European Social Fund (ESF)

The East of England has been awarded an allocation of £155 million for the period 2007-13 as part of the new England and Gibraltar European Social Fund (ESF) programme.
Although this is a considerable reduction in funding from the previous ESF Objective 3 programme's regional allocation (2000 to 2006) of £239 million, the number of priorities has also been reduced from five to two, which means that the new programme will be better focused with more flexibility to meet regional needs.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is one of five Co-Financing Organisations (CFOs) in the East of England region for the new programme 2007-13. The other CFOs are the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Bedfordshire County Council and Luton Borough Council.

EEDA's Co-financing Plan, which was formally approved in December 2007 by the region's European Programmes Strategy Group, contains an ESF allocation of £6.6 million for the initial programme period 2008-2011.  During that time, EEDA's programme will fund projects which address the employment and skills challenges in the East of England, focusing on extending employment opportunities to those not in work and developing a skilled and adaptable workforce for the needs of the region's businesses.