The IFRRU 2020 ESIF financial instrument for urban development and energy efficiency features in the latest fi-compass case study. Published on the website in November 2019, the case study describes how the fund of funds has been created with a small specialist management team to implement financial instruments on behalf of eight Portuguese managing authorities.

The ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme has recently finalised an applied research project on financial instruments. The ESPON European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) which is responsible for the programme's implementation has released a final report on financial instruments and territorial cohesion. The report features a territorial analysis of the impacts of ESIF financial instruments, primarily in 2007-2013 and includes a synthesis report, a main report and scientific annex and five case studies.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion (DG EMPL) and the European Investment Bank are looking into the crowdfunding sector as a suitable area to develop financial instruments.

The ESSOR PME financial instrument featured at FI Campus 2019, has helped support the innovative local business, Datarocks.

Set up in 2014 in Sainte Marie, La Réunion, Datarocks develops and sells innovative IT solutions to help businesses transpose their raw data into interactive ergonomic dashboards. Thanks to a EUR 451 000 equity investment from the ESIF financial instrument, ESSOR PME La Réunion, the company has been able to grow and attract international customers such as Nokia or Thales.

Financial instruments have become an integral part of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) tool box over the last few years. Recently, their importance has further increased with demand for financing from farmers growing significantly, as shown by the fact that 95% of the financing package for agriculture and bioeconomy announced by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission in April 2019 had been committed within six months.