Network models for onalysing public policy hove become widely used in recent years. This volume a... more Network models for onalysing public policy hove become widely used in recent years. This volume assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries-England and ...
Background: World-wide, there is growing universal health coverage (UHC) enthusiasm. The South Af... more Background: World-wide, there is growing universal health coverage (UHC) enthusiasm. The South African government began piloting policies aimed at achieving UHC in 2012. These UHC policies have been and are being rolled out in the ten selected pilot districts. Our study explored policy implementation experiences of 71 actors involved in UHC policy implementation, in one South African pilot district using the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) lens. Method: Our study applied a two-actor deductive theory of implementation, Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) to analyse 71 key informant interviews from one National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot district in South Africa. The theory uses motivation, information, power, resources and the interaction of these to explain implementation experiences and outcomes. The research question centred on the utility of CIT tenets in explaining the observed implementation experiences of actors and outcomes particularly policypractice gaps. Results: All CIT central tenets (information, motivation, power, resources and interactions) were alluded to by actors in their policy implementation experiences, a lack or presence of these tenets were explained as either a facilitator or barrier to policy implementation. This theory was found as very useful in explaining policy implementation experiences of both policy makers and facilitators. Conclusion: A central tenet that was present in this context but not fully captured by CIT was leadership. Leadership interactions were revealed as critical for policy implementation, hence we propose the inclusion of leadership interactions to the current CIT central tenets, to become motivation, information, power, resources, leadership and interactions of all these. Empirical research discloses implementation as a signi cant impediment to change. Understanding what facilitates or hinders implementation is critical as many countries strive towards universal health coverage: these ndings advance our understanding of how to effectively implement UHC policies in a context similar to South Africa Policy implementation is a complex process. A theoretical framework is a lens through which policy implementation can be understood. The literature is awash with many implementation theories. Understanding implementation theories that capture implementation experiences of actors in a particular context aids in reducing policy-practice gaps. Our study has demonstrated the utility of CIT in UHC policy implementation context-South Africa Contextual Interaction Theory was developed in a water governance and policy implementation context. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the rst studies that applied CIT in a UHC policy implementation context, assessing its utility and identifying any short-comings. We identi ed leadership as a critical factor, actors repeatedly alluded to as affecting implementation. This factor however is not explicitly identi ed as a central tenet in CIT, hence our proposal to include this and
THE DEBATE OVER replacing command-and-control (CAC) pollutionabatement policies with economic inc... more THE DEBATE OVER replacing command-and-control (CAC) pollutionabatement policies with economic incentive (EI) strategies has always been rather heated, though carried on more in theoretical terms than based on empirical evidence (see Mitnick 1980).The Netherlands offers an example of an EI strategy in the form of effluent fees
Actualmente el tratamiento de aguas residuales es uno de los mayores retos hídricos al que nos es... more Actualmente el tratamiento de aguas residuales es uno de los mayores retos hídricos al que nos estamos enfrentando a nivel mundial, y sus impactos son claros en temas de salud y ambientales. Por ello en México, en la última década, el gobierno federal ha realizado importantes inversiones para la construcción de plantas de tratamiento. Sin embargo, ninguna de las últimas dos administraciones han logrado sus objetivos respecto al porcentaje de aguas residuales tratadas. Las herramientas metodológicas más importantes para identificar problemas en la implementación de la política hídrica, son aquellas que evalúan la gobernanza del agua. Este estudio realiza una evaluación del contexto de la gobernanza de las sub-cuencas del Alto Atoyac Puebla y Tlaxcala, donde se encuentra el tercer río más contaminado del país.
This paper describes and analyses the use of environmental voluntary agreements, or covenants, in... more This paper describes and analyses the use of environmental voluntary agreements, or covenants, in Dutch environmental policy. Covenants have become a widely used policy instrument in the Netherlands. This trend reinforces the strong neo-corporatist traits of Dutch society with its tendency towards bargaining and cooperation with interest groups. Over the years an authoritarian and distant policy style with a negative attitude towards target groups has changed into a new approach designed to encourage self-regulation. Instead of simply imposing legislation, the Dutch government often concludes agreements with relevant sectors of industry regarding the implementation of environmental objectives. Through negotiations between sectors of industry, the Ministry of the Environment, and regional governments, agreements are sought concerning the contribution of specific industrial sectors to the goals of the National Environmental Policy Plan. These goals aim for 50–90 percent emission reductions for specified pollutants. Since 1989 many such agreements have been reached. In 2002/2003 we carried out a study on the effectiveness of the covenants, commissioned by the Dutch ministry of the Environment (VROM). The focus in the project was the identification of success and fail factors. Our central conclusion on the use and effects of the covenants is quite positive, although we have also identified several constraints. Most importantly, we found the implementation context highly relevant for covenant success. In this chapter we focus on this context in order to understand the workings of environmental voluntary agreements. We describe the background in which the covenants are used as well as the resultant effects. Furthermore we highlight some guidelines for future use.
Although most attention is likely to be paid to local issues in local participatory processes, th... more Although most attention is likely to be paid to local issues in local participatory processes, there is no firm reason to restrict participation at that level to local issues only. By distinguishing several levels of governance (sub-national, national, international and global) and focusing on various functions of governance (public agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and self-managed activities), it is argued that local authorities and other local organisations can play a part at almost all levels of governance. The strong presence and participation of local interests at the local level may even provide opportunities for policy-making at higher levels of governance. This is because the integration of interests that has to take place at the local level may provide an opportunity for local government to develop a more integrated vision of public policy than the highly specialised branches of national government. Moreover, popular inputs to local policy processes can be assumed usually to be less structured according to content than the organisation of government. When dealing with a style of policy in which support for environmental policy measures is sought by consulting different groups in society, the local level also has the advantage of being close to individuals and groups that are more inaccessible at the national level.
This chapter does not attempt to present the voluminous world literature on the topic of institut... more This chapter does not attempt to present the voluminous world literature on the topic of institutional regime analysis. Only a small selection of this literature will be dealt with. Our main purpose here is to present the theoretical notions that we have chosen or developed -- standing on the shoulders of many others -- and used in this particular research project. Furthermore, we formulate our hypotheses about regime shift towards integration and the implications of institutional resource regimes for sustainability.
This book is based on the results of the European research project EUWARENESS: European Water Reg... more This book is based on the results of the European research project EUWARENESS: European Water Regimes and the Notion of a Sustainable Status. In this project we focused on the sustainable use of water resources, to be achieved by means of integrated water management. Our aim is to develop a better understanding of the dynamic relationships between various conflicting uses of water resources, the regimes under which these uses of water resources are managed, and conditions generating regime shifts towards sustainability. The editors of this book have coordinated the project, in which research groups from six European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland) participated. For these six countries we studied the long-term evolution of national regimes over a period of more than a hundred years. We also studied in greater depth the specific regime transitions of two selected water basins in each country during the last three decades. Important questions have been: Do integrated water regimes lead to more sustainable water use? What are important indicators for integrated water regimes? Under what conditions can integrated water regimes be achieved? What could be the influence of Europe and national conditions, to achieve regime transitions at water basin scale?
Network models for onalysing public policy hove become widely used in recent years. This volume a... more Network models for onalysing public policy hove become widely used in recent years. This volume assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries-England and ...
Background: World-wide, there is growing universal health coverage (UHC) enthusiasm. The South Af... more Background: World-wide, there is growing universal health coverage (UHC) enthusiasm. The South African government began piloting policies aimed at achieving UHC in 2012. These UHC policies have been and are being rolled out in the ten selected pilot districts. Our study explored policy implementation experiences of 71 actors involved in UHC policy implementation, in one South African pilot district using the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) lens. Method: Our study applied a two-actor deductive theory of implementation, Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) to analyse 71 key informant interviews from one National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot district in South Africa. The theory uses motivation, information, power, resources and the interaction of these to explain implementation experiences and outcomes. The research question centred on the utility of CIT tenets in explaining the observed implementation experiences of actors and outcomes particularly policypractice gaps. Results: All CIT central tenets (information, motivation, power, resources and interactions) were alluded to by actors in their policy implementation experiences, a lack or presence of these tenets were explained as either a facilitator or barrier to policy implementation. This theory was found as very useful in explaining policy implementation experiences of both policy makers and facilitators. Conclusion: A central tenet that was present in this context but not fully captured by CIT was leadership. Leadership interactions were revealed as critical for policy implementation, hence we propose the inclusion of leadership interactions to the current CIT central tenets, to become motivation, information, power, resources, leadership and interactions of all these. Empirical research discloses implementation as a signi cant impediment to change. Understanding what facilitates or hinders implementation is critical as many countries strive towards universal health coverage: these ndings advance our understanding of how to effectively implement UHC policies in a context similar to South Africa Policy implementation is a complex process. A theoretical framework is a lens through which policy implementation can be understood. The literature is awash with many implementation theories. Understanding implementation theories that capture implementation experiences of actors in a particular context aids in reducing policy-practice gaps. Our study has demonstrated the utility of CIT in UHC policy implementation context-South Africa Contextual Interaction Theory was developed in a water governance and policy implementation context. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the rst studies that applied CIT in a UHC policy implementation context, assessing its utility and identifying any short-comings. We identi ed leadership as a critical factor, actors repeatedly alluded to as affecting implementation. This factor however is not explicitly identi ed as a central tenet in CIT, hence our proposal to include this and
THE DEBATE OVER replacing command-and-control (CAC) pollutionabatement policies with economic inc... more THE DEBATE OVER replacing command-and-control (CAC) pollutionabatement policies with economic incentive (EI) strategies has always been rather heated, though carried on more in theoretical terms than based on empirical evidence (see Mitnick 1980).The Netherlands offers an example of an EI strategy in the form of effluent fees
Actualmente el tratamiento de aguas residuales es uno de los mayores retos hídricos al que nos es... more Actualmente el tratamiento de aguas residuales es uno de los mayores retos hídricos al que nos estamos enfrentando a nivel mundial, y sus impactos son claros en temas de salud y ambientales. Por ello en México, en la última década, el gobierno federal ha realizado importantes inversiones para la construcción de plantas de tratamiento. Sin embargo, ninguna de las últimas dos administraciones han logrado sus objetivos respecto al porcentaje de aguas residuales tratadas. Las herramientas metodológicas más importantes para identificar problemas en la implementación de la política hídrica, son aquellas que evalúan la gobernanza del agua. Este estudio realiza una evaluación del contexto de la gobernanza de las sub-cuencas del Alto Atoyac Puebla y Tlaxcala, donde se encuentra el tercer río más contaminado del país.
This paper describes and analyses the use of environmental voluntary agreements, or covenants, in... more This paper describes and analyses the use of environmental voluntary agreements, or covenants, in Dutch environmental policy. Covenants have become a widely used policy instrument in the Netherlands. This trend reinforces the strong neo-corporatist traits of Dutch society with its tendency towards bargaining and cooperation with interest groups. Over the years an authoritarian and distant policy style with a negative attitude towards target groups has changed into a new approach designed to encourage self-regulation. Instead of simply imposing legislation, the Dutch government often concludes agreements with relevant sectors of industry regarding the implementation of environmental objectives. Through negotiations between sectors of industry, the Ministry of the Environment, and regional governments, agreements are sought concerning the contribution of specific industrial sectors to the goals of the National Environmental Policy Plan. These goals aim for 50–90 percent emission reductions for specified pollutants. Since 1989 many such agreements have been reached. In 2002/2003 we carried out a study on the effectiveness of the covenants, commissioned by the Dutch ministry of the Environment (VROM). The focus in the project was the identification of success and fail factors. Our central conclusion on the use and effects of the covenants is quite positive, although we have also identified several constraints. Most importantly, we found the implementation context highly relevant for covenant success. In this chapter we focus on this context in order to understand the workings of environmental voluntary agreements. We describe the background in which the covenants are used as well as the resultant effects. Furthermore we highlight some guidelines for future use.
Although most attention is likely to be paid to local issues in local participatory processes, th... more Although most attention is likely to be paid to local issues in local participatory processes, there is no firm reason to restrict participation at that level to local issues only. By distinguishing several levels of governance (sub-national, national, international and global) and focusing on various functions of governance (public agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and self-managed activities), it is argued that local authorities and other local organisations can play a part at almost all levels of governance. The strong presence and participation of local interests at the local level may even provide opportunities for policy-making at higher levels of governance. This is because the integration of interests that has to take place at the local level may provide an opportunity for local government to develop a more integrated vision of public policy than the highly specialised branches of national government. Moreover, popular inputs to local policy processes can be assumed usually to be less structured according to content than the organisation of government. When dealing with a style of policy in which support for environmental policy measures is sought by consulting different groups in society, the local level also has the advantage of being close to individuals and groups that are more inaccessible at the national level.
This chapter does not attempt to present the voluminous world literature on the topic of institut... more This chapter does not attempt to present the voluminous world literature on the topic of institutional regime analysis. Only a small selection of this literature will be dealt with. Our main purpose here is to present the theoretical notions that we have chosen or developed -- standing on the shoulders of many others -- and used in this particular research project. Furthermore, we formulate our hypotheses about regime shift towards integration and the implications of institutional resource regimes for sustainability.
This book is based on the results of the European research project EUWARENESS: European Water Reg... more This book is based on the results of the European research project EUWARENESS: European Water Regimes and the Notion of a Sustainable Status. In this project we focused on the sustainable use of water resources, to be achieved by means of integrated water management. Our aim is to develop a better understanding of the dynamic relationships between various conflicting uses of water resources, the regimes under which these uses of water resources are managed, and conditions generating regime shifts towards sustainability. The editors of this book have coordinated the project, in which research groups from six European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland) participated. For these six countries we studied the long-term evolution of national regimes over a period of more than a hundred years. We also studied in greater depth the specific regime transitions of two selected water basins in each country during the last three decades. Important questions have been: Do integrated water regimes lead to more sustainable water use? What are important indicators for integrated water regimes? Under what conditions can integrated water regimes be achieved? What could be the influence of Europe and national conditions, to achieve regime transitions at water basin scale?
Uploads
Papers by J. Bressers