Towards better territorial governance in Europe; a guide for practitioners, policy and decision makers based on contributions from the ESPON TANGO Project

Guides help you do things. You turn to them when you need to find out how to solve a problem. They are a form of knowledge transfer, written by experts but in a way that is accessible and helpful to a wide group of users. This Guide was written by the researchers on the ESPON applied research study of Territorial Approaches to New Governance (TANGO). It aims to help those persons and institutions that are delivering territorial governance across Europe. Who is the guide for? This guide is targeted at three groups of potential users. These are: • Practitioners, i.e. private or public professionals that are engaged in territorial governance activities at different scales and/or cohesion policy programmes or projects in Europe. • Policy makers, i.e. public executives and officials in charge of territorial governance at various administrative levels. They may also have the responsibility to implement cohesion policy at the EU level (e.g. officials of the European Commission) or at national, regional and local levels in the Member States. Plans, programmes and projects are their main means of delivering territorial governance. • Decision?makers who are mostly democratically elected politicians, such as members of the EU Parliament, national parliaments, or regional and municipal councils. However, they may also include persons appointed as representatives to bodies with decision?making powers, e.g. community representatives in partnerships for regional development. They are often in charge of ministerial or departmental roles related to territorial governance and to cohesion policy. Through their democratic mandate or a high?level appointment, they are the ones that can establish rules on territorial governance. However, the essence of governance is that it extends beyond governments, engaging a potentially wide range of stakeholders and non?governmental institutions. We hope the Guide can be useful to them, too. Why is a guide needed? Effective partnership working across different scales is recognised as essential for Europe’s cohesion and economic recovery. The Common Strategic Framework for cohesion policy 2014-2020 seeks much better integration of policies, and a more rigorous focus on achieving desired outcomes. In other words, better governance is fundamental to achieving the goals of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Integration and partnerships need a territorial dimension if they are to deliver the desired synergies. Box 1 more fully explains why territorial governance has become an increasing concern within Europe.