Transitiemanagement een blijvertje

In 2001 kwam het vierde Nationaal Milieubeleidsplan (NMP4) uit, met daarin het vernieuwende en spraakmakende idee van transitiemanagement. Sibout Nooteboom heeft onderzocht waar dit idee vandaan kwam en wat ervan terecht is gekomen. Zijn conclusie: het heeft de kans op duurzame ontwikkeling vergroot, want er vindt een co-evolutionair proces plaats. Binnen de overheid moet een oplossing worden gevonden tussen strijdige rationaliteiten en de daarmee verbonden beleidsculturen. Rein Willems van de taskforce duurzame energie denkt dat de tijd rijp is om een sprong te maken

Bestuurlijk vermogen. Co-evolutionair denken als overlevingsstrategie

Intro: Achterkamertjes zijn net zo belangrijk als voorkamertjes: we hebben meer van beide nodig. Aan de hand van beleidsontwikkelingen rond mobiliteit en energie heeft er sinds medio jaren negentig een sociaal leerproces plaatsgevonden waardoor de kloof tussen het publieke en private domein beter is overbrugd. Beleidsmakers hebben geleerd om beter samen te werken aan duurzame ontwikkeling. Een cruciale rol was er voor een speciaal soort informele netwerken, de adaptieve netwerken. Adaptieve netwerken zorgen voor de verbindingen die nodig zijn voor het vergroten van het bestuurlijk vermogen in deze maatschappelijke systemen. Ze zijn vertakt tot in kabinet en parlement. Een maatschappelijk systeem kan zich daardoor beter aanpassen aan veranderende omstandigheden zoals klimaatverandering. Adaptieve netwerken vergroten zowel het aantal verborgen interacties als het aantal transparante interacties; er is dus geen sprake van ‘achterkamertjespolitiek’. De kern is dat we voor elkaar herkenbaar moeten maken welke processtap een stap in de goede richting is, hoe vaag ook..

Transport infrastructure SEA in The Netherlands between procedure, process and content

Experience with the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment directive is emerging. In the Netherlands it has been applied to large transport since 2005. In 2006, an evaluation of the organization of this process was done. Key lesson: infrastructure developers undertaking an environmental assessment should keep an eye on procedure, interactive process as well as content, since these three variables should co-evolve in interaction. One of these variables may change and the others may have to be adjusted. If the developer is caught off guard the overall process may become inefficient, and the transport problem may not be adequately addressed. This is a matter of general management, not just management of the SEA

Transitions through reflexive interventions in governance networks

Abstract Transitions toward a desirable future require changes at the level of social networks that ‘manage’ or ‘govern’ societal systems. Learning is a crucial component of transitions, because transitions require change while it is not known yet how to realize that change. Intervention is another crucial component of transition which is essential in order to realize change in networks which are full of established routines and vested interests. In this paper we explore how learning and intervention can be fruitfully combined in an approach which we call ‘reflexive interventions’. In that way, learning is not purely theoretical and intervention is not purely based on routine. We describe a practical method of ‘reflexive intervention’ in the early stages of change processes, and we do a preliminary assessment of its effectiveness. We conclude that they are probably a contribution to ‘knowledge-democracy’

Environmental assessment as an institution of liberal democracy

On 3 May 2019, the UN secretary general António Guterres, tweeted: “No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information. On #WorldPressFreedomDay, we must all defend the rights of journalists, whose efforts help us build a better world for all.” How can we see to it that Guterres someday soon also will promote environmental assessment - on #FreePlanningDay?

Adaptive Networks: the Governance for Sustainable Development

In this book, I reconstruct how policy makers, working together in what I term adaptive networks, have enabled a breakthrough in thinking about sustainable mobility in certain policy circles. I define the conduct of leading actors in these adaptive networks as sustainable change management. Sustainable development is conceptualized as a complex problem. No single person or organization can ‘manage’ sustainable change autonomously. It is a joint concern and therefore a matter of effective governance – a joint effort of several domains. Adaptive networks are self-organizing groups of policy makers who enable joint factfinding and visualizing a direction towards improvements, in this case sustainable transport. These policy makers combine two capabilities. First they are influential in, and have knowledge about, different power networks. Secondly they try to break away from the existing policies in those power networks and develop a joint understanding about new, more effective policies. They try to align the evolution of this process of rethinking with the behavior in their power networks. In this perspective, breakthroughs stem from the co-evolution of partly conflicting ideas and interests. Change managers in adaptive networks act on their personal initiative. Power networks are not able to reward their initiatives, unless the new ideas they create have been accepted to a considerable degree