Reinforcing territorial impact assessments in Czechia: policy agendas and future scenarios

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper reveals the current state of territorial impact assessments (TIAs) and place-sensitive policymaking in Czechia, a Central European country that joined a pilot action intended to contribute to the territorial priorities of the strategic framework, the ‘Territorial Agenda 2030’. We traced the steps that were gradually taken at the national level towards the implementation of the Territorial Agenda and TIAs, including the identification of obstacles. We explored and described newly implemented mechanisms that should contribute to strengthening TIAs. We argue that the essential factors for successful implementation include a sound methodology without an administrative burden, the adjustment of institutional settings and environment, a strengthening of trust among all responsible actors and a willingness to deal with the territorial impacts of sectoral policies. Moreover, we establish that place-sensitive tools are still rather underutilized and call for an increased effort to present the best practices and results of impact evaluations from various regional contexts and environments.