The Monitoring Capacity of Civil Society Networks:A Social Network Analysis in the Case of Gender Equality Policy

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When does the EU commission listen to experts?:Analysing the effect of external compliance assessments on supranational enforcement in the EU

How does the European Commission respond to external expert reports about member states’ non-compliance? We theorise that expert compliance assessments affect the Commission’s monitoring costs and information about governments’ probability of compliance. More precisely, the Commission is likely to launch infringements, when information is provided by institutions with extensive expertise that reveals practical non-compliance. However, reports about severe non-conformity indicate that governments will not reform their policies. Therefore, the Commission is expected to initiate infringements if the domestic conditions are favourable for compliance (government and societal EU support and active civil society). Analysing 63 EU directives and 27 countries, we find that enforcement depends on external expertise and practical non-compliance. Moreover, the Commission launches infringements against severe non-conformity when it is supported by civil society. Thus, the Commission utilises expert assessments strategically and it does not necessarily prioritise high levels of non-conformity.</p

How European administrative networks aid the implementation and enforcement of EU policies

European Administrative Networks are networks of national actors who interact to improve the implementation and enforcement of EU policies. Drawing on new research, Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, Reini Schrama and Ellen Mastenbroek illustrate the role and structure of these networks, together with some of their key limitations

Going Nordic in European Administrative Networks?

The integration and policymaking of the European Union (EU) are claimed to challenge Nordic cooperation as a separate ‘common order.’ Increasing interdependencies in the EU have forced all EU member states to collaborate and share sovereignty in an increasing number of policy areas. This article studies the coexistence of Nordic cooperation and European integration by taking a network approach. It analyses the extent to which Nordic members of European Administrative Networks ‘go Nordic’ to solve problems or exchange advice, information and best practices. Based on unique survey data on interactions related to the implementation of EU policies in Social Policy, Health and the Internal Market by national governmental organisations across the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), we use social network analysis to test for distinguishable patterns of Nordic cooperation. We find evidence to suggest that Nordic cooperation in the EU and EEA is best characterised by differentiated integration. The Nordic states tend to form a separate community for problem-solving and exchanging best practices, advice and information in Health and Social policy networks, but less so in SOLVIT, a network related to the Internal Market

Rooted Implementation - The Practical Implementation of EU Policy through Cooperative Society

Despite an abundant literature on policy implementation, there has hardly been any systematic cross-national and cross-sectional research focusing on implementation of supranational policies in both law and practice. The first part of this dissertation is a first attempt to analyse the relationship between legal and practical implementation and the causes for decoupling implementation of EU directives in practice in 27 member states across four policy areas. To study how EU policy can take root in society, further analysis focuses on the conditions under which a cooperative and engaged civil society can improve implementation on the ground. The findings show that civil society strength can positively affect practical implementation if civil society organizations are regularly consulted and states have the bureaucratic capacity to cope with societal demands. The second part of the dissertation takes a network approach to analyse the role of civil society as a watchdog and their capacity to monitor the implementation process. The comparative case study on networks of women’s groups across EU members states in monitoring the implementation of EU directives on gender equality reveals that civil society in western member states tend to be better equipped, while in CEE member states the direct links with the EU Commission compensate this lack of resources. Finally, using inferential social network analysis in a case study on the monitoring network of women groups in the Netherlands, the findings of this dissertation demonstrate that effective information exchange for monitoring purposes benefits from a diverse and inclusive network

Swift, brokered and broad-based information exchange:How network structure facilitates stakeholders monitoring EU policy implementation

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Replication Data for: Swift, brokered and broad-based information exchange: How network structure facilitates stakeholders to monitor EU policy implementation

Monitoring the implementation process in domestic settings of multi-level policies like the EU gender directives is dependent on interactions among a diverse set of policy stakeholders. However, there is no clear understanding what factors determine the structure of these monitoring networks and what benefits effective exchange. Drawing on insights from social network theory, literature on information politics in transnational networks and policy network analysis, this study analyses what drives information exchange among actors in the monitoring network of women’s groups in the Netherlands. Using Exponential Random Graph Models, the analysis reveals distinctive structural features facilitating efficient information exchange and significant brokerage in the monitoring network. Moreover, the results demonstrate that interactions that serve the purpose of monitoring EU policy implementation occur among a diverse set of actors in a multi-level structure. These findings indicate that effective monitoring requires resourceful and broad-based information exchange to increase transparency in the implementation process

Digital Anamnesis: An Exploratory Study on Patient Acceptance

Purpose: The goal of this paper is to develop a technology acceptance model for digital anamnesis and explore the factors that influence individual adoption behavior. Methods: Through a literature review we identified important factors that influence acceptance. We then conduct an empirical study among patients with 115 respondents. Subsequently, we test the model using partial least squares path modelling. Results: We found that performance expectancy, social influence, and trust are the most have significant influence on behavioral intention. A group comparison reveals significant differences between young and old patients. The model explained 57.5 % of the variance of behavioral intention. Conclusions: This study helps us understand the key determinants of patient acceptance behavior, and enables us to give advice to businesses in the early stages of development