Abstract
Municipal and regional governments can play a key role in global society’s transition towards sustainability. However, municipal leaders often lack a sufficient overview of sustainability and thereby the capacity to coordinate efforts across sectors. Several municipal planning frameworks are available but vary greatly in terms of definitions, scope, and hands-on advice on processes. To complement and unify approaches, the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) has been developed. It utilizes backcasting from operational boundary conditions for the full scope of social and ecological sustainability. This study aims to evaluate a recently developed model for long-term implementation of FSSD across sectors for more cohesive cooperation towards sustainability. This is done through participatory action research (PAR) in ten Swedish municipalities and regions. The evaluation is done to examine if the implementation model (i) lives up to its purpose to help sectors cooperate effectively by using the FSSD as a shared mental model, (ii) aid the handling of previously identified barriers to strategic sustainable development in municipalities and regions, (iii) may contain barriers of its own for appropriate use and (iv) has room for improvement. We used observations, dialogues, and surveys to capture the strengths, weaknesses, enablers, and barriers of the preliminary implementation model. While the compliance of the model varied, our findings show a general appreciation and identified the needs for the approach. From experiencing barriers for the application of the model, practitioners provided several ideas for additional support, such as assessment and alignment support of on-going work and further developed guiding material. In a second phase of the PAR project, application of the implementation model will continue, and such additional support will be developed and evaluated.
Highlights
Municipal and regional governments have a key role in global society’s transition towards sustainability e.g., [1,2]
We evaluated the implementation both regarding the model itself and in terms of barriers and enablers for its application
We intended to investigate if the implementation model lives up to its purpose to provide comprehensive cross-sector support for strategic sustainable development as well as its user friendliness and discover room for improvement of the model as well as hands-on advice for applying it
Summary
Municipal and regional governments have a key role in global society’s transition towards sustainability e.g., [1,2]. Its basic approach is to backcast from boundary conditions for the full scope of social and ecological sustainability This framework is equipped with strategic guidelines for: (i) understanding and exploiting self-beneficial economic advantages from proactive responses to the dynamic sustainability challenges (“what’s in it for us”), (ii) cross-sector developments of scenarios or goals within the boundary conditions (so that solutions in one sector do not counteract necessary solutions in another sector), (iii) step-wise strategies towards sustainable goals (so that measures are mitigating current sustainability related impacts, but are serving as flexible platforms, or stepping stones, towards the full scope of sustainability), and (iv) the selection and use of tools for decision support, monitoring and communication (so that tools and concepts are not “competing” with each other, but are used in cohesion). In the latter half of the PAR project, key contact persons were generally well initiated in the FSSD, the implementation model. FSSD, the Implementation Model and the Par Project to Decision-Makers and People in Strategic Positions. Politicians from the municipal board + other councils and civil servants
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
