The definitions below are drawn from the Commission Staff Working Document[1] accompanying the indicators listed in Annex II of ERDF Regulation (EU) 2021/1058, describing the full methodology.
OUTPUT INDICATOR
Definition
Minimum requirements for documentation
Interreg common output indicators
RCO 83 - Strategies and action plans jointly developed
The indicator counts the number of joint strategies or action plans developed by supported projects. A jointly developed strategy aims at establishing a targeted way to achieve a goal-oriented process in a specific domain. An action plan translates an existing jointly developed strategy into actions.
Jointly developed strategy or action plan implies the involvement of organizations from at least two participating countries (for programmes falling under strands A, B, C as defined in the Interreg Regulation) in the drafting process of the strategy or action plan or is developed in the scope of programmes falling under strands D or E as defined in the Interreg Regulation.
RCO 84 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects
The indicator counts the pilot actions developed jointly and implemented by supported projects. The scope of a jointly developed pilot action could be to test procedures, new instruments, tools, experimentation or the transfer of practices. In order to be counted by this indicator,
implemented within the project, and
finalised by the end of the project.
Jointly developed pilot action implies the involvement of organizations from at least two participating countries (for programmes falling under strands A, B, C as defined in the Interreg Regulation) in its implementation or is implemented in the scope of programmes falling under strands D or E as defined in the Interreg Regulation.
RCO 87 - Organisations cooperating across borders
The indicator counts the organisations cooperating formally in supported projects. The organisations counted in this indicator are the legal entities including project partners and associated organizations, as mentioned in the financing agreement of the application. Organisations cooperating formally in small projects (for instance under a Small Project Fund) are also counted.
Signed partnership agreement in line with the underlined elements in the indicator definition
RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions
The indicator counts the number of jointly developed solutions from joint pilot actions implemented by supported projects. In order to be counted in the indicator, an identified solution should include indications of the actions needed for it to be taken up or to be upscaled.
A jointly developed solution implies the involvement of organizations from at least two participating countries (for programmes falling under strands A, B, C as defined in the Interreg Regulation) in the drafting and design process of the solution or is developed in the scope of programmes within strands D or E as defined in the Interreg Regulation.
ERDF common output indicators - thematic
RCO 01 - Enterprises supported (of which: micro, small, medium, large)
The indicator counts all enterprises that receive monetary or in-kind support from ERDF and Cohesion Fund.
The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods and services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit. Legal units include legal persons whose existence is recognised by law independently of the individuals or institutions which may own them or are members of them, such as general partnerships, private limited partnerships, limited liability companies, incorporated companies etc. Legal units as well include natural persons who are engaged in an economic activity in their own right, such as the owner and operator of a shop or a garage, a lawyer or a self-employed handicrafts-person.
(ESTAT in references, based on Council Regulation (EEC) No. 696/93, Section III A of 15.03.1993)
For the purpose of this indicator, enterprises are profit-oriented organisations that produce goods and services to satisfy market needs.
For Policy Objective 4 (Social Europe, Europe closer to its citizens), the indicator includes also social enterprises defined by the Commission (DG GROW) as follows: “a social enterprise is an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders. It operates by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and innovative fashion and uses its profits primarily to achieve social objectives.”
Classification of enterprises:
Small enterprise (10-49 employees and annual turnover >EUR 2 million - ≤ EUR 10 million or balance sheet in > EUR 2 million - ≤ EUR 10 million);
Medium enterprise (50-249 employees and annual turnover >EUR 10 million - ≤ EUR 50 million or balance sheet in EUR > EUR 10 million -≤ EUR 43 million);
Large enterprises (>250 employees and turnover > EUR 50 million or balance sheet > EUR 43 million).
If either of the 2 thresholds (employees and annual turnover/balance sheet) is exceeded the enterprises shall be categorised in the size category above.
(ESTAT based on EC Recommendation 2003/361/EC, Annex, Articles 2-3)
Size of the enterprise supported is measured at the time of the application.
RCO 04 and RCO 05 automatically count towards this indicator. See those indicators for the documentation requirements.
RCO 04 - Enterprises with non-financial support
Number of enterprises receiving non-financial support. Enterprises are counted in the indicator if they receive the non-financial support in a structured manner such as, for example, an SMEs receiving incubator services. The support provided needs to be documented. One-off interactions (ex: phone calls for information requests) are not included.
Examples of non-financial support include services such as (non -exclusive list): advisory services (consulting assistance and training for the exchange of knowledge and experience etc) or support services (provision of office space, websites, data banks, libraries. market research, handbooks, working and model documents etc).
For the definition of an enterprise see RCO01.
RCO 05 - New enterprises supported
The number of new enterprises supported. An enterprise is considered new if it did not exist during the three years period before the project started. An enterprise will not be considered new if only its legal form changes. The indicator covers also spin-offs.
For the definition of an enterprise see RCO01.
RCO 10 - Enterprises cooperating with research institutions
Number of enterprises that cooperate in joint research projects with research institutions. Cooperation in R&D activities may be new or existing and it should last at least for the duration of the project supported. The indicator covers active participations in joint research projects, and it excludes contractual arrangements with no active cooperation in the supported project.
Definition of enterprise - see RCO01.
Definition of research institution - see RCO07[1].
RCO 14 - Public institutions supported to develop digital services, products and processes
Number of public institutions supported to develop or upgrade significantly digital services, products and processes, for instance in the context of e-government actions. Significant upgrades cover only new functionalities.
Public institutions include local public authorities, sub-national authorities, or other types of public authorities. The indicator does not cover municipal enterprises and public universities or research institutes.
[1] Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2021)198: Performance, monitoring and evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund in 2021-2027 Link