Delivering new potential for community economic development?: European structural funds, RECHAR II and the West Midlands coal communities

Recognised as a key 'feedback loop' for policy evolution and the main innovative spin-off from Structural Fund procedures, evaluation is increasingly on the European agenda. Against a background of the regeneration needs and potentials of former coalmining communities, regional differences, and the drive for cohesion, this paper focuses on the RECHAR II Programme as it has been developed in the UK's West Midlands region. The analysis considers the focus, objectives and array of projects supported in the 1994-99 phase, assesses the negatives and the positives linked to early evidence on emergent outputs and outcomes, and discusses the funding and decision-making processes involved. More generally, the role of RECHAR support as a catalyst for local economic change is assessed using examples of ongoing projects.