Multi-level Governance Approach Research Articles

Shared challenges, divergent practices. The impact of institutional frameworks on area-based initiatives in Barcelona and Paris

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the persisting inequalities in European cities have spurred the implementation of area-based initiatives (ABI) in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This paper investigates how the interplay between diverse institutional frameworks and housing ownership regimes influences the design and execution of ABI policies in France and Spain. Focusing on the specific cases of Pla de Barris in Barcelona and Contrat de Ville in Paris, the study elucidates the strengths and limitations of different urban renewal strategies, emphasizing the imperative of a multi-level governance approach for effective ABIs.

Ustawa równoważąca. Doświadczenia albańskie w dziedzinie relacji samorządu terytorialnego z rządem

The European Union’s promotion of the multilevel governance approach redefines the relationships between supranational, national and local governments. As countries like Albania undergo adaptations in the accession process, finding a balance between local and national government relations becomes crucial. The review aims to explore the complex interplay of governance levels in Albania, drawing insightful comparisons with successful cases in Europe, and offering valuable lessons for the policymaking process. To foster greater cooperation between national and subnational levels, it is imperative to define roles and responsibilities clearly, ensure proper financing while national government takes a more strategic role. In Albania, facilitating meaningful interaction can be achieved through the Consultative Council for local and central government, alongside associations of local authorities, though it necessitates legal changes and commitment from local governments. The Albanian Law on Local Self-Government, established in 2015, coincided with a new administrative-territorial reform in the same year, presenting various challenges, particularly for local governments. Through this article, we aim to present scientific research and concrete results concerning the Albanian experience of local government relations with the central government, while providing a comparative analysis with other European countries. Additionally, specific recommendations are proposed to strengthen government interrelations, given the high priority of the EU accession process in the country’s development agenda.

Digital Village Construction: A Multi-Level Governance Approach to Enhance Agroecological Efficiency

This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of China’s digital village construction, emphasizing its role in rural organizational governance, from bureaucracies to self-governance bodies to market forces and social organizations. Utilizing sample data from 30 provinces from 2014 to 2020, the study dissects the dynamics and diversity of multi-level governance in bolstering agroecological efficiency (AEE). Notable insights include a significant positive correlation between digital villages and AEE. However, it wanes in an “inverted U” pattern beyond a digital development index of 0.8. Furthermore, rural bureaucrats and self-governing entities independently advance AEE, while market forces and social organizations require enhancement. These findings contribute to the field of digital village construction and inform sustainable agricultural strategies in developing nations.

Multilevel Governance dalam Penguatan Peluang Kerja dan Usaha di Kabupaten Lombok Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat

The progress of development and tourism in East Lombok Regency results in a need for labour and demands the mindset of society to be able to keep up with changes. Institutions of local communities such as pesantren (Islamic boarding school) and non-formal educational institutions provide services to the community for increasing competence. The community encourages the society to play a role in filling job and business opportunities and maintaining local wisdom. Community activities attract other actors from various levels, both government and private, to offer collaboration as an instrument to achieve goals. The community’s expectation of collaboration is synergizing, not delegating bureaucratic affairs. This approach offers an inclusive and participatory relationship within the Multilevel Governance (MLG). This study uses a qualitative approach with a constructivism paradigm. Data collections was carried by observation, interview, and documentation. The aim of the research is to see how the community's expectations of the MLG approach are in strengthening job and business opportunities and how the community's SOAR strategy analysis maintains the sustainability. The results of the study show that the awareness of the actors in carrying out their roles and authorities creates a conducive environment for the community to be independent. The strategy SOAR analysis is in the OA quadrant, advantage of opportunities to achieve expectations by developing partnerships that create participatory dialogue to strengthen accessibility and support local potential

Social partners and OSH: a multilevel and cross-country exploration in the hospital and social services sectors

Abstract The article examines the role of social partners (trade unions and employers) in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH). The Covid-19 pandemic directed attention to the importance of greater national and European level policy coordination to protect and promote healthy, safe, and well-adapted work environments. On the basis of two sectors, hospitals and social services with a focus on elder care, the article asks how OSH policy interventions at the national level and the European level are interlinked. To explore interlinkages, the article focuses on OSH policy coordination between national social partners and European level sectoral social dialogue. The analysis is informed by actor-centred institutionalist and multilevel governance approaches and uses qualitative data. The article explores patterns of interlinkages between the national and European levels in two sectors and six countries and discusses the limitations of applying a cross-national and multilevel conceptual approach. The analysis shows that the pandemic has promoted some coordination at national and between national and EU levels, yet still rather modest interlinkages and degrees of ‘vertical’ coordination can be observed. The paper concludes that there continues to be a degree of ‘in-the-making’ to the multilevel governance of employment relations, even in the presence of common challenges.

Framing Asylum at the Local Level: Experts’ Narratives of Conflictual Dynamics in the Post-Reception Period in Italy

AbstractStudies on the framing of the refugee crisis have focused on media and political discourses, revealing contrasting views and an increasing politicization of immigration. However, the framing-of-asylum discourse in relation to the reception and settlement of asylum seekers in local communities has so far received less attention, especially when conflictual dynamics emerge. This article investigates the ways in which experts at different levels make sense of how the refugee crisis has unfolded in local communities in Italy. Insofar as asylum governance has become a contentious issue, it looks at conflictual situations. The research challenges the binary between humanitarian and fear frames by suggesting the prevalence of a managerialist frame focusing on a problematic implementation of asylum policies. Taking into consideration the opinions of local experts, it also reveals a shift from a fear frame to an inconvenience frame, which denies xenophobic discourses on invasion or social/public disorder in local communities, but finds other reasons to deny acceptance. The article also adds to the study of the horizontal dynamics between public and private actors, which are central, especially at the local level, and introduces refugees as subjects who actively participate in the “battleground” of asylum governance. Therefore, claims about a negotiated order between different tiers of governance within the multilevel governance approach are challenged.

Role of multilevel governance in the prevention of air pollution in Delhi, NCR

This study examines the role of multilevel governance in the prevention of air pollution in Delhi, NCR. Theresearch utilises both primary and secondary data sources to assess the perception and opinion of respondents on variousissues related to air pollution. Hypothesis testing is employed to analyse the data, and the findings indicate that less than50% of respondents feel that there is any conflict of interest between agencies or governments in the implementation ofschemes or programs to combat air pollution. Additionally, it is found that more than 50% of respondents believe that theformulation of one apex body for policy formulation, rather than multiple bodies, would be more effective in controllingair pollution. However, 50% of respondents believe that there is a lack of political will or coordination among stakeholdersin controlling air pollution, and multilevel governing bodies are seen as a bottleneck. Based on these findings, it isrecommended that a centralised authority be established to deal with air pollution-related issues and that more efforts bemade to increase public awareness about air pollution. The analytical approach used in this research highlights theimportance of hypothesis testing in making inferences about populations based on sample data. Future research couldalso look into how well different multilevel governance strategies work in different situations. It could also look into therole of citizen engagement and participation in making policies and programmes to stop air pollution. Also, research couldlook at the possible effects on the economy and society of using multilevel governance approaches to stop air pollution.

Multilevel dynamic governance in dealing with crisis: the case of handling corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19) in Lampung Province, Indonesia

The Covid−19 pandemic has become a global problem that requires coordination and cooperation at all levels of government and sectors. In Indonesia, the implementation of Covid−19 handling policies varies in each region. This study aims to analyze the use of multilevel dynamic governance in handling Covid−19 in Lampung Province. The multilevel governance approach is used to analyze the coordination and cooperation between provincial, district and city governments in handling the Covid−19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the dynamic governance approach is used to analyze how the government can adapt to changes during the pandemic. The research method used is qualitative, with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, observation, and document analysis. The Lampung Provincial Government’s multilevel dynamic governance indicates weak government capacity. During the year-long outbreak, there were no long-term initiatives, appropriate responses, meaningful evaluation follow-up or cross-sectoral coordination and collaboration activities. This research implies that coordination and collaboration are an essential factor in multilevel dynamic governance.

Reclaiming the Authority to Plan: Recentralization of COVID-19 Response in Ghana

ABSTRACT The paper examines the implications of COVID-19 pandemic on multi-level governance (MLG) in Ghana. Adopting a qualitative document analysis approach supported by 18 key informant interviews, the findings revealed four enablers of recentralization: COVID-19-induced legislations for centralized decision, centralized distribution of relief packages and medical supplies, centralized institutional response, and centralized government communication strategies. Despite the use of centralized policy making, the management of pandemic is fraught with institutional inefficiencies, rigidities, and ambiguities. The paper argues that the recentralization of COVID-19 management is symptomatic of a long period of neglect of MLG in Ghana. Since, local governments are perceived as inept and ill-equipped, there is a mistaken believe that recentralized decisions are more effective during emergencies. To ensure an effective response to public emergencies, its mitigation and post-crisis recovery in developing countries, a MLG approach – where central, local, and other non-state actors work together in equal partnership is crucial.

Redes de políticas en el marco de la Agenda Urbana para la UE. La influencia de las coaliciones temáticas en la politización de la toma de decisiones a escala europea

This article explores the role of multilevel thematic partnerships method in building a specific policy, namely, the Urban Agenda for the European Union (EU) adopted in 2016. This method, designed as a pilot experiment, formalizes cooperation among different levels of government as well as public and private actors. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of the multilevel governance approach and to determine the extent to which the thematic partnerships method contributes to the politicization of a decision-making process at the European level. For this purpose, the methodological design is based on network analysis applied to four case studies, namely, the following four thematic partnerships: Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees, Urban Poverty, Climate Action and Security in Public Spaces. Firstly, the results show a higher mobilization of stakeholders representing local interests; secondly, it is also shown that the monetization of the problem determines the nature of stakeholders (stakeholders representing social or economic interests) that join the policy networks. In sum, this article makes an empirical contribution to multilevel governance and politicization studies on the one hand, and to urban and European studies on the other.

Comparing Health Workforce Policy during a Major Global Health Crisis: A Critical Conceptual Debate and International Empirical Investigation

The health workforce is central to healthcare systems and population health, but marginal in comparative health policy. This study aims to highlight the crucial relevance of the health workforce and contribute comparative evidence to help improve the protection of healthcare workers and prevention of inequalities during a major public health crisis. Our integrated governance framework considers system, sector, organizational and socio-cultural dimensions of health workforce policy. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as the policy field and Brazil, Canada, Italy, and Germany as illustrative cases. We draw on secondary sources (literature, document analysis, public statistics, reports) and country expert information with a focus on the first COVID-19 waves until the summer of 2021. Our comparative investigation illustrates the benefits of a multi-level governance approach beyond health system typologies. In the selected countries, we found similar problems and governance gaps concerning increased workplace stress, lack of mental health support, and gender and racial inequalities. Health policy across countries failed to adequately respond to the needs of HCWs, thus exacerbating inequalities during a major global health crisis. Comparative health workforce policy research may contribute new knowledge to improve health system resilience and population health during a crisis.

Managing Urban Growth – an Overview of the Literature

Today, most countries in the global north have developed and implemented urban growth management (UGM) programs and policies aimed at mitigating the impacts and negative externalities of urban sprawl and achieving a more compact urban form. However, there is substantial disagreement about their effectiveness and effects of these programs. In this paper, we systematically review the extensive literature on growth management to better understand a) the current state of the practice of UGM, and b) the determinants of successful UGM implementation. Compared to previously available literature syntheses, which focus heavily on North American research, we also take into account studies based in Europe and some Asian and Oceanic countries. From this literature, we identify several key factors to successful growth management implementation: a multi-level governance approach, intersectoral policy coordination, a regionally adapted mix of policy instruments, balancing development needs with preservation goals, and the ability to develop positive narratives around growth management.

Decoding Delhi's water governance through multi-level governance approach

AbstractThis article explores the intertwined, multi-level, and varied scale of public institutions, local level organizations, and various actors involved in rendering water supply services to the residents of Delhi. To ensure water security in the national capital, the study of actors and institutions involved in the water governance of Delhi is pertinent. Delhi, being the capital of the country, has overlapping administration between both the central and state government. Various ministries and departments which vary in hierarchy and power are working for the day-to-day functioning of the megacity. This phenomenon also applies to the water governance of Delhi, making it byzantine and complex in nature. In this context, a multi-level governance approach has been used for exploring the water governance of Delhi. Identification of various actors, stakeholders, and institutions involved in Delhi's water governance is a prerequisite to ensure effective, equitable, and participatory water management for the city.

Transitions to food democracy through multilevel governance

Food systems in Europe are largely unjust and not sustainable. Despite substantial negative consequences for individual health, the environment and public sector health and care services, large multi-national corporations continue to benefit from the way food systems are designed—perpetuating “Lose–Lose–Lose–Win” food systems that see these large corporations benefit at the expense of health, the environment and public sector finances. Transitioning to “Win–Win–Win–Win” food systems is challenging because of the heterogeneity, complexity and unpredictable nature of food systems—one-size fits-all solutions to correct imbalances and injustices cannot exist. To address these challenges, we propose the use of heuristics—solutions that can flexibly account for different contexts, preferences and needs. Within food systems, food democracy could be a heuristic solution that provides the processes and can form the basis for driving just transitions. However, ensuring that these transition processes are fair, equitable, sustainable and constructive, requires an approach that can be used across vertical and horizontal governance spheres to ensure the voices of key stakeholders across space, time and spheres of power are accounted for. In this manuscript we outline a new Horizon project, FEAST, that aims to use multilevel governance approaches across vertical and horizontal spheres of governance to realize constructive food democracy. We envisage this as a means to inform just processes that can be used to design and implement policies, in line with food democracy, to facilitate transitions to “Win–Win–Win–Win” food systems across Europe that makes it easy for every European to eat a healthy and sustainable diet.

Multi-level governance framework and its applicability to education policy research - the Canadian perspective

Education policies are increasingly characterized as complex and dynamic, involving a multitude of actors and policy networks. As a result, there is a growing demand in education for research approaches that can help make sense of this complexity. This paper examines the applicability of multi-level governance (MLG) framework as a tool of education research from Canada’s decentralized federalist perspective. By conducting a comprehensive literature review of 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, we determine the applicability of MLG framework, the conditions necessary for its use, and its overall relevance to education policy, which is increasingly characterized by the involvement of a variety of stakeholder groups across government levels and policy sectors. The key findings are presented following Bowe et al.’s (1992) policy cycle framework. We conclude that MLG approach is a strong tool for education research to analyze policy making in federal decentralized educational systems, as it allows a more nuanced perspective for understanding the multilayered policy dynamics often unfolding in the context of federalism.

Water governance diversity across Europe: Does legacy generate sticking points in implementing multi-level governance?

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to protect and improve water quality across Europe through an integrative and multi-level water governance approach. The goal is to ensure that water quality in Europe meets good ecological status by 2027. Whilst the WFD has been hailed as a cornerstone for governance innovation in water management, most EU member states (MS) still struggle to achieve good ecological status of their waters. The realignment to a multi-level governance structure under the WFD is discretionary, and has generated diversity in WFD multi-level governance implementation approaches and final governance arrangements across MS. This diversity may contribute to low goal achievement and weak compliance. This paper investigates how visual impressions of legislative structure across nine MS can illustrate and contribute to understanding the differences in multi-level implementation of WFD and associated water protection directives. We explore, in-depth, the drivers of visual differences in Portugal, Germany (Lower Saxony) and France. We hypothesise that many of the challenges of WFD implementation, and resulting governance arrangements can be explained in terms of the legacy effects of previous water governance choices. With this conceptual framework of investigating the history and legacy, we found the three in depth studies have had different starting points, paths, and end points in their water governance, with sticking points influencing the decision-making processes and compliance required by the WFD. Sticking points include the complexity of existing water governance structures, lobbying by different sectors, and the mandatory WFD timeline for implementation. Portugal had to resolve its focus on water infrastructure and engineering to enable a re-focus on water quality. France and Portugal experienced 'top down' governance at different points in time, slowing the shift to a multi-level governance system. Lower Saxony, representing just one of 16 federal state systems in Germany, highlighted the complex historic governance structures which cannot easily be restructured, generating a layering effect where new governance systems are fitted to old governance systems. We conclude that there is a need to implement a hybrid approach to water governance and WFD implementation including decentralisation (discretionary) to ensure collaboration and engagement of stakeholders at the local level. This hybrid governance system should run in parallel with a centralised (mandatory) governance and regulatory system to enable national environmental standards to be set and enforced. Such systems may provide the best of both worlds (bottom-up involvement of stakeholders meeting top-down goal achievements) and is worthy of further research.

Research & innovation policy in the Italian NRRP: an evalutation of emerging challenges for multi-level governance

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the Research and Innovation (R&I) sector, which is widely recognized as a driver of social and economic recovery, both by public institutions and by scholars. Hence, the pandemic has prompted the European Union to implement a coordinated strategy, one that has created opportunities to support the R&I sector. The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Conte government and finalized by the Draghi government, represents a potential turning point in defining more suitable governance mechanisms for long-term R&I policies aimed at strengthening sustainability and resilience in Italy. Likewise, events surrounding the Plan were the formal reasons for the appointment of the Draghi government in the first place. By evaluating policy documents and by analysing the preliminary measures adopted, this article analyses the Italian case, which reveals a potential shift. Indeed, while in the pre-COVID period Italian governance was characterized by an approach focussed on the government ministries, reforms triggered by the NRRP have configured a potential multi-level governance approach to the Italian R&I framework. This study also highlights the opportunities and risks of this shift – opportunities and risks that are particularly related to the role of regions and non-state stakeholders in defining appropriate R&I policies.

Which Way to the EU? The Paths of German Youth Policy Discussions into EU Council Policy

In the light of domestic coordination processes in federal states, this article deals with the interplay of domestic governmental and non-governmental actors in the development of a German position for negotiations in the EU youth policy field. The qualitative single-case study is embedded in the evaluation of the German implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2010-2018). It focusses on the roles, mutual perceptions, conflicts, and resulting action strategies of the different actors involved in the domestic coordination processes. In doing so, the article adds to the debate on Europeanisation and domestic coordination processes in federalist states by facilitating an understanding of the extent to which differing framework conditions of a specific policy field at the domestic and EU-Level can influence domestic policy coordination and its bottom-up processes. The analysis reveals a discrepancy between the intentions of the actors to work together based on a multi-level governance approach, and a reality in which the Federal Ministry assumes a gatekeeper function. The problems following this discrepancy can be explained on the one hand by different perceptions and expectations the actors have towards the coordination process and on the other hand by a lack of a youth policy culture of debate. The article shows how these problems lead to different action strategies by the domestic actors and the use of different pathways to bring their interests to the EU level. Simultaneously, the findings show that these different strategies of action can successfully lead to a stronger German position, provided these pathways are used in a coordinated manner. The analysis shows that a domestic coordination process involving both governmental and non-governmental actors from different levels working together on an equal footing by using a multi-level governance approach, can only function in federal policy cooperation processes when the actors focus on content-related discussions rather than formal forms of cooperation.

The Fundamental Right Agency’s influence in reforming EU Roma policy

Six million Roma live in the EU, and most are EU citizens. Sadly, they are still the minority suffering the highest level of discrimination. To fight this, the European Commission has created and keeps reforming Roma-specific policies. In doing so, it usually relies on reports by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). Yet, in existing literature, the FRA’s concrete influence is not studied, and only partial information exists. This paper fills this gap by looking into the extent to which the FRA influences EU Roma policy reforms. Through a multi-level governance approach and by differentiating between institutional and political activism, it analyses key EU policies and related reports. Moreover, it analyses insights provided by high-level experts in and outside of the EU institutions. The results show that the FRA is clearly the driving force behind Roma related policies, but that its leading role is not abused for gatekeeping other actors. Instead, the FRA involves non-EU stakeholders wherever possible, trains and supports, and keeps expanding programmes for participation. Hence, it can be expected that the gap between the FRA and other actors will be reduced in the future. For now, however, it is the key player behind EU Roma policy reforms.

Intermediary Organizations in Nature Conservation Initiatives: The Case of the EU-Funded LIFE Programme

This study was aimed to identify intermediary organizations active in nature conservation initiatives by adopting a multi-level (ML) and network governance (NG) framework and using social network analysis (SNA). We identified 256 coordinating beneficiaries and 1090 associated beneficiaries connected through 8310 project relations and financed through the EU-funded LIFE Programme from 2014 to 2020. Our results evidence a central component of the network where organizations from Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom play a central role. In contrast, peripheral components return a framework of partnerships mainly constituted by actors of the same country (68%). Moreover, the characterization by type of actor confirms the widespread implementation of a multi-level governance approach in LIFE-Nature (NAT) projects, evidencing the significant presence of non-governmental organizations and foundations, mainly at a national level, in nature conservation initiatives. Our findings reveal that the intermediary capacity of key actors should be further reinforced, particularly toward the promotion of transnational cooperation and cross-sector alliances, by encouraging the involvement of stakeholders operating at the ground level (i.e., provincial and municipal levels).