EPRC celebrated 30 years of regional policy research with an international conference held at Loch Lomond, attended by high-level government officials from nine European countries (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom).
The conference marked three decades of comparative regional policy research under the EoRPA research programme. Chaired by Professor Douglas Yuill, the three-day conference was the setting for intensive discussions on the regional dimensions of the financial and economic crisis.
New EPRC research examining the impact of the crisis on Europe's regions and the regional policy responses was presented by Dr Sara Davies, with a further paper delivered by Fiona Wishlade on the role of state aid as part of government measures.
Other EPRC papers presented at the conference dealt with longer term strategic developments in regional policy (Dr Irene McMaster), the demographic challenges facing European regions (Dr Martin Ferry) and the debate on reforming EU Cohesion policy (Professor John Bachtler).
The guest speaker, Vasco Cal, from the European Commission's Bureau of Economic Policy Advisers, provided insights into the new political guidelines put forward by Commission President Barroso and the directions into the new political guidelines put forward by Commission President Barroso and the directions of the forthcoming EU budget review.
The EoRPA research programme is unique in Europe, having attracted funding to EPRC from a multinational consortium of government ministries continuously for 30 years to support policy-relevant research and knowledge exchange undertaken by EPRC. Over that period, the programme has brought external funding of more than £5 million to the university.