Agenda Stad is a policy programme that aims to enable Dutch cities to tackle complex challenges through innovative governance. In collaboration with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), we study its key features to enhance its effectiveness and innovative capacity.
Co-creating urban futures: insights from the Agenda Stad programme
Agenda Stad (Agenda City) is a policy programme that was launched by the Ministry of the Interior ten years ago. It aims to support cities in improving their economy, liveability and sustainability through governance innovations, such as new inter-governmental cooperations. However, despite the programme’s successes, it faces challenges balancing to maintain its innovative nature and securing its institutional position within the Ministry.
Exploring the potential and complexities of intergovernmental collaborations
Our research aims to understand and support Agenda Stad’s transformative capacity. How can we define its ability to address societal challenges? And how does the programme add value to generic and area-specific policies? On the other hand, we will also try to pinpoint the difficulties in embedding new approaches within the government, in order to overcome these barriers in the future.
Deepening our understanding of experimental governance through reflexive methods and paradox analysis
We will carry out qualitative research with a reflexive-action cycle element. Essentially, the research will strengthen the transformative potential of Agenda Stad by focussing on paradoxes that characterize transformative policies, and the strategies employed by actors that have to navigate these paradoxes. That way, the research will be insightful for actors that deal with similar challenges in transformative policies.
