Bruno Dente, Politecnico di MilanoAalborg, 14.06.12

INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Identifying institutional preconditions for effective territorial strategies

2. Developing a methodology for measuring Institutional Capacity

3. Building performance indicators to measure Institutional Capacity

4. Producing policy recommendations for building Institutional Capacity

Project Goals

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1. Alsace: Decentralization of the management of the OP

2. Aquitaine: Regional interventions and inter-governmental cooperation for innovation

3. Rhône-Alpes: Rhône basin multi-regional program management

4. Puglia: Evaluation Unit

5. Toscana: Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Projects

6. Sicilia: Territorial Integrated Programs for development (TIPs)

7. Puglia: reform processes and sectoral planning in the field of water, waste and soil protection

8. Lubelskie: the impacts of the Polish decentralization of the EU Structural Funds framework in the programming period 2007-2013

9. Dolnoslaskie: the relations between strategic planning and mid-term programming instruments

The Case Studies

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Conceptual Framework

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TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY1. Managing EU policy2. Using EU policy for regional

priorities3. Mainstreaming of EU principles

(partnership, evaluation, equal opportunities, transparency, etc.)

CAPACITY BUILDING POLICIES–Staffing–Training–Networking–Procedures–Institutional innovations

STRUCTURAL VARIABLES

INSTITUTIONAL THICKNESS

INSTED REGIONS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS, BUT:- CBP results largely independent on SV- SV and IC may be linked only by using the Institutional Thickness

framework

FIVE DIMENSIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL THICKNESS:- Consistency through time (e.g. Toscana vs. Alsace)- Framework Coherence (e.g. French regions and Toscana vs.

Sicilia)- Governance- Adaptation to change (e.g. Toscana and the French regions)- Resistance (e.g. resistance to central governments)

Contexts for Capacity Processes

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TYPE ONE IC:- Experience explains procedural success (e.g. Italian regions),

but it is the starting level of IC that explains results (e.g. the French regions)

TYPE TWO IC: - Experience with designing and implementing development

projects is key

TYPE THREE IC:- Partnership is widespread (need or commitment?)- Evaluation, transparency, etc. are more easily mainstreamed,

but watch for effectiveness

Institutional Capacity: Key Lessons

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TYPE ONE IC1. Amount of decommittment2. Procedural delays

TYPE TWO IC3. Level of co-financing4. High level of multilevel governance

TYPE THREE IC5. Mainstreaming of the different institutional features of EU

programmes6. Success in getting competitive development funding

Institutional Capacity: six basic Indicators

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Capacity Building Policies (CBP)

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INSTED RegionsImplemented CBPs

Staffing Training Networking Procedural Arrangements

Institutional innovations

Alsace ●● ● ●

Aquitaine ●● ● ●

Rhône-Alpes ● ●

Toscana ● ●● ●

Puglia (NUVAL) ●● ● ●● ●●●

Puglia (Waste, Water and Soil) ●● ● ● ●●● ●●●

Sicilia ● ●● ●● ● ●

Lubelskie ●●● ●● ● ●●

Dolnoslaskie ●●● ●● ● ● ●●

STAFFING:- Typical when the task is new, but levels of stability varyTRAINING: - Widespread, but great diversity (issues, actors, timing)NETWORKING:- Networking is widespread, but network complexity is limitedPROCEDURES: - Good for governing at arm’s length (e.g.Toscana, Puglia)INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATIONS: - Institutionalization and legitimacy are sensitive issuesMAIN PROBLEMS:- Limited long-term effects; conflicts and lack of integration;

inappropriate tailoring and design

CBP: Key Lessons

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CBPs can break path dependency and improve capacity, no matter the starting level of development

TYPE ONE IC:- All CBPs can improve type one IC, but variable levels of

specificity and different impacts on receiving administrationsTYPE TWO IC: - Effects will be observable in the future, BUT procedures can

activate type two IC in the short run (e.g. Toscana, Sicilia, Dolnoslaskie)

TYPE THREE IC:- Permanent and integrated institutional innovations can help

fixing type three capacity gaps

CBP and Institutional Capacity

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CBP and Institutional Capacity

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CBPs TYPE one IC TYPE two IC TYPE three IC

Staffing ++ ++ +

Training ++ + +

Networking +++

Procedures +++ ++

Institutional innovations + ++ ++

Causal Mechanisms for effective CBPs

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Incentive Stick and Carrots: competitive funds, performance reserve, performance

management (Lubelskie, Puglia, Toscana) Focusing Events: integrated projects (Toscana)

Reputation Certification: EU and national institutions can be certificators (Polish regions, NUVAL) Creation of communities: networking in development actions (All) Creation of rules of coordination: procedures for using the budget (Aquitaine)

Coordination

Creation of rules of coordination: organizational restructuring (Lubelskie); Unified application form for EU and non-EU funds (Aquitaine)

Repeated interactions: departments exchange (Lubelskie), Inter-sectorial groups (NUVAL); TIP Office and supervisory committee (Sicilia)

Actor certification: devolution of responsibility to the region (Alsace, Aquitaine)

Defense

Control feedback: external monitoring and evaluation (Lubelskie) Sticks: deadlines and commitments (Dolnoslaskie) Blame avoidance: legitimizing support (NUVAL) Precommitment: rule of decommitment (Rhône-Alpes); standards and procedures

(Toscana); structured application and signing of partnership agreements (Sicilia)

LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF IC: - financial management is important, but TYPE TWO and TYPE

THREE IC are needed for more effective cohesion policy

DIAGNOSE STRATEGIC PLANNING:- Allow for different development trajectories- Pay attention to formal implementations- Indicators may help

SELECT THE RIGHT CBP:- More specific strategies by looking at CBP effectiveness

WHY DOES IT WORK?- To increase transferability causal mechanisms may help

uncover causal chains

Next steps: Conditionalities and IC

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPOSED INDICATORS- Develop consistency, replicability and comparability- Add indicators to the list, BUT watch for diversity across

countries

OPERATIONAL DATABASE OF SMART PRACTICES- Success stories of increased IC- Identifiable causal chains- Possibility to use secondary sources

 

Next Steps: Indicators and Smart Practices

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