The Consell has endorsed formal agreements focused on culture analysis and knowledge transfer between the Generalitat Presidency and two major regional universities, the University of Valencia (UV) and the University of Alicante (UA). The objective is to assess and enhance public policies that affect economic and social wellbeing across the Community of Valencia through the end of 2022, with a clear emphasis on accountability and measurable outcomes.
The central aim is to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration by promoting research and knowledge exchange that informs the design, examination, and appraisal of Consell policies. Decision-making will be supported by robust evaluation results, helping to prioritize or reallocate public resources toward strategies that drive sustainable economic and social recovery.
Concretely, the collaboration seeks to propel the evaluation of projects capable of strengthening the Valencia region’s economic and social recovery. These projects are expected to be competitive in securing European funds through transparent procedures and to produce tangible impacts in economic activity and employment across the community.
To support this effort, the Generalitat will allocate a total of 60,000 euros through these agreements, with 30,000 euros designated to each university to foster evaluation research on projects that can access European funding in competitive processes and deliver meaningful benefits for the region.
specific actions
Under the Valencia agreement, the collaboration includes a citizen engagement initiative described as the “last mile” bidding approach for targeted areas. This involves the creation and development of citizen laboratories designed to surface practical insights from residents, enabling more grounded policy decisions.
The policies examined in these research activities will focus on enhancing the region’s ability to attract European funds through competitive mechanisms. The work aims to accelerate economic and social recovery while delivering notable improvements in local activity and employment levels.
As part of this effort, citizen digital laboratories will be established to generate data-driven analyses. Reports will summarize findings from the labs, offering recommendations for last-mile public policies tailored to identified areas, along with a model for integrating citizen input into the political agenda. These outputs are intended to inform decision-makers and enrich the policy discourse with ground-level perspectives.
At the University of Alicante, the scope includes assessing the impact of implementing the Alcem-nos Plan in relation to its initial objectives. The study will look at how these planned actions influence overall policy goals and the potential for broader application beyond the pilot phase.
Both universities will, in pursuit of the agreement’s aims, engage in research and knowledge transfer activities related to the design, analysis, and evaluation of public policies. Activities will also include organizing public hearings, conferences, seminars, and other scholarly exchanges, as well as expanding university outreach to broaden participation in the policy evaluation culture within the Valencian Community.
The collaboration will yield recommendations for improving indicators and information systems used to monitor the performance and impact of public policies. These insights are intended to refine measurement tools, enhance reporting practices, and strengthen the overall governance framework guiding public policy evaluation across the region.