Sustainability of Investments in the Built Environment Financed by ESI Funds: journal article A Financial and Service Experience Perspective Tamás Berky European Structural and Investment Funds Journal, Volume 6 (2018), Issue 4, Page 296 - 304 European Structural and Investment Funds invest the bulk of their resources in the construction, refurbishment or renewal of the built environment. ESI Funds managing organisations focus on the investment projects that create or regenerate the built environment. However, research indicates that the cost of operation of a building is likely to be higher than its investment cost. The target groups of investments will benefit from project results when they start to use the new facilities after their handover as users, the impact of investments thus manifesting over the years of operation. Despite this, there is little focus on financial sustainability, let alone the sustainability or quality of the customer experience that the target group face, representing a high risk that the intended project objectives and results will not be met. The article argues that through state-of-the-art design and facility management requirements towards funded projects and beneficiaries, the sustainability and quality of project results can be improved.
The Experience of the Application of Traditional Project Management Approach in ESI Funds and Possible Alternatives journal article Tamás Berky European Structural and Investment Funds Journal, Volume 3 (2015), Issue 1, Page 37 - 44 The objective of this article is to explore some problems that arise from the application of short-term and output-oriented grant management practice and from the traditional ‘waterfall’ project management approach in cases where the project content is more difficult to precisely define at the planning phase, where there is more risk inherent in the project and where more iteration and engagement is necessary in the implementation phase. The characteristics of the current grant management approach will be examined based on evaluation findings and experiences regarding practices in Hungary; the possible implications of this approach for research, institutional development or service development projects and possible alternatives to them will be introduced. Furthermore, it will be discussed how iterative management approaches that have become legitimate in government service development and procurement in recent years could be applied to a wider range of projects under European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds as well. Whereas the problems will essentially be discussed as perceived at the project level, the implications of both problems and potential solutions at programme or policy level will be examined.
The Audit Authority’s Role within the Single Audit Concept as Governance Principle in the EU’s Cohesion Policy Marcel Bode
