Battling for the regions: Local government policy networks and the reform of the European Structural Funds

The recent reform of the European Structural Funds led to a wide-ranging se t of lobbying activities on the part of UK regions which felt their previou s allocations were likely to be threatened. Much of this activity took plac e through existing networks or alliances of networks at a national and tran snational level. This paper examines the issues at stake in the reforms, th e attitudes of the networks to those issues and the need for networks to ha ve a common focus, adequate resources and effective internal communication structures to be effective.