Transcript E E A C - United Nations Office for Sustainable Development

SDGs AT SUB-NATIONAL LEVEL:
Roles and good practices for sub-national governments in
relation to the SDG/post-2015 processes
UNOSD, SDTF
Regional Breakout Discussions - Europe
Dr. Ingeborg Niestroy
IISD Associate
Public Strategy for Sustainable Development
www.ps4sd.eu
[email protected]
Comparative studies on SD governance / strategies:
I.N., Sustaining Sustainability
2004
11 countries / EU
IISD / FFU / GIZ
2004
19 countries / global
ESDN
from 2007 (with
regular updates)
online country sheets /
(28) EU
Bertelsmann / IISD preparatory
work for RMP
2012
32 countries and
regions (sub-national) /
global
ASEF, Asia-Europe Strategies
2012
Aggregated / 2 regions
Bertelsmann / I.N., RMP
2013
4 countries, 1 region
(sub-national) / global
Bertelsmann / FFU, SDSs for the 2013
sub-national level (Germany),
international study
5 countries, 5 regions
(sub-national) / global,
but …
What is good practice for vertical coordination:
1) Links between the levels on the mere document side:SDSs refer to the
strategies of the upper level, translate and break down goals and targets?
2) Not only top-down, but also bottom up?
How much does the sub-national level develop own action?
3) SDSs refer to the lower level: national to sub-national (and local),
sub-national to local level?
4) What are the coordination mechanisms, e.g. framework laws, targets that
need to be broken down?
What are the mechanisms that lower level needs, capabilities and ambitions
are taken up in an upper level strategy?
5) What is the style of the vertical coordination?
How does the cooperation of governments and administration of different
levels look like:
Formal rules for participation in decision-making (e.g. in federal states, EU)?
Are there more cooperative mechanisms in place, such as consultation
committees?
Good practice for vertical coordination (so far):
National level SDSs:
• Joint SD strategy (“national”: federal and regional level ):
Austria
• Emphasizing the local level, incl. bottom-up approaches:
Finland, France, (Germany) / Bhutan, Ecuador
Regions (sub-national):
• Tyrol (AT), Aargau (CH)
Regions with good practice, but… :
• Basque Country, Catalonia (ES), Flanders (BE), Wales (UK), German Laender
(varied)
Soft steering:
• Greening the European Semester (economic policies of the EU MSs)
3 themes with collaboration: public procurement,
indicators (but still disconnected), land take (no reference to national target)
no reference to national SDS indicators
but totally outdated
no link to the national or regional level
no link to the national or regional level
Conclusions:
Better links are needed; even on the mere document side rather rarely done
Top-down framework and bottom-up feeding in (with policies and action)
Sub-national level: D.Y.O.T.
Avoid one-off projects; build in a capacity building strand from the onset, aim
at scaling-up good practice and lessons learned, go for partnership
approaches with effective duration
National level: encourage, support, foster sub-national level (good for
implementation)
Establish functioning mechanisms (groups, bodies) for collaboration,
deliberation, strategy and action plan development and monitoring
Have metagovernance in mind
Insights on Governance for SD (2004):
"and – and" .. "mix/balance/moving towards ‘ends’"  diversity
Leadership
(is performed)
D
Ownership
(is fostered)
FIN
P
Top-down
P
D
D
S
UK
D
Firmness
Firmness,
Monitoring
Framework
document
B
UK
FIN
ALL
FIN
Niestroy, 10 April 2014, UNOSD SDTF, Korea
Bottom-up
Flexibility
NL
Action
focus
... found in other theory development
• "Metagovernance" (Meuleman, 2008)
- smart mix of the three basic governance styles:
hierarchy, market, network
- adapted to specific phases + situations
• "TransGov" (IASS / In 't Veld, 2011; Meuleman, 2012)
- social reflexivity
- knowledge democracy / transdisciplinarity
- 'second modernity' (Beck, 1992):
- 'and' ... 'and' (not 'or')
- diversity rather than simplicity
 combined: 'transgovernance'
• "Balance of the opposites" (Heraklit / Cornélis, 2012)
Niestroy, 10 April 2014, UNOSD SDTF, Korea