Report on Lessons from Slovakia’s Comprehensive Approach to Marginalized Roma Communities in the 2007-2013 Structural Funds Programming Period

The report Lessons from Slovakia’s Comprehensive Approach – Assessing the feasibility of designing and implementing integrated territorial programs targeting marginalized Roma communities is a result of a research project funded by the Open Society Foundations‘ Making the Most of EU Funds for the Roma Program.

Authors of the report, SGI analysts Andrej Salner and Ctibor Košťál and two external contributors Marek Hojsík and Zuzana Polačková focused on the implementation of the so-called Comprehensive Approach to the Development of Marginalized Roma Communities in the 2007-2013 EU Funds programming period.

The implementation of the Comprehensive Approach differed significantly from the logic of the original proposal and the Approach did not meet its original objectivs. In spite of this, it offers a number of lessons for territorially (as opposed to sectorally) targeted programs aimed at resolving problems of marginalized Roma communities using EU funds and other public funds.

The research draws on an analysis of Local Strategies of Comprehensive Approach and interviews with stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of the approach, as well as representatives of a selected local governments.

The document Lessons from Slovakia’s Comprehensive Approach – Assessing the feasibility of designing and implementing integrated territorial programs targeting marginalized Roma communities published in September 2013 is available for download in the PDF format.