Communiqué March 2006

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Laying the foundations for better monitoring

The Foundation launches a European network of observatories for the collection and dissemination of news and analysis, aimed at expanding and improving the existing services for its clientele.

On 1 March the Foundation has put in place a new way of organising information- gathering and analysis, aimed at creating greater synergies between its monitoring tools. The new network of researchers, spanning 30 countries in Europe, will feed information and news on recent developments in industrial relations, quality of work and employment, and restructuring to the Foundation’s three monitoring tools: the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO), and the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM). The new network will also play a role in reaching the national policy debate and support the dissemination of the Foundation’s knowledge to the general public.

Creating greater synergy

The new network is the result of efforts to create greater synergy between the various work procedures in the Foundation, an initiative that was started two and a half years ago. The primary reason for creating the new network was to satisfy the growing demands of the Foundation’s clientele. Since enlargement of the European Union to encompass another ten new Member States on 1 May 2004, the demand on the Foundation in terms of monitoring a greater number of countries, covering a greater number of issues and replying to a greater number of requests has escalated by around 60%. In the same period, the financial means made available to the Foundation has increased by 20%: in 2003, the Foundation’s budget was EUR16.7 million, while its budget in 2006 is EUR19 million.

Satisfying external demands

There are also demands on the Foundation from the outside, primarily from the Court of Auditors and the European Parliament, to make better use of existing resources and to find more coherence in the work of the agencies. ‘We have to be realistic about the budgetary perspectives,’ says Willy Buschak, the Foundation’s Deputy Director. ‘All agencies have to compete for their funding, and with a growing number of agencies over time, this competition will increase.’ As part of an annual exercise, each agency discusses its funding requirements directly with the budgetary authorities in Brussels.

Another reason for the new network is to avoid the unnecessary overlaps in processes and content that exist between the separate networks for information gathering, analysis and dissemination.

Improving and expanding the service

With the new network in place, the Foundation hopes to extend its monitoring and dissemination services to more countries and stakeholders in the near future, looking also beyond Europe. It remains fully committed to delivering more up-to-date and timely information. In terms of quantitative goals and ambitions, the aim is to continue to increase the number of user sessions for its websites. In 2005, there was a 20% overall increase in the number of user sessions.