Dr. Travis O'Doherty:

I talk to local authorities that have been partners in projects under previous programmes, perhaps the 2014-20 programme or the 2007-13 programme. They found the financial technical reporting very bureaucratic and that has put them off EU projects. They have been burned by previous projects even though there have been great efforts at simplification. Anecdotally, the simplified cost options are effective but that message does not necessarily get across to all local authority staff.

Staff members in local authorities have their own jobs, so they may view it as additional work. An EU project often allows them to hire additional staff, maybe on contract, but, at the same time, there is a workload associated with contracting new staff. As well as the match funding we have talked about, there are sometimes barriers to that. The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has a similar network to the Southern Regional Assembly. It is an EU funding network with nearly 400 subscribers. We organise events and we announce when calls are happening. All the local authorities are informed when events and calls are happening and we showcase good examples of projects like that. It helps to get the message across to local authorities within our region.