In 2003, the Austrian Territorial Employment Pacts (TEPs) had been evaluated by WIFO (Evaluation of the European Social Fund 2000-2006, Austrian Objective 3 Programme, priority 6. WIFO, 2003). For further information on the evaluation results please visit TEPs & Evaluation.
The evaluation showed that the TEPs have impressively and effectively managed their first phase, the “partnership building”. Based on the strengths of the TEPs a so-called “consolidation phase” was recommended by WIFO to follow. In order to further develop the pacts, the partnerships’ functions and roles of partners had to be clarified, central terms of co-operation defined and adequate tools helping to fulfil the pacts’ main tasks developed together.
In 2004, the Austrian TEPs decided to jointly elaborate the major recommendations within the national consolidation process, called “STEPs” (2004-2006). The aims of STEPs were to strengthen the concept stability and functional plausibility of the TEPs in order to contribute towards ensuring the pacts to continue working constructively after 2006.
In order to accompany and support the pacts the federal Co-ordination Unit of the TEPs designed the national consolidation process and organised several workshops (from May 2004 to November 2006). STEPs focused on co-operative learning by comparing experiences of all involved pact-members. The pacts worked together on the following topics: clarification of structures of co-operation and co-ordination, analysis of governance-systems in the pacts, specification of roles and functions of the pacts, establishment of an improved documentation system on the basis of the so-called “impact orientated monitoring” and development of TEP-indicators used for monitoring and self-evaluation.
The milestones of the consolidation process STEPs are published in the brochure STEPs der TEPs (including abstracts in English language). Based on the aims of the process the brochure illustrates step by step which STEPs successfully were implemented by the TEPs until May 2006.
For additional information in German please visit TEPs & Konsolidierung.