Regional policies and the European dimension of growth in Lombardy

This paper analyses the impact of regional policies in Lombardy as part of the Italian National Research Council’s project “Territorial Impact Assessment of the Territorial Cohesion in the Italian regions. Place Evidence Model for Assessing Policies Devoted to Green Economy in Internal Areas and Metropolitan Inner Peripheries”. The paper is made up of three parts. Part one examines policies designed to promote Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, by looking at the Regional Operational Programmes 2014-2020 for the European Regional Development Fund (ROP ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ROP ESF). The focus of part two is the territory of Lombardy, which is examined at two time points (with the use of the STeMA methodology). The first time point considers the present territorial context; the second time point focuses on the changes that this context undergoes following regional planning. The impact of the policies is also examined by applying them to the various territorial typologies that characterise the region. Part three of the paper goes on to assess the results of the study in respect of territorial cohesion and makes policy suggestions for planning the 2021-2027 period.