Partnership as a tool to green regional development programmes

1. Partnership as a tool to green regional development programmes Gottfried Lamers Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management Austria

2. Working group • Introduction • Presentation of the documents • Partnership • Legal basis • Participants • Benefits • Model of good partnership • Programming • Implementation • Monitoring and evaluation • Tips

3. Documents • We evaluated the experiences of the last period and made recommendations for the period 2007 – 2013 • We included the experiences of all partners and used a questionnaire to structure the results • We included references and success stories • We elaborated a 40 pages handbook about partnership • We published the guidance on the webpage of GRDP • We developed a fact sheet which is included in the toolkit

4. Purpose of the work on partnership • Target group are the managing authorities • Involvement of as many stakeholders as possible • Emphasis on the involvement of environmental partners • Value added of partnership • Better quality of programmes (obtain information, influence the development) • Better programme performance (integrated approach, selection process) • Better impact of the programme (more predictable, learning experience)

5. Legal and political basis for the participation of environmental partners • Aarhus Convention (1998) • Participation in decision making • Legal framework for partnership principle • Documents about regional development always have a direct impact on the environment, therefore the system for public participation suggested in the Convention is always suitable when preparing planning documents for regional development. • Problem: Impact only in the case of construction (not applicable to ESF)

6. Legal and political basis for the participation of environmental partners • EU regional policy regulation 2007 – 2013 • In 2007-2013, sustainability becomes a central element in the implementation of the renewed Lisbon and Gothenburg strategies. • Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 stresses the importance of involving environmental partners in the partnership. The new regulation gives more emphasis than previously by adding a whole section that refers to environmental partners and sustainable development: • “Each Member State shall designate the most representative partners at national, regional and local level and in the economic, social, environmental or other spheres (hereinafter referred to as partners), in accordance with national rules and practices, taking account of the need to promote equality between men and women and sustainable development through the integration of environmental protection and improvement requirements.”

7. Legal and political basis for the participation of environmental partners • EU Rural Development Policy, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development • Art. 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, also stipulates that assistance shall be implemented in consultation with partners, including • “any other appropriate body representing civil society, non-governmental organisations, including environmental organisations, and bodies responsible for promoting equality between men and women.”

8. Comments, country experience

9. Possible participants • national environmental authorities; • local/regional environmental authorities; • environmental non-governmental organisations; • municipalities and local authorities (their associations and in-formal of formalised networks); • trade unions; • social services providing organisations; • cross-sectoral NGO networks; • economic development organisations; • Professional associations (Chamber of Commerce, Farmers associations, etc.); • universities and think-tanks, innovation centres, Research and Development institutions; • community groups (if important for the programme focus).

10. Comments, country experience

11. Benefits of partnership • The broad involvement of stakeholders lead to clear goals which make programmes more sustainable and effective. • Better-informed applicants mean better applications. • If managed properly, partnership improves the democratic decision-making process. • Partnership can linkdifferent funding programmes. • Transparency, openness and prevention of misuse and corruption in the project selection process support the smooth implementation of the programme. • Partnership leads to better absorption of funds.

12. Comments, country experience

13. Characteristics of a good partnership • produce added-value for all partners and projects; • require institutional and personal continuity and time; • involve the partners early in the process; • provide timely access to information; • be flexible and adaptable; • be built on mutual trust and confidence; • be voluntary; • have the right balance between formal and informal instruments

14. Comments, country experience

15. Elements in the programming phase • Appoint a partnership manager responsible for organising the input of partners into the programme development process. • Develop a detailed participation plan, so that the team writing the programme and partners understand how they will be involved and at which stage. Link the participation plan to a publicity plan that supports the dissemination of information about the programme to key stakeholders and the general public. Make both plans available to the general public. • Include representatives of the social, economic and environmental partners in the team writing the programme. • Publicise, evaluate and record every comment gathered during the consultations. If relevant, incorporate the comment in the document. Arguments on how the comment was taken into account by the team writing the programme should be made publicly available. • Select therepresentatives of the team writing the programme and the Monitoring committee in a transparent and non –discriminatory way, ideally through elections. • Apply the partnership principle when smaller working groups are set up to target specific issues within programme development. • Organise public meetings to allow broader public discussion of drafts of the documents in key stages of the programme development process.

16. Comments, country experience

17. Elements in the implementation phase • Set up an interdisciplinary “project evaluation committee” and include environmental partners as well as social, economic and regional partners selected on the basis of their professional expertise. • Have an advocate for environmental sustainabilityon the Programme Steering Committee. • The implementing Authority should provide environmental expertise to ensure that appropriate guidance is available for those responsible for delivering the programme and project applicants. Use these experts to build environmental capacity with other delivery partners. • Give the environmental advisor access to a range of environmental expertise, drawn from statutory agencies, NGOs and environmental businesses, to help inform the development and implementation of the programme.

18. Comments, country experience

19. Elements in the evaluation phase • Consider the involvement of local and regional environmental authorities in monitoring committees of programmes as an obligatory minimum. • Include local or regional stakeholders in the evaluation team whenever possible. Workshops and conferences, multi-stakeholder working groups may be used to organise the partnership within the evaluation phase. • Evaluate the quality of the partnership itself in the programme’s ex-ante, mid-term and ex-post evaluation.

20. Comments, country experience

21. Practical tips for an effective partnership • Effective partnership requires timely involvement of partners in all stages of the programme: preparing programmes, budgeting, management, monitoring and evaluation of assistance • Engage the right partners in the work at the right time - the very beginning of the programming process. Do everything possible to keep partners involved throughout the programme cycle, as it is very demanding to start each step with different people or different organisations. • Remember that capacity-building and training are critical for environmental partnership, particularly in understanding environmental sustainability principles and how they interact with regional development. • Consider the financial help needed for certain partners (e.g. SMEs, small municipalities and NGOs) to act as partners. Their direct costs should be paid. • Give partners clear roles in programme development, project appraisal, monitoring, and evaluation and give them access to the decision making process. • Use a mix of formal and informal meetings, workshops and other means to do the work of the partnership.

22. Comments, country experience