Project description

Today, the need of an integration of the requirements of sustainable development into the different domains of policymaking is rarely questioned anymore. It is, however, a difficult task to implement policy integration into effective political measures of the variety of policy areas. Furthermore, there is a need for scientific based support. Especially the structural restraints of an integration of sustainability requirements haven’t been sufficiently analysed, yet. With their highly differentiated administration, modern states seem to pursue even contradictory policy targets. Policy integration is, however, a postulate which is difficult to implement. At the same time it is an important requirement for a successful innovation oriented environmental policy.
The proposed research project aimed at developing a contribution for an implementable consideration of the requirements of sustainable development in new policy initiatives of the different branches of administration. In particular the research project:

• delivered an overview on corresponding activities on the European level of administration – including the discussion on the need of indicators for an evaluation of sectoral policies. The analysis has asked for possible political and legal requirements for the national level, too.
• Previous efforts for an policy integration in other states has been compiled and analysed, especially regarding far developed cases of best practice and regarding the respective national debates on policy targets for sustainable development.
• The possibilities and restrictions for an integration of the requirements for an policy integration has been evaluated from the viewpoint of policy analysis and an analysis of legal norms. A software tool (POINT 3D – Policy Integration in 3 Dimensions) for the different branches of federal administration has been developed.
• The software tool aimed at complementing other measures of policy integration such are strategic national environmental planning, strategic environmental assessment, green budgeting, green ministers, inter-administrative task forces, etc. Possible effects of policy initiatives regarding the three dimensions of sustainable development has been evaluated on an early stage of development.
  

Publications

Jacob, Klaus / Volkery, Axel: Instruments for Policy Integration. Intermediate Report of the RIW Project POINT. Berlin 2003, 22 p., (= Forschungsstelle für Umweltpolitik, FU Berlin, FFU rep 06-2003)

Jacob, Klaus / Volkery, Axel: Strategien und Instrumente zur Politikintegration. Auf der Suche nach Schnittstellen. In: :[riw] newsletter Nr. 4. Beilage von "Ökologisches Wirtschaften". H. 2 (2003), S. 1-2, (= :[riw]-Newsletter Nr.4 zum Thema "Politikstrategien bei :[riw] - Vorreiter statt Nachahmer gesucht!", Beilage "Ökologisches Wirtschaften" , H. 02/2003)

Jacob, Klaus / Volkery, Axel: Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) – Potentials and Limits for Policy Change Through Learning. Berlin 2002, (= Paper presented at the 2002 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change)

Jacob, Klaus / Volkery, Axel: Potentials and Limits for Policy Change Through Governmental Self-Regulation – The Case of Environmental Policy Integration. Marburg 2003 (= Paper presented at the 2nd ECPR Conference - Marburg)