Digitalisation in a Multilevel Governance Context: The Case of Cohesion Policy

Abstract

Cohesion Policy is a major investment policy of the EU, aiming at reducing disparities between regions. This policy’s key specificity is its regional and multilevel governance approach, mobilising stakeholders from several layers of government (e.g., EU, national, regional, local) for its design and implementation. Analysing its contribution to digitalisation can thus fuel wider reflections on the territorial dimension of innovation, and more specifically on the role that public policies can play to develop it. Indeed, Cohesion Policy has a long history of support to digitalisation, i.e., the process of diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies and their uses for diverse applications. Since the 1990s and 2000s, Cohesion Policy has highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to digitalisation, going beyond sole technological aspects. The prioritisation of digitalisation within Cohesion Policy has also been consecrated in recent strategies, such as the Digital Agenda, and through a gradual increase of dedicated funding. Several rationales and expected benefits exist for a regionalised and multilevel governance approach towards digitalisation. The ability to adapt to local contexts, especially for less developed regions, and the potential to bridge top-down with bottom-up initiatives, are for instance notable assets. In practice, the Cohesion Policy framework has integrated regulatory mechanisms and other initiatives that could help to reap these benefits. During the 2014–2020 period, it notably includes the concentration of funding and specific requirements for ICT projects, strategic approaches/methodologies (Smart Specialisation Strategies—S3) and territorialised instruments (e.g., Integrated Territorial Investments—ITI). First empirical evidence from the literature and examples of specific projects allows identifying successes and limits on how the framework of Cohesion Policy helps to secure the benefits of a multilevel governance and regional approach towards digitalisation. A key contribution of its framework is its ability to favour strategy-building and partnerships between stakeholders at different levels, for instance through ITI or S3. Success conditions for digitalisation-related activities also include administrative capacity and the quality of strategic planning. However, the less developed regions that could benefit the most from Cohesion Policy’s intervention for digitalisation may lack these favourable conditions. It is hence critical to support capacity building to fully secure benefits for all regions.