the EU more generally.
The study employed an innovative mixed-method design including an original and representative survey of citizens in a sample of 17 EU regions, quantitative and qualitative analysis of EU-wide data and of programme implementation and communication strategies, framing and sentiment analysis of online and offline media as well as 50 focus groups including more than 250 citizens from the 17 sample regions.
Apart from advancing the scientific state-of-the-art on the relationship between Cohesion policy, perceptions on the EU and European identity, COHESIFY will deliver creative communication practice to disseminate its results through awareness-raising and outreach activities targeting policymakers, stakeholders and the public at large. In addition, the project will produce two sets of resources: a unique body of original, EU-wide comparative data that will be made available through open access arrangements to other researchers and policymakers for analysis and benchmarking; and an innovative online learning platform to collect data and share ideas among policymakers, stakeholders and academics on Cohesion Policy communication.
To register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cohesify-final-conference-voices-from-the-regions-tickets-43967179016
Keywords
Communication, European identity, Cohesion Policy, Regional Policy, Regional Development