The experience behind SPARC
SPARC is new; the expertise behind it is not. The publications, projects and events below reflect our team’s work across research, advisory and public administration — the track record SPARC builds on.
Where research meets the field: applied research, evaluations and hands-on advice helping public institutions make policy work better in practice.
The evidence behind SPARC’s thinking — research on why public policies and procedures feel the way they do, and what makes simplification real rather than cosmetic.
Putting the work into the room: presenting our research and convening the researchers, officials and citizens who shape how public policy is experienced.
Selection of recent projects
Each project below was led or contributed to by SPARC’s team in prior academic, advisory or institutional roles.
- Assessing France's regional reform and investment priorities (2026 European Semester) — for the European Commission (DG Regio). Expert report contributing to the Commission's French country report; conducted by Sébastien Bourdin and Fabian Gal.
- Ex-post evaluation of 2014–2020 Cohesion Policy (ERDF) — for the European Commission (DG Regio). Evaluation of integrated territorial development across the programming period; Fabian Gal served as country expert for Germany, Hungary and Luxembourg.
- EU PRO Plus — local development in Serbia — for UNOPS. Advisory project helping Serbia strengthen local development by drawing on best-practice examples from other EU countries; Fabian Gal contributed the Hungary case study.
- IQ-Net — improving the implementation of Cohesion Policy — applied research network run by the European Policies Research Centre, bringing together managing authorities across Europe to strengthen how cohesion policy is delivered. Fabian Gal (country expert and thematic paper author) regularly contributes.
- Doctoral research on administrative burden (CIFRE) — with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region. The research that SPARC was founded on: why beneficiaries of EU cohesion policy continue to experience administrative burden as overwhelming, and what actually drives that perception. Conducted by Fabian Gal.
- EoRPA — European regional policy research consortium — comparative policy research run by EPRC for national and regional authorities across Europe; Eléna Jabri and Fabian Gal as country experts.
- Fact-finding study on State-aid transparency requirements (GBER) — for the European Commission (DG Competition); Fabian Gal as country expert for France, Germany, Hungary and Luxembourg.
- GEOCOVID & GEOCOVID 2 — the geography of COVID-19 and public-policy responses — for ESPON (Interreg programme). Large-scale study of how European regions and cities responded to the pandemic and the territorial consequences; Sébastien Bourdin as scientific lead.
- Multi-level governance and the territorial implementation of public policy — research (Sébastien Bourdin) into why public strategies are taken up unevenly across regions and how coordination between levels of government shapes whether they succeed — drawing on the implementation of circular-economy policy across European cities and regions.
Selection of recent publications
Administrative burden and simplification
- Gal, F. & Bourdin, S. (under review). When policy speaks with two voices: policy ambiguity and administrative burden in EU cohesion policy. — how unclear or conflicting policy signals generate burden before any paperwork begins.
- Gal, F. & Bourdin, S. (working paper). From administrative burden to the erosion of public value in EU cohesion policy. — how the experience of burden undermines the perceived worth and legitimacy of public action.
- Gal, F. & Bourdin, S. (working paper). Administrative burden beyond the citizen: relational costs and the differential restriction of access in EU cohesion policy. — how burden falls unevenly across organisations, quietly narrowing who can access public support.
- Gal, F. (2025). L'éternelle simplification de la politique de cohésion de l'UE : les causes et effets de la perception de la lourdeur administrative en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Doctoral thesis, Université de Rennes. — the founding research behind SPARC.
- Gal, F. & Van der Valk, O. (2025). New financial management tools under EU cohesion policy — have they delivered on simplification? IQ-Net Thematic Paper 58(2), European Policies Research Centre.
- Gal, F. & Kah, S. (2020). Real costs or real simplification? Improving the financial management of cohesion policy programmes. IQ-Net Review Paper 46(2), European Policies Research Centre.
EU Cohesion policy and its effectiveness
- Molica, F., De Renzis, A. & Bourdin, S. (2025). From Lisbonisation to hyper-Lisbonisation: the long goodbye to EU Cohesion Policy's original goals. Regional Studies.
- Bourdin, S., Destefanis, S., Coppola, G. & Kubara, M. (2025). What are the impacts of Cohesion Policy on the trade-off between employment and productivity? Regional Studies.
- Bachtler, J., Bourdin, S. & Ferry, M. (2024). Cohesion policy in post-pandemic Europe. In EU Cohesion Policy, Edward Elgar.
- Gal, F., Van der Valk, O. & Bachtler, J. (2023). Administrative capacity-building in 2021–27: priorities, strategies and implementation. IQ-Net Thematic Paper 55(2), European Policies Research Centre.
- Bachtler, J., Ferry, M. & Gal, F. (2018). Implementation of European Structural and Investment Funds. Research paper for the European Parliament (BUDG Committee).
Territorial governance and policy evaluation
- Gal F (2026) Regional Policy Developments in Hungary, 2025-26, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
- Torre, A. & Bourdin, S. (2021). The French territorial reform of the regions: objectives, risks and challenges for some forgotten territories. International Journal of Public Administration.
- Bourdin, S. & Ragazzi, E. (2018). Regional science and the performance of public policies: a review of evaluation methods. Revue d'Économie Régionale et Urbaine.
- Bourdin, S. (2024). Smart specialisation strategy: a territorial governance perspective. In EU Cohesion Policy, Edward Elgar.
- Bourdin, S. (2024). The interplay of politics and space: how elected politicians shape place-based policies and outcomes. The Geographical Journal.
- Gal F (2021) Regional Policy Developments in Germany, 2020-21, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Selection of recent events
Where our team has presented, convened and shared its work.
Convening and invited engagements
- European Week of Regions and Cities (EURegionsWeek) (2024), Brussels — Fabian Gal organised and chaired the session "Good management of EU Cohesion Policy for a strong EU democracy," bringing together the European Commission, regional authorities and researchers to examine the root causes of administrative complexity.
- Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025), European Commission, Seville — Fabian Gal, invited seminar with the JRC's TEDAM group, presenting his research on administrative burden in EU cohesion policy.
- OECD (2025), online — Fabian Gal, presentation of research findings to OECD staff.
- Stakeholder consultation, online (2026) — Sébastien Bourdin and Fabian Gal convened national and regional stakeholders (ANCT, SGAE, ministries, regions, Bpifrance) to validate the findings of their expert report for the European Commission on France's 2026 European Semester priorities.
Academic conferences
- Regional Studies Association (RSA) Annual Conference (2026), Gothenburg — Sébastien Bourdin, paper presentation and workshop organiser.
- European Regional Science Association (ERSA) Congress (2026), Sofia — Sébastien Bourdin and Fabian Gal, paper presentation and workshop organisers.
- Innovation in Public Services and Public Policy Conference (PUBSIC) (2026), Budapest — Fabian Gal, working-paper presentation.
- Association Internationale de Recherche en Management Public (AIRMAP) (2026), Aix-en-Provence — Fabian Gal, working-paper presentation.
- European Policies Research Centre (EPRC) webinar (2025), online — Fabian Gal, presentation of research findings.