Matrix Insight

The European Commission has recently published Matrix Insight’s Comparative Study on Best Practices in the Field of Forced Return Monitoring. Click here to read the full report.

Matrix Insight have won another project under the DG JUST FW contract. This is an Impact Assessment on special safeguards for children and other vulnerable suspected or accused persons involved in criminal proceedings.

Principal Consultant, Dr. Pierre Hausemer, will be presenting in September, and again in October, the results of the Matrix Insight’s on-going study on the costs of work-related MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders) to EU member countries. The study (produced with significant input from Leeza Ospipenko and Heini Suominen in the Matrix Economics team) quantifies the costs of MSDs at current levels of prevalence. It shows the benefits that would result from a reduction in the incidence of MSDs and it recommends a set of initiatives for the European Commission to undertake in this field.

Managing Director, Dr. Usman Khan, has been invited to speak in Strasbourg at the European Parliament at a conference on ‘The Changing Face of Risk Governance: Moving from Precaution to Smarter Regulations’. This is a result of the work the Insight team did under Pawel’s leadership on the use of Impact Assessments across Europe.

Senior Consultant, Dr. Gabriele Birnberg, was invited to speak in Poland at a FRONTEX conference on monitoring forced returns of illegal migrants in Europe. Her speech will be based on a report the Insight team has produced under her leadership to improve monitoring and ensure that the rights of deportees are respected.

Matrix Insight has been commissioned by the European Parliament’s Directorate C – Citizens Rights and Constitutional Affairs to undertake an in-depth and objective comparative analysis of the national provisions in the field of regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and their application. The aim of this study is to draw examples of best practices that could further feed into the discussion concerning Impact Assessment (IA) at EU level.

The project uses a case study approach, where eight European Member States have been selected as case study countries These are Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and the UK. The data collection relies on a combination of literature review and interviews with key national and European-level stakeholders.

The project is intended to feed into the debate regarding Impact Assessment (IA) at EU level, hence a large element of the study focuses on presentation of findings to the European Parliament’s committees.

European Commission Framework contract for evaluation of public policies in view of evaluating the approach set out in the “Commission communication on Prevention of fraud by building on operational results, a dynamic approach to fraud-proofing.”

Matrix Insight has been commissioned by European Commission’s DG JUST to carry out an analysis aiming to inform the impact assessment study of a legislative proposal introducing coordination and cooperation measures for facilitating the right to consular protection for unrepresented EU citizens in third countries.

Matrix Insight has been commissioned by DG JUST to supply an impact assessment, evaluation and evaluation related services in the area of justice, fundamental rights and citizenship (lot 1) and home affairs (Lot 2).

Matrix Insight has been tasked by the European Commission to inform the Impact Assessment with a view to prepare an initiative on mutual recognition of financial penalties, including those related to road traffic offences.

Matrix sponsored the ‘LSE PhD Student Poster Exhibition: Relating research to reality’ on Wednesday 26th May 2010. The Exhibition showcased some of the innovative research undertaken by LSE Doctoral students.

Matrix insight have been commissioned to undertake a comparative study on best practices in forced returns monitoring for DG Justice, Liberty and Security of the European Commission
The objectives of the study are to:

• gather and compile information on the existing situation regarding monitoring of return operations in the Member States
• identify and describe best practices in the field of forced-return monitoring
• facilitate transposition of the Return Directive by supporting Member States in developing an effective and transparent monitoring system

Matrix insight have recently been awarded a Framework Contract to provide evaluation support to the Information Society and Media DG of the European Commission. The contract intends to provide a facility through which the departments can obtain evaluation related services by a swift and simple procedure. Matrix will be conducting evaluation studies of an interim and ex post nature. The contract will run over a period of 4 years with a maximum value of up to €3million.

Matrix has been commissioned to undertake an impact assessment on potential policies to improve the standing of victims of crime. The study looks into the extent of the problem across the EU, options for tackling the problem and potential costs of those options. It is a follow up of an assessment on victim compensation schemes we conducted in 2008.

Matrix Insight were commissioned to find out what responsibilities Member States should take for Asylum-Seekers. Click here to read a summary of this report.

Matrix Insight has been commissioned by the European Commission to conduct an impact assessment on the provision of information on rights and information about the charges in criminal proceedings. The current challenge is that suspected or arrested persons in the European Union are frequently not aware or made aware of their rights upon arrest, during interrogation and / or detention. The Commission’s objective is to put forward a proposal for EU legislation for strengthening the rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. In preparation of the proposal, the Commission wants to conduct an impact assessment study to inform this proposal. This study will especially look into the extent of the problem across the EU, options for tackling the problem and potential costs of those options.

Matrix Insight has recently completed a study for the European commission focussing on understanding the extent to which consumers have equal access to products and services delivered from different countries.

We found that:

• Consumers are faced with different pricing structures for the same products (with price differences of up to 15%) and with different types of services depending on where they live;
• these cross-border differences are achieved by producers limiting access to and information about prices and services available to customers residing in other countries, especially in online transactions;
• these differences are explained by:
  i) variations in the content and enforcement of national regulations across countries;
  ii) variations in the cost of supplying services internationally; and
  iii) variations in demand across countries.
• To prevent discrimination against consumers in certain countries, regulatory authorities in Europe must consider whether;
  i) pricing structures for and access to cross-border services are based on objective economic and regulatory drivers; and
  ii) the way in which producers achieve price differences online is justified.

The full report can be accessed here and you can read more about Matrix Insight’s European work here.

Dr Kevin Marsh presented at the 2009 Society Conference & Meeting on October 20 and 21, 2009 at the Washington Court Hotel, Washington, D.C. His paper was titled Using Subjective Well-Being Measures to Value Policy Outcomes and you can download it here.

Matrix was commissioned by the European Commission to review the impact and effectiveness of its funding of several hundred industrial and technology projects across the EU27. The aim of the program was to support growth, innovation and global competiveness within Europe.
You can see the results of the evaluation exercise here and download the full report.

Matrix was recently awarded single contractor status on the framework contract for impact assessments in the field of health economics. Specific assignments under this framework contract will involve valuing and measuring the health impact of Commission proposals, carrying out risk assessments and assessments of the impact of technological innovation on health outcomes in Europe.

Matrix Insight Ltd was commissioned by the Make Justice Work campaign to undertake an independent assessment of whether short-term prisons sentences are an effective and efficient use of public resources. Find out more in the press release.

The European Commission, through the Directorate-General for Research, commissioned Matrix Insight to evaluate the impact of the ERA-NET scheme. Rambøll Management and independent experts supported Matrix in delivering the impact assessment.

Click here to read the report titled Summary of the Impact Assessment Study of the ERA-NET scheme under the Sixth Framework Programme. You can find out more about the study by following this link.

Matrix was commissioned to undertake a survey of step improvements in community services by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement’s Service Transformation Team (STT). This work would be used to support the development of the new Productive Community Services (PCS) programme. You can read the key findings of the survey in the full report or a summary of the findings in the brief document.