Pluricentric Coordination

1. Pluricentric Coordination Towards an interactive approach to coordination and strategies Karina Sehested Forest and Landscape Denmark Copenhagen University kar@life.ku.dk

2. Government Business organisations EU Brussels office Pluricentric context: Region Zealand KKR Growth Forum KKU Regional Council Municipalities Growth House Zealand Fehmarn Belt Forum KL

3. Conditions • No single actor/institution in control • One comprehensivestrategydifficult • Selection of strategictasks with cohesion: choise of dimensions • Coordinationthroughcooperation and persons – not systems

4. Implications • Theory: • Theoretical contributions move in the same direction: • from cohesion, unity and universal rationality to valuing and exploiting the floating and messy character of coordination in its interpretive and relational forms • Practice: • In fragmented governance situations without any form of hierarchy

5. New idea of coordination: • Re-interpretation of the meaning and role of coordination • Re-definition of balance between vertical and horizontal coordination • New ways of promoting co-ordination

6. The definition: Coordination through: • Situated working practices • Dynamic, interactive, selective and overlapping linkages, • That might provide temporary fixations and multiple orders

7. Strategy making in different forms Analytic and learningstrategymaking: • We have to make analyses • We have to integrate/influencepoliticalgoals • We have to mobilise relevant actors • We have to build up commonunderstanding and consensus

8. Make strategies play in concert

9. Barriers • Specialised and bureaucratic organisation and silo thinking: verticalcoordination • Lack of competences • ”Traditional” mental maps of planning and roles: one overall strategy made by experts • ”Command” and authoritativebehaviour • Power struggles: Unwillingness to co-operate • Fights aboutbeing THE coordinator or meta-govenor

10. Drivers • Recognition of the necessity of cooperation – created in the process • Acceptance of the role as one among many: mentally and in behaviour • New competences and project based structures • Selective and strategic link making work • Story work: gluing stories together but creating several strategies - multiple orders

11. Link making work • Create and participate in severalnetworks – makelinkages • Make strategicchoisesaboutwho is the most importantactors • Solving real problems is essential for link makingwork • Clarify the interdependency and developcommoninterests • Make commonrules for the networks and clarifyroles and responsibility • Build up trust and confidence in the relations • Handle conflicts

12. Story and consensus work • Focusing attention to certainstrategicissues • Creation of meaning and sharedmeaning • Developcommon ”problem-solutions” narrative by gluing parts of differentstories • Accept and work with differencesand tensions in stories and meanings – in order to find areas for consensus potentials • A temporaryfixation: • ”weagreeaboutthisissue/strategy for now but are open to new ideas and suddenchange”