This section describes sector analyses, studies and evaluations in which UVAL is directly engaged as part of its official functions.
Some of the most important studies currently under way regard the Environment, Culture, Tourism, Water Resources, Security, Urban Development, Transport, Social Inclusion and Rural Development.
Some of these activities are part of the “Knowledge Dissemination Programme” initiated at the end of 2003 by the Department for Development Policies aimed at stimulating innovation and administrative modernisation in government. The Programme includes and implements projects for which the DPS is directly responsible under the “Government Entity Empowerment Programme” (CIPE resolution no. 36 of 2002) as well as projects connected with the implementation of technical actions aimed at restoring the economic and social balance in under-utilised areas (CIPE resolution no. 17 of 2003).
Cultural heritage
The “Observatory on cultural resources and development policies” was established by UVAL in order to extend our knowledge and analysis of the role of policies for safeguarding and leveraging cultural resources within the framework of the development strategy for Italy’s under-utilised areas.
The most general objective is that of consolidating (internally) and disseminating (externally) knowledge of the transmission mechanisms that make it possible to pursue social and economic development objectives by leveraging the cultural heritage, contributing to the solution of a number of open issues and facilitating the operational implementation of the theoretical paradigms identified as points of reference for the definition of sectoral and territorial policies.
In addition to focusing on programmes and projects financed by Community funds and national resources for under-developed areas (the responsibility of the DPS), the Observatory also extends its scope of investigation to the programming tools adopted by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities (special laws, triennial planning of lottery funds and ordinary planning) or that fall within the regular planning activities of the Regions. The expansion of the range of observation of policies, tools , sources of financing and approaches to implementing interventions is instrumental to the definition, within a unitary and integrated framework ,of action involving cultural resources and the shaping of development policies based on utilising cultural heritage with deep territorial roots and characterised by the integrated action of a range of entities and a greater selection of tools and increased financial resources.
Urban development The development of cities and regional urban networks is a central element in the strategies for territorial competitiveness and improving the quality of life in Southern Italy. At present, southern cities are proving to be laboratories for territorial policies fuelled by a renewed institutional dynamism and by major examples of social creativity and economic innovation.
With the creation of the Urban priority (Priority V), the Community Support Framework (CSF) seized this potential, translating it into clear operational decisions that place urban areas at the centre of the planning process as a unit of analysis and intervention.
In this sphere, UVAL has established a working group with the task of helping to develop actions to strengthen and support the planning and the implementation of the City priority, drafting a work programme that concentrates on two objectives critical to the success of the strategy:
to favour the implementation of the CSF in accordance with the criteria set out in the strategy for the priority axis (integration and concentration), improving the functioning of institutional mechanisms and, in particular, the relationship between regional and local levels, in the planning (and replanning) and implementation phases;
to improve the quality of interventions, refining the available analytical tools and fostering interaction between the different levels of government involved.
Specific themes of particular importance among UVAL activities include:
the relationship between the Urban priority projects and the area defined by regional strategies for urban networks and by other planning and investment instruments (Regional Development Plans, Provincial Territorial Plans, Programme Agreements, zoning plans, etc.) or complex planning instruments for urban areas (Neighbourhood Contracts, PRUSSTs, Urban Transformation Companies, Urban Renovation Plans, Pilot Projects, etc.);
the effectiveness of institutional mechanisms for coordination and responsibility-sharing between regional and municipal governments in the strategic, operational and administrative management of projects;
the innovative strategies and initiatives of general interest in local policies implemented in the Urban priority, with a special emphasis on the participation of citizens in civic life, on information technology in public services and on the centrality of outlying municipal neighbourhoods in public urban policies;
the use of CSF resources and projects to stimulate complementary private-sector investment (real estate, trade and services) in target neighbourhoods, including project finance arrangements;
the refinement of mid-term evaluation and monitoring systems and indictor matrices;
the sustainability and funding of the Urban priority over the medium and long term.
An initial in-depth analysis(pdf, 224 Kb) by UVAL of these issues focuses on integrated projects financed under the City priority in regional and provincial capital cities. The analysis was the subject of a presentation (part 1 - ppt, 560 Kb, and part 2 - ppt, 5.18 Mb) to the CSF Monitoring Committee at a meeting in July 2003.
In the performance of its activities, UVAL operates in close cooperation with regional and national Managing Authorities, the network of evaluation and verification units of Objective 1 Regions, local authorities and other central government entities. It also promotes exchange and cooperation initiatives with government institutions and European and Italian networks active in the urban policy field, including ANCI, UPI, Eurocities and the Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica.
Rural Development
UVAL’s activities in the field of rural development have a markedly territorial nature. Rural development, from a territorial and systemic point of view, plays a major role in the country’s development strategies, from the dual perspective of productive sectors (the agricultural and food processing system) and territorial features (rural districts; clusters; local development and integration of natural and cultural assets). Territories are the (more or less) direct focus of the Community’s regional policy, co-financed by the Structural Funds, and Italy’s regional policy, financed by the Fund for Under-Utilised areas (FAS). UVAL’s main areas of activity regard:
evaluation: where the Unit’s role is to provide technical support for independent evaluations where they relate to rural development (in particular, it has taken part in the Steering Group dedicated to the study of this issue as part of the CSF evaluation and has subsequently pursued the same course in evaluating the Fishing NOP and the individual ROPs. In coordinating the National Evaluation System , UVAL collaborates with
INEA in providing methodological guidance for the evaluation of policies for rural areas with the objective of utilising its results in the programming and management of interventions. UVAL plays an active role reporting the results of evaluation to the public (seminar on “Evaluation and Development of Rural Areas”, Rome, 10 March 2005, Materiali UVAL publication no. 7, 2006) with the aim of disseminating territorial evaluation methods that help in understanding the territorial impact of actions even when they are not directly aimed at rural areas. UVAL provided specific technical contributions for the analysis of rural territories during the preparation of the planning documents for the period 2007-2013: Preliminary National Strategic Document (DSPN) and National Strategic Framework (NSF).
studies and evaluations: UVALhas a specific research and evaluation role in areas relevant for the development of rural territories and in key issues for orienting regional and rural development policies. At present, two research initiatives are under way: “Research for the agricultural and food processing sector and innovation strategies: a comparative analysis of the situation in different areas of the country and the economic policy implications”, the initial findings of which have been published in Chapter 2 of the 2005 Report of the Department for Development Policies (pdf, 880 kb) and “Personal services in rural areas: implications from the perspective of governance and economic policy”.
International activities: UVAL participates in the Working Party on Rural Areas of the OECD’s Territorial Development Policy Committee. The Working Party performs important work in orienting rural development policies, developing methodological contributions for territorial analyses but also providing a forum for the OECD countries to discuss critical issues that are addressed at international gatherings. UVAL also participates in the meetings organised by the FAO on specific issues concerning the development of rural territories. As part of the contribution offered by the DPS to the EU’s twinning programme, which is aimed at strengthening the administrative and institutional capabilities of the accession countries, UVAL also provides specific technical support on matters concerning the evaluation and the development of rural areas.
Sectoral studies 
