Abstract

Why is a focus on policy communication relevant to the practice and study of European integration? Over the two last two decades, no clear pattern seems to have emerged linking the efforts of the European Union (EU) to foster local development and reduction of disparities with a generalized increase in the levels of European identity. This constitutes a relevant challenge for both policy makers and local implementers as well as for students of the European integration process. In this context, it is surprising how little attention has been paid to the potential role of cohesion policy – the EU’s largest investment policy aimed at promoting regional development and reducing disparities. Based on a recognition of previous research and direct experience acquired through interaction with practitioners of the cohesion policy field, in this report, we point out the importance of ‘awareness’ and ‘appreciation’ (of EU efforts) by EU citizens. This means that, albeit not a general rule, those who are aware of the policy often appreciate EU developmental policies and, when these two conditions are matched with each other, tend to fell more European. In managerial terms, this gap between institutions and citizens points to the centrality of policy communication. That is, we need to better understand the mechanisms and outcomes of communicating policy in todays’ practice of policy implementation. Accordingly, this report aims at increasing our understanding of a number of strategic aspects connected with the task of communicating EU regional cohesion policy at the local level. In more detail, two main aspects are dealt with: First, the extent to which local communication activities take part in a wider international discourse (i.e. through topics). Here, we expand our previous work (i.e. see PERCEIVE deliverables 5.3 and 3.3) on communicating EU cohesion policy through social media by analyzing contents generated by Local Managing Authorities’ (hereafter referred to as LMAs) use of Facebook. And second, the impact and effectiveness of communication efforts (i.e. the effect of the amount of communication investments and the content of communication activities on citizens’ awareness of EU policies and appreciation of EU actions). Inquiring this aspect entailed a statistical analysis of the association between communication efforts which LMAs disseminate the aims and accomplishments of regional cohesion policy on the one hand, and awareness as well as appreciation of the policy by EU citizens on the other hand. The outcomes of the social media analysis described as the first aspect above are also included as variables of the statistical analysis of the second focal aspect.