Empirical Evidence and Comparative Analysis of Policy-Making in the Pursuit of Innovation and Sustainability

Abstract

The article attempts a comparative reading of the inflow of information concerning the influence of participatory governance arrangements in relation to policy-making for the pursuit of sustainability in multi-level context. The empirical evidence stems from a series of case studies on Environmental Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) and on Water Supply Systems conducted in Germany, Greece and the UK (see the contributions of Meinke and Swyngedouw et al. in this volume)¹. The comparative framework is defined by the combination of the various territorial/spatial levels — i.e. global/European, national/regional and local/site — with the key thematic concerns of the project — i.e. innovation, sustainability and participatory governance. The cells of this comparative framework represent theoretical spaces where the empirical relevance and the practical effectiveness of the observed forms of participatory governance are examined from the point of view of operational sub-categories referring to the main trends of the dominant modes/forms of governance (e.g. hierarchy, market, heterarchy) and the types of participating actors/holders (public, private, association, NGO).