Horizontal Policy Integration Research Articles

Disintegration and discourse: Cross-sectoral story-lines in the German water and forest debates

Policy integration (PI) has been advocated in the literature as a solution to complex environmental problems. It is commonly defined as the joint development of policies across sectors, and deemed beneficial especially in face of cross-cutting issues. As there is little research addressing the ideational integration of two sectors, we introduce a new framework to discursively analyze horizontal policy integration (HPI) and then apply this framework to the German water and forest sectors. We follow the question whether in the context of interlinked forest and water disturbances cross-sectoral story-lines on German national level have occurred, which we assess by examining the story-line’s complexity, integration of other sector’s concerns, and cross-sectoral use. Although disturbances in the water and forest sectors are becoming more frequent, a fragmentation of the water and forest sectors has been observed in Germany in the past. The analysis is based on Hajer’s (1995) definition of discourse and follows his concept of story-lines which can be understood as the lowest common denominator across actor groups. We analyze policy documents on German national level, covering the debate on water and forest disturbances between 2018 and 21. Our results show that in the debates on water and forest disturbances there are commonly used story-lines across sectoral boundaries. The framework, however, enabled us to show an asymmetrical integration across sectors, where the forest sector addresses water concerns while the water sector treats forests as a non-subject.

Agrivoltaics in Japan

A comprehensive and supportive legal framework is a key factor for the expansion of agrivoltaics. This study analyzed, therefore, the existing laws, regulations, and policies related to agrivoltaics in Japan and assessed its actual effects on relevant stakeholders. An increasing horizontal policy integration on the federal level was identified. However, the vertical policy integration is still insufficient with often skeptical municipalities and local agricultural councils. The key barriers are related to the land-use conversion process, financing of agrivoltaic projects, socio-political and market acceptance, and grid constraints in rural areas. There are, however, opportunities for addressing these challenges in recently established councils that include a variety of members from industry, academia, and government.

Policy integration through the Sustainable Development Goals? The case of the German Federal Government

AbstractIn 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The launch of this comprehensive and inclusive set of global goals was expected to lead, among other things, to more integrative policymaking, which is widely seen as important for sustainability governance. In this article, we draw on a detailed empirical case study of the German government to analyze whether the launch of the SDGs has indeed strengthened policy integration and which mechanisms may account for this. With statistical methods and extensive network analysis, our analysis captures changes in horizontal, vertical, and sectoral policy integration between 2012 and 2019. In addition, we use semi‐structured interviews to explore institutional, leadership, and ideational integration mechanisms. The study shows that sectoral and horizontal policy integration has increased after 2015, but that the SDGs still have not changed the conditions for system‐wide policy integration. Our findings shed new light on the possibilities and limitations of integrative sustainability governance through global goals.

Learning from Latin America: Coordinating Policy Responses across National and Subnational Levels to Combat COVID-19

We provide policy lessons for governments across Latin America by drawing on an original dataset of daily national and subnational non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic for eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. Our analysis offers lessons for health system decision-making at various levels of government and highlights the impact of subnational policy implementation for responding to health crises. However, subnational responses cannot replace coordinated national policy; governments should emphasize the vertical integration of evidence-based policy from national to local levels while tailoring local policies to local conditions as they evolve. Horizontal policy integration across sectors and jurisdictions will also improve coordination at each level of government. The Latin American experiences with policy and politics during the COVID-19 pandemic project glocal health policy recommendations that connect global considerations with local needs.

Drawing lessons from mineral and land use policy in Europe: Crossing policy streams or getting stuck in silos?

While mineral resource extraction is a contested land-use under increased societal scrutiny, it is tremendously important for clean energy transition and societal economic development. Despite increased demand, access to mineral resources is, however, subject to different stakeholder interests often reflected in competing forms of land-use and institutional complexity of two policy streams of minerals and land use planning. During the last decade public policy responses in Europe introduced new instruments such as protection of minerals deposits or valorisation schemes for minerals development, both aiming to link or integrate these two policy streams. While policy studies focus on the mineral and geological background, they lack the contextualisation in the broader (land-) policy and governance discourse. This article closes this gap and contributes to the interface between mineral resources, land policy and spatial planning. It provides insights into 1) what policy instruments are assembled to policy mixes for integrating minerals and land use planning policy, and (ii) in how far these instruments are fit for purpose in the respective land-use planning system. In our analysis we portray the diversity of policy instruments to better integrate policy domains of mineral and LUP, but are only deployed in a 13 European countries. The instruments are assembled to policy mixes combining regulatory, strategies and guidelines, as well as information-based or voluntary instruments with horizontal policy integration representing on average high degrees of integration compared to vertical integration. Considering diversity of European planning systems and different context of mineral resource challenges, we conclude that it is the “contextual match” of what (instruments) works where (land use planning system) that matters. In our research we clearly indicate this contextual match on two levels: First a planning system and decision-making match for vertical integration, and, second, a policy cycle match for horizontal integration, where minerals or LUP topics/issues, respectively, are considered in preparation or design stage of land-use plans, zoning documents or mineral planning documents. For policy decision-makers the array of identified instruments provides solutions fitting to different socio-spatial contexts of mineral and Land use planning policy as well as different planning systems.

The Process of Sustainable Development and the Linkage to the Social - Ecological Transformation in the World and in Vietnam

The Process of Sustainable Development and the Linkage to the Social - Ecological Transformation in the World and in Vietnam

REDD+ policy design and policy learning: The emergence of an integrated landscape approach in Vietnam

Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in integrated landscape approaches to “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation” (REDD+) that can address emission drivers associated with land use change. However, there are often significant institutional challenges for the design and implementation of integrated policies in practice. There are also few scholarly examples of integrated landscape approaches to REDD+, particularly at subnational levels, and little is known about how or why they have emerged. To address this gap, this article explores the evolution of an integrated landscape approach to REDD+ in Vietnam through the lens of policy design and policy learning. Our research was structured around three objectives: 1) Investigate challenges for the design and implementation of intra- and inter-sectoral policies at national and subnational levels of REDD+ governance 2) Explore how these challenges have led to policy change and improved policy integration 3) Evaluate if policy changes represent “shallow” or “deep” forms of policy learning. We found that limited policy capacity, problematic policy design processes, and bureaucratic politics have been significant barriers for vertical and horizontal policy integration. However, initial challenges have also led to instrumental and social policy learning, evident in changes to policy tools, goals, targets, and agents. We found that a regional landscape approach that leverages existing state institutions has emerged because it allows REDD+ actors to exploit scarce resources for design and implementation. We conclude that existing state policies and political commitment are essential for realizing an integrated landscape approach to REDD+, but that the process of REDD+ implementation may also contribute to “deeper” policy learning among state actors, and substantive reforms in state institutions.

An Emergent Taxonomy of Public Personnel Management: Exploring the Task Environment of Human Resource Managers in Spanish Local Government

This study presents a taxonomy for public personnel management based on emergent profiles of local human resource managers in Spain. The analysis focuses on the task environments of managers defined by three salient constructs from strategic human resources management research. Specifically, this study looks at the level of participation of human resource managers in strategic-level policy-making processes, vertical and horizontal policy integration, and the flexibility of human resource managers in interpreting and implementing key functions of personnel management (i.e., recruitment, hiring, and remuneration). The results yield five distinct profiles that describe different approaches of human resource management. The five profiles include Technical Administrative (TA); Technical Functional (TF); Managerial Administrative (MA); Managerial Functional (MF); and Strategic Executive (SE). The profiles are not a linear typology of human resource management practices. However, they do fit within a larger theoretical framework that captures central constructs of strategic human resource management (SHRM).

Forest transition through reforestation policy integration: A comparative study between Ghana and the Republic of Korea

Deforestation and forest degradation severely devastated forestlands in Ghana and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the 1990s and 1950s, respectively. However, through government intervention in the form of an integrated reforestation policy and programs, both countries have restored their degraded forestlands and increased their forest cover. We analyzed the reforestation policy and programs implemented in Ghana using the theory of policy integration and compared it to the successful case of the ROK. We observed that Ghana used the vertical policy integration approach to drive forest transition, unlike the ROK, which used the horizontal policy integration approach. Both countries used similar strategies to implement the integrated reforestation policy and programs, including coordinated national forestation plans, collaboration among ministries and departments, and organizational reform. This integrated approach facilitated the successful implementation of the reforestation programs in Ghana and the ROK. Government intervention through an integrated reforestation policy and programs is an innovative way to slow the rate of deforestation and enhance economic development. This paper may contribute to the literature on how reforestation policy integration can reduce deforestation and achieve forest transition, especially in developing countries.

Addressing “Wicked Problems” through Governance for Sustainable Development—A Comparative Analysis of National Mineral Policy Approaches in the European Union

The achievement of sustainable development (SD) in the supply of minerals poses significant challenges for governments and public administrations on all levels, because ensuring a sustainable supply constitutes a “wicked” problem that has no clear set of alternative solutions due to its social, institutional and scientific complexities. This paper explores how this problem is addressed through “governance for SD” principles (horizontal policy integration and participation; long-term vision/short-term action; and reflexivity and learning) in the design and delivery of national mineral policy strategies (NMS) in five EU Member States (Austria, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Sweden). Following a grounded theory approach on data collected through document analysis and complementary qualitative interviews, the author identified several analytical categories for the selected governance for SD’ principles. Although no “one-size-fits-all” recipe for best practice on governance for SD exists in the five NMS, Finland, Portugal and Sweden meet high standards: These NMS display practical examples of governance for SD integration and, thus, lay the foundations for achieving policy outcomes in the sectoral policy strategies of the mineral supply.

Assessment of Policy Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production into National Policies

Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) was adopted as a stand-alone goal and reflected as one of the cross-cutting objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a central role to address global resource consumption and its associated environmental impacts, as well as numerous social and economic issues. With this broad characterization of SCP, policy integration is crucial in addressing it at national level. This paper analyzes characteristics of SCP policy integration based on a survey of national government policies. It reveals that SCP is not fully integrated in national policy-making; high resource consumption sectors such as urban planning, building, and tourism are not fully incorporated into national SCP policies, and there is only limited participation of relevant government ministries other than environment ministries. We find that among countries with horizontal policy integration, those with Green Economy/Green Growth frameworks tend to have better sectoral integration; and those with SCP-specific frameworks are likely to have broader coordination of ministries. By conducting cross-analysis using income level and region, the different characteristics of SCP policy-making approaches were identified. The results of this study provide a better understanding of how SCP is integrated into policy for effective national policy-making and measurement of the SDG Goal 12.

Climate policy integration in the land use sector: Mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development linkages

This article re-conceptualizes Climate Policy Integration (CPI) in the land use sector to highlight the need to assess the level of integration of mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies to minimize trade-offs and to exploit synergies. It suggests that effective CPI in the land use sector requires i) internal climate policy coherence between mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies; ii) external climate policy coherence between climate change and development objectives; iii) vertical policy integration to mainstream climate change into sectoral policies and; iv) horizontal policy integration by overarching governance structures for cross-sectoral coordination. This framework is used to examine CPI in the land use sector of Indonesia. The findings indicate that adaptation actors and policies are the main advocates of internal policy coherence. External policy coherence between mitigation and development planning is called for, but remains to be operationalized. Bureaucratic politics has in turn undermined vertical and horizontal policy integration. Under these circumstances it is unlikely that the Indonesian bureaucracy can deliver strong coordinated action addressing climate change in the land use sector, unless sectoral ministries internalize a strong mandate on internal and external climate policy coherence and find ways to coordinate policy action effectively.

Understanding the systemic nature of cities to improve health and climate change mitigation

Understanding cities comprehensively as systems is a costly challenge and is typically not feasible for policy makers. Nevertheless, focusing on some key systemic characteristics of cities can give useful insights for policy to advance health and well-being outcomes. Moreover, if we take a coevolutionary systems view of cities, some conventional assumptions about the nature of urban development (e.g. the growth in private vehicle use with income) may not stand up. We illustrate this by examining the coevolution of urban transport and land use systems, and institutional change, giving examples of policy implications. At a high level, our concern derives from the need to better understand the dynamics of urban change, and its implications for health and well-being. At a practical level, we see opportunities to use stylised findings about urban systems to underpin policy experiments.While it is now not uncommon to view cities as systems, policy makers appear to have made little use so far of a systems approach to inform choice of policies with consequences for health and well-being. System insights can be applied to intelligently anticipate change – for example, as cities are subjected to increasing natural system reactions to climate change, they must find ways to mitigate and adapt to it. Secondly, systems insights around policy cobenefits are vital for better informing horizontal policy integration. Lastly, an implication of system complexity is that rather than seeking detailed, ‘full’ knowledge about urban issues and policies, cities would be well advised to engage in policy experimentation to address increasingly urgent health and climate change issues.

Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming the ecosystem services concept in the multi-level policy-making within the EU

Mainstreaming the ecosystem services (ES) concept in EU policy-making, i.e., introducing it in a variety of policy fields, comes along with great expectations from practitioners, policy-makers, and scientists to improve environmental policy and halt the loss of biodiversity. While most environmental policies incorporate ES-related governance tools, only very few policies refer to ES explicitly, and for most non-environmental policies mainstreaming has, if at all, just begun. This article addresses three major challenges for mainstreaming the ES concept into EU policies: the need for (1) vertical and (2) horizontal policy integration, and (3) the question of stakeholder involvement in policy-making. It further examines the different meanings of ‘mainstreaming’ and discusses how the ES concept can be used as boundary concept in participatory processes to overcome the challenges by mediating between the different understandings of the forms and objectives of mainstreaming. The paper draws empirically on a review of legal, policy, and scientific documents and on a focus group with six policy-makers from several EU Directorate Generals. The article finds that mainstreaming the ES concept into EU policy-making is no ‘silver bullet’ and that expectations management – in particular with respect to the use of economic valuation methods – is necessary to avoid frustration of involved stakeholders. Further, while participatory approaches may be helpful for local policy integration and balancing trade-offs across policy fields, they may fail in face of administrative challenges of vertical policy integration or of imbalanced power relations and opposing agendas on the horizontal policy integration. To become trustworthy and effective organisational structures, new participatory elements need to be effectively linked with the relevant existing administrations and (other) democratically legitimised decision-making structures. Finally, a well-facilitated and careful process of reflection of the boundary work involved may improve the potential of mainstreaming the ES concept.

International Sustainability Agreements: Are They Politically Influential for Tourism Governance Innovations?

Political decision makers have significant roles to play in supporting or undermining the sustainability of tourism development nationally. To investigate their contributions to governance innovations, this article suggests a meta-conceptualization of governance in the form of Societal Hardwares (institutions/laws/strategies/policies) interacting with Societal Processes (psychological/policy oriented/political/social/economic/organizational). This article addresses a question that has not received so far any scholarly attention, namely whether the international sustainability agreements concluded in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and Johannesburg (2002) have generated meaningful innovations in the governance of national tourism sectors, able to facilitate their sustainable development. Drawing on sociopsychology literature, this article proposes to differentiate among three groups of mechanisms that may influence the decision-making patterns and outcomes of political actors: Persuasion, Constraining, and Enabling Mechanisms. The research question is investigated empirically by means of the case study approach, looking at the political implementation processes by Parliament and Government in the Netherlands. The challenge for governance innovation addressed is that of horizontal policy integration across four policy domains: environmental protection, nature conservation, recreation, and tourism. The international agreements are assessed as having the effect of Persuasion Mechanisms on both political decision makers. Content-wise they were politically influential for Parliament but not for Government, who failed to adopt adequate governance innovations.

Integrating climate change adaptation into Dutch local policies and the role of contextual factors

Moving towards a more sustainable adaptation process requires closer integration of policies related to the environment. An important actor in this is the local government. This paper examines to what extend adaptation is currently being integrated into Dutch local policies, and what the role is of a municipality's size, risk and experience in the encountered manifestations of adaptation. First, it was determined that adaptations taking place only anticipate currently perceivable weather extremes – mostly increasing precipitation. Second, it was determined that the realisation of further adaptations is hindered by a strongly sectoral divided reality. Adaptation is now heavily dominated by the water department, while spatial planning and the environment are only limitedly involved. Finally, it was observed that the contextual factor size proved to most important for horizontal policy integration, whereas the contextual factor extreme-weather experience was the most definite for the realisation of adaptations. We conclude that a more sustainable adaptation should first tackle the sectoral divides which requires administrative efforts, for example, professional training. These would preferably be initiated from a vertical direction.

The Slovak national SD strategy process: a mix of achievements and shortcomings

AbstractNational strategies for sustainable development are gaining increasing recognition as an instrument to reconcile needs of development and environmental protection by improving policy‐making procedures. The paper assesses the Slovak sustainable development strategy in the context of two key documents, the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Slovak Republic (MESR, 2001a) and the Action Plan for Sustainable Development of the Slovak Republic for 2005–2010 (OGSR, 2005). Focus is mainly placed on horizontal policy integration, but institutional arrangements and mechanisms for implementation, monitoring and review, stakeholder participation and vertical integration are also assessed. Based on the results of a series of interviews with ministerial planners and utilizing the example of the Working Group for Environmental Education, the paper identifies barriers to horizontal policy integration. The main conclusion is that improvement of mechanisms for horizontal policy integration is offset by recession in other areas, including public participation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.