The European Commission in Question: Challenge, Change and Performance
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Political, Social and International
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Andrew Thompson (Author)
(2010)
Studying the European Commission : key issues of method
Bauer M
(2010)
L'acceptation du changement au sein de la Commission européenne
in Revue française d'administration publique
Bauer M
(2012)
Politicization within the European Commission's bureaucracy
in International Review of Administrative Sciences
Becker S
(2016)
The Commission: boxed in and constrained, but still an engine of integration
in West European Politics
Connolly S
(2015)
The Palgrave Handbook of the European Administrative System
Connolly, S.J.
(2013)
A Man's World? Gender, networking and careers in the European Commission
Connolly, S.J.
(2013)
A Man's World? Gender, networking and careers in the European Commission
| Description | The work funded enabled the PI and others to organise events, produce commentary, and make media experiences that explained the issues at stake in the referendum to a diverse range of audiences. The programme of events and activities, for which I organised included the following: A guest public lecture series, '"Brexit means Brexit", but what does that mean?: at UEA that featured: o Alan Finlayson, Marina Prentoulis, Chris Hanretty, and Iain Dale, all UEA on Brexit and the future of UK politics, 17 November 2016; o Thomas Sampson, LSE, Jonathan Portes, NIESR, and ESRC 'UK in a Changing Europe' Senior Fellow, Angus Armstrong, NIESR and ESRC 'UK in a Changing Europe' Senior Fellow, and Luke Morris, 'Business for Britain' East of England organizer, on Brexit and the future for UK business, 24 November 2016; o Amelia Fletcher, Andy Jordan, Andreas Stephan, and Catherine Waddams, all UEA, on Brexit and your future as consumer, taxpayer and citizen, UEA, 1 December 2016; o John Curtice, University of Strathclyde and Senior Fellow, 'UK in a Changing Europe', Jo Hunt, University of Cardiff and Senior Fellow, 'UK in a Changing Europe', Michael Keating, University of Aberdeen and Senior Fellow, 'UK in a Changing Europe', and Nikos Skoutaris, Norwich Law School, UEA on The Future of the United Kingdom, 19 January 2017; o Thomas Otte, UEA and Alan Finlayson, UEA on The UK's international future, 2 February 2017; Charles Clarke, UEA and Heather Rolfe, NIESR, on The future of migration and immigration and Brits abroad, 9 February 2017; o Adrian Favell, University of Leeds, Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future and Eric Kaufmann, Birkbeck, University of London on The future of community relations, 16 February 2017 I organised five full-day conferences that were aimed at and attended by policy makers, stakeholders, diplomats, journalists, and the general public: o 'What influence? The UK and Europe', full-day conference, King's College London, 14 January 2016. Speakers from campaign groups, think tanks, print and broadcast media, and academic, including Nigel Lawson, Anne McElvoy, Stephen Wall, and Simon Hix o 'Reporting the Europe: the UK media and the EU', full-day conference, British Academy, 8 February 2016. Speakers included Mark Mardell, John Peet, Quentin Peel, Adam Boulton, Charles Clarke, John Lloyd, Claus de Vreese, Katrin Auel, Olivier Baisnée, Anton La Guardia, Robert Nisbet, and Matthew Holehouse o 'The EU and the UK. External Perspectives on UK Membership of the EU - past, present and future', King's College London, 26 April 2016. Speakers included Enrico Letta, José Manuel Barroso, Margaret Macmillan, Brigid Laffan, Markus Jachtenfuchs, Jonathan Fenby, and Jeremy Shapiro o 'The EU and the UK: the wrong kind of regulation?' British Academy, 24 May, 2016. Speakers included Martin Sandbu, John Fingleton, Andrew Lilico, John Peet, Wyn Grant, Nina Schick, and Catherine Barnard o 'Working with the EU: Britons and Brussels', British Academy, 31 May 2016. Speakers included Carole Tongue, Sarah Ludford, David Hannay, Simon Fraser, David Bostock, David Edward, Charles Clarke, Michael Howard, Daniel Hannan, and Andrew Cahn. My other activities as a Fellow included the organization and delivery of the following: o 'UK and EU. Ask the expert', town hall event, Epic Studios, Norwich, 27 January 2016, (http://ukandeu.ac.uk/event/town-hall-event-on-the-uk-and-eu/). Audience of 100+ o 'UK and EU: to stay or to leave?" An event for schools, EPIC Studios, 7 March 2016, attended by 101 sixth formers from nine schools, https://www.uea.ac.uk/political-social-international-studies/events/the-uk-and-eu/uk-and-eu-to-stay-or-to-leave- o 'Brexit or Bremain' a panel hosted by the European Policy Centre, Brussels, 8 March, including John Curtice, Sara Hagemann, Anand Menon, and me. Audience of 130. o 'The EU referendum. Facts not Fiction', 11 June 2016 I also contributed explainers (briefings) to the 'UK in a Changing Europe' website (ukandeu.ac.uk), appeared on local and regional radio and TV, moderated or intervened in multiple citizen events in the East of England, and managed the University website on the referendum. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes provide an important source for interested citizens and scholars wanting to know about the pre-election referendum campaign, about the perspectives of politicians from across the political spectrum and practitioners on the pros and cons of Leave/Remain, and about UK's relationship with the EU |
| Sectors | Education,Other |
| URL | https://www.afterbrexit.uk |
| Description | The findings from 'The European Commission in Question' have had a significant impact beyond academia. The impact ambition was to contribute to greater effectiveness of the European Commission and to contribute to more effective national EU policy making. There were three main targeted audiences that have been reached through a range of diverse pathways. The European Commission was our first and principal target. Findings from our research have had an impact within the European Commission, where they have been used to inform reflections within top management on personnel policy, management, gender equality, and career progression within the organization. In our research, we were able to ask questions that management can rarely ask of its staff and that, in an international organization, would be regarded as too sensitive if not posed by independent researchers. We amassed unrivalled primary source material, combining quantitative and qualitative data, that delivered new knowledge about the Commission, its internal operation and the people who work for it. Our findings and analysis were communicated through a variety of channels, including formal and informal meetings with top management, presentations to senior managers at the weekly Directors General meeting, as well as to a gathering of the top 400 managers in the organization, and meetings with the management team in several Commission departments. We also gave seminars to groups and networks within the organization, and presented the findings of the project to a meeting that was open to all staff. Briefings showcasing individual results of particular interest were produced, made available on our website, and widely circulated within the Commission. Videos of our main presentations were made for training purposes and multiple copies of our book were requested by the Commission for its senior staff. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office was the second targeted constituency. We presented findings relating to the presence, location and profile of UK nationals in the European Commission, and an analysis of how the UK compares to other large member states. A presentation to staff from across Whitehall was followed up by a meeting with senior staff managing personnel issues. Third, we presented work to the Scottish Executive. In the run-up to the first referendum on Scottish independence, we outlined actions that needed to be taken to ensure effective interaction with the European Commission. The research formed the basis of an impact case study as part of submission made by the School of Political, Social and International Studies at the University of East Anglia to REF2014. See http://impact.ref.ac.uk/CaseStudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=1439 |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Inside Knowledge: informing institutions on managing and working with the European Commission |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Title | EUCIQ database |
| Description | The database collects responses from the 1901 responses to the online survey of policy officers in the European Commission, covering background demographics, as well as career trajectories, beliefs, attitudes and views. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The database informed the publications for this project |
| Description | European Commission: Facing the Future |
| Organisation | German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The partnership, which brought together five researchers who had worked on an earlier project, 'The European Commission in Question', in 2008-09, assembled under the leadership of Professor Hussein Kassim, UEA and Professor Sara Connolly, UEA to undertake a new research project on the European Commission in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners helped design the project, undertake the research and analysis, and co-author publications reporting the findings |
| Impact | Forthcoming publications in Public Administration, Journal of European Public Policy, and European Political Science. The project is multidisciplinary, drawing on political science, public administration, economics, and European studies. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | European Commission: Facing the Future |
| Organisation | Sciences Po |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The partnership, which brought together five researchers who had worked on an earlier project, 'The European Commission in Question', in 2008-09, assembled under the leadership of Professor Hussein Kassim, UEA and Professor Sara Connolly, UEA to undertake a new research project on the European Commission in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners helped design the project, undertake the research and analysis, and co-author publications reporting the findings |
| Impact | Forthcoming publications in Public Administration, Journal of European Public Policy, and European Political Science. The project is multidisciplinary, drawing on political science, public administration, economics, and European studies. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | European Commission: Facing the Future |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology (SynthSys) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The partnership, which brought together five researchers who had worked on an earlier project, 'The European Commission in Question', in 2008-09, assembled under the leadership of Professor Hussein Kassim, UEA and Professor Sara Connolly, UEA to undertake a new research project on the European Commission in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners helped design the project, undertake the research and analysis, and co-author publications reporting the findings |
| Impact | Forthcoming publications in Public Administration, Journal of European Public Policy, and European Political Science. The project is multidisciplinary, drawing on political science, public administration, economics, and European studies. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | 'A Man's World? Gender and the European Commission' Invited lecture given to the Conference on Women Leaders in International Relations, Italian Cultural Institute, Brussels, 11 July 2013 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Attendees expressed interest in gender in the European Commission and international organizations more generally |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | 'A silent transformation: leadership and coordination in the European Commission since 2005' - Invited lecture given at the ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, Norway, 10 May 2010 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and long discussion Participants suggested further lines of research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | 'The Commission of the 21st century Research helps bust a series of myths', Commission en Direct |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The interview communicated our findings and extended understanding of the Commission After the interview, communication was received from interested readers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | 'The European Commission in Question' Invited lecture given at the European Integration Summer School, University of Adger, Kristiansand, Norway, 3 July 2011 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussions Students showed interest in the European Commission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | 'The European Commission in Question' presentation by Professor Kassim at the European Commission lunchtime seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Participants were interested in more information and encouraging further lines of research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | 'The European Commission of the Twenty-First Century' - Invited lecture and launch of the book (with Liesbet Hooghe and John Peterson) 'The European Commission of the Twenty-First Century' at the European Commission Lunchtime Seminar, Centre Albert Borsch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talks sparked questions and length discussion afterwards Practitioners expressed fascination and surprise about the findings, and also suggested further lines of enquiry |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Presentation by Professor Hussein Kassim and Professor John Peterson to meeting convened by External Affairs Division of the Scottish government, 4 November 2012 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards After the talks, there were exchanges with key participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Presentation of findings by Professor Hussein Kassim and Dr Sara Connolly to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HM Government on 22 August 2012. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Participants suggested further lines of enquiry. Invitation followed to discuss issues raised with senior officials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Presentation of provisional findings by Professors Hussein Kassim and Liesbet Hooghe to meeting of Directors-General and other senior officials |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The presentation sparked questions and lengthy discussions afterwards After the talk, a number of Directors General invited Professor Kassim to address their top management teams |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Presentation of selected findings by Professor Kassim at European Commission's Senior Management Review on 13 September 2012 to the European Commission's 400 top officials. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussions throughout the day. Speakers: European Commission President José Manuel Barroso; European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefcovic; Secretary General of the Council Uwe Corsepius; Professor Kassim, UEA After my talk, I was contacted by senior officials in the organization wanting to know more about the study and encouraging me to undertake further research on particular topics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | https://www.uea.ac.uk/political-social-international-studies/european-commission-in-question/impact |
| Description | Presentations to top management teams in seven Directorates General of the European Commission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The talks provoked lengthy discussion After my talk, there were further requests for information, analysis of data and interest in our policy briefings |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011 |
| Description | Publication of article in internal magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article sparked discussion and exchange Following publication, practitioner encouraged research along additional lines of interest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | The European Commission in Question - major dissemination event by Professors Kassim, Peterson, Bauer, Dehousse, Hooghe and Thompson |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A major dissemination event held at the British Academy in London in September 2010. Among the organisations represented were the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Treasury Solicitors Department, Home Office, National School of Government, Office of Fair Trading, the House of Lords, YouGov, AIACE-UK, Bank of England, Chatham House, Policy Network, the Embassy of Bulgaria, the Embassy of Finland, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Embassy of Austria, and the Third Sector European Network. After the presentation, attendees signed up to our 'European Commission in Question' email list in order to receive further information and policy briefings |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | The European Commission in Question = Invited lecture given to the School of Public Policy, UCL, London, 18 October 2012 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk provoked questions and discussion afterwards After my talk, students showed interest in intricacies of the European Commission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | The European Commission in Question: Inside the 'black box' - Invited lecture given at King's College London, 21 November 2010 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussions afterwards Students showed greater interest and understanding of the Commission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | The European Commission of the Twenty-First Century: Inside the 'Black Box' Invited lecture given with Sara Connolly at Hofstra University, New York, 25 September 2013 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards After our talk, students showed interest in the European Commission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |