This project starts from the observation that European citizens, in general, and the Portuguese, in particular, have limited knowledge about European funds and a moderately positive opinion about their impact. Despite the huge volumes of investment and the fact that there have been policy instruments in place across Europe for many decades (notably those from cohesion policy), it is a subject that seems relatively distant and diffuse to the ordinary citizen. Some studies warn that this is not positive for the strengthening of the European integration process, nor for the strengthening of the perception of the public value of these same policies, and in this matter it is possible to evolve considerably. It is a path, in our view feasible and recommendable, that will lead us to the strengthening of democracy as a whole, but also to the promotion of our fundamental values and collective well-being. In addition to these fundamentals, which alone are sufficient to justify change, it is necessary to also emphasize the gains in effectiveness, efficiency, equity and sustainability that can be obtained through greater knowledge and citizens involvement in the processes of formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policies. From the challenge launched by the Aviso PAT2030-2023-01, the project seeks to diminish the lack of knowledge about European funds by citizens through the qualitative improvement of the PT2030 communication efforts. To this end, it is proposed to develop an applied research project aimed at identifying the most appropriate communication strategies for strengthening and affirming the public value of these financial instruments. These strategies are specifically pointed to the media professionals and to the knowledge and skills gaps in this field, as well to the detection of action proposals in the field of empowering audiences directly related to the media ecosystem

The project aims to develop and test an innovative methodological approach to impact assessment directed to the next generation of public policies financed with European Community funds (2021-2027). This methodological approach is anchored in the triangulation of three basic methods: Policy–Scientific Approach, Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Contingent Valuation Method. The implementation and testing of the methodological proposal will focus on Investment Priority 08 of Portugal 2020 and its social housing support operations (developed under the regional operational programmes). This option seeks to build an impact methodology framed in the logic of “theory-based evaluation” and in the “realist evaluation” type that maximizes the potential of combining two essential theories for the current Public Policy Science, programming theory and causal theory, also taking as a milestone the determination of two basic pillars of public governance: the logic of results-oriented public policies and the principle of evidence-based policies. It is considered that the main added value of this proposal is not so much in the overall calculation of the effects of the interventions, but rather in the possibility of knowing in detail the causal relationships that result from them, attributing to it an effective economic value, no longer only in the perspective of the achievements, but above all from the perspective of the real impact.