Despite lengthy debates about planning versus incrementalism, there is still no consensus on what strategy processes should look like in the public sector. In the environmental policy field, the decline of formal policy planning was nonetheless followed by a surge of national strategies for sustainable development (NSSDs). After summarizing this development, we highlight some key characteristics, good practices, and weaknesses of NSSDs with regard to participation, horizontal and vertical policy integration, policy implementation, and monitoring. It is shown that NSSDs go well beyond former environmental policy plans, not just in terms of their thematic scope, but foremost because they resemble evolving rather than static strategy processes. Finally, we explore what model of strategy formation may be adequate for the public sector in general. Based on the empirical evidence presented here and by drawing on strategic management theory, strategic public management is proposed as an ideal pattern for strategy formation, which reconciles planning and incremental learning.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BonnIChristodoulouC, 1996, “From strategic planning to strategic management”Long Range Planning29543–551.
2.
BonderFFinkP, 2002, “The Netherlands”, in Governance for Sustainable Development: Five OECD Case Studies (OECD, Paris) pp 217–280.
3.
BrewsP JHuntM R, 1999, “Learning to plan and planning to learn: Resolving the planning school/learning school debate”Strategic Management Journal20889–913.
4.
BrockD MBarryD, 2003“What if planning were really strategic? Exploring the strategy–planning relationship in multinationals”International Business Review12543–561.
5.
Cabinet Office, 2000Wiring it up: Whitehall's Management of Cross-cutting Policies and Services: A Performance and Innovation Unit ReportCabinet Office, London.
6.
CunninghamR B, 1989, “Public-sector strategic management”, in Handbook of Strategic Management Eds RabinJMillerG JHildrethW B, (Marcel Dekker, New York) pp 123–141.
HED, 2002, “Sustainable development strategies: A resource book. Compiled by Barry Dalal-Clayton and Stephen Bass for OECD and UNDP”, International Institute for Environment and Development, http://www.nssd.net/working/resource/.
17.
HED, UNDP, UKDFID, 2002, “National strategies for sustainable development: New thinking and time for action”, International Institute for Environment and Development, United Nations Development Programme, UK Department for International Development, http://www.nssd.net/pdf/IIED13.pdf.
18.
JänickeM, 1997, “Nachhaltigkeit als politische Strategie: Notwendigkeiten und Chancen langfristiger Umweltplanung in Deutschland” [Sustainability as political strategy: Necessities and chances of long-term environmental planning in Germany], http://www.fes.de/fulltext/stabsabteilung/00086.htm.
19.
JänickeM, 2000, “Strategien der Nachhaltigkeit—eine Einführung” [Strategies of sustainability: An introduction], in Umweltplanung im internationalen Vergleich: Strategien der Nachhaltigkeit [Environmental planning in an international comparison: Strategies of sustainability] Eds JänickeMJörgensH, (Springer, Berlin) pp 1–14.
20.
JänickeMJörgensH, 1998, “National environmental policy planning in OECD countries: Preliminary lessons from cross-national comparisons”Environmental Politics727–54.
21.
JänickeMJörgensH, 2004, “Neue Steuerungskonzepte in der Umweltpolitik” [New concepts of steering in environmental politics]Zeitschrift für Umweltpolitik und Umweltrecht27297–348.
22.
JänickeMCariusAJörgensH, 1997Nationale Umweltpläne in ausgewählten Industrieländern [National environmental plans in selected industrialized countries] (Springer, Berlin).
KooimanJ, 1993/94Modern Governance: New Government–Society Interactions (Sage, London).
25.
LenschowA, 2002Environmental Policy Integration: Greening Sectoral Policies in Europe (Earthscan, London).
26.
LiefferinkD, 1997, “The Netherlands: A net exporter of environmental policy concepts”, in European Environmental Policy: The Pioneers Eds AndersenM SLiefferinkD, (Manchester University Press, Manchester) pp 210–250.
27.
LindblomC E, 1959, “The science of ‘muddling through’”Public Administration Review1979–99.
28.
LindblomC E, 1979, “Still muddling, not yet through”Public Administration Review38517–526.
29.
MartinuzziASteurerR, 2003, “The Austrian strategy for sustainable development: Process review and policy analysis”European Environment13269–287.
30.
MeadowcroftJ, 1997, “Planning for sustainable development: Insights from the literatures of political science”European Journal of Political Research31427–454.
31.
MeadowcroftJ, 2000, “Nationale Pläne und Strategien zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung in Industrienationen” [National plans and strategies for sustainable development in industrialized countries], in Umweltplanung im internationalen Vergleich: Strategien der Nachhaltigkeit Eds JänickeMJörgensH, (Springer, Berlin) pp 113–130.
32.
MeulemanL, 2003, “Flexible organising governance styles”, in Environmental Governance in Europe. RMNO/EEAC background study nr V.02 Eds MeulemanLNiestroyIHeyC, RMNO (Netherlands Advisory Council for Research on Spatial Planning, The Hague) pp 219–237.
33.
Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, 1985Environmental Program of the Netherlands (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, The Hague).
34.
Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, 1989National Environmental Policy Plan (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, The Hague).
35.
MintzbergH, 1994The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: Reconceiving Roles for Planning, Plans, Planners (The Free Press, New York).
36.
MintzbergHAhlstrandBLampelJ, 1998Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management (The Free Press, New York).
37.
MontanariJ RDanekeG ABrackerJ S, 1989, “Strategic management for the public sector: Lessons from the evolution of private-sector planning”, in Handbook of Strategic Management Eds RabinJMillerG JHildrethW B, (Marcel Dekker, New York) pp 303–318.
38.
OECD, 2001Governance in the 21st Century (OECD, Paris).
39.
OECD-DAC, 2001, “Strategies for sustainable development: Practical guidance for development cooperation”, Development Co-operation Directorate, OECD, http://www.nssd.net/pdf/gsuse.pdf.
40.
PageE C, 2003, “The civil servant as legislator: Law making in British administration”Public Administration81651–679.
41.
PaquetG, 2001, “The new governance, subsidiarity, and the strategic state”, in Governance in the 21st Century (OECD, Paris) pp 183–215.
42.
ParsonsW, 1995Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Glos).
43.
PetersG, 1998, “Managing horizontal government: The politics of co-ordination”Public Administration76295–311.
44.
PierreJ, (Ed.) 2000Debating Governance: Authority, Steering and Democracy (Oxford University Press, Oxford.
45.
PoisterT HStreibG D, 1999, “Strategic management in the public sector”Public Productivity and Management Review22308–325.
46.
RhodesR A W, 2000, “Governance and public administration”, in Debating Governance: Authority, Steering and Democracy Ed. PierreJ, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 54–90.
SteurerRMartinuzziA, 2003a, “Sustainable development in an enlarged Union: Linking national strategies and strengthening European coherence. Discussion input paper”, http://www.nachhaltigkeit.at/lisstra.
51.
SteurerRMartinuzziA, 2003b, “Sustainable development in an enlarged Union: Linking national strategies and strengthening European coherence. Workshop summary”, http://www.nachhaltigkeit.at/lisstra.
52.
SteurerRMartinuzziA, 2003c, “Sustainable development in an enlarged Union: Linking national strategies and strengthening European coherence, good practice guide”, http://www.nachhaltigkeit.at/lisstra.
53.
SzulanskiGAminK, 2001, “Learning to make strategy: Balancing discipline and imagination”Long Range Planning34537–556.
54.
TaylorB, 1997, “The return of strategic planning—once more with feeling”Long Range Planning30334–344.
55.
UNCED, 1992Agenda 21UN Conference on Environment and Development (United Nations, New York).
UNDESA, 2001b, “Guidance for preparing national sustainable development strategies: What are national sustainable development strategies? Executive summary”, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/index.html.
WCED, 1987Our Common Future World Commission on Environment and Development (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
61.
WechslerB, 1989, “Strategic management in state government”, in Handbook of Strategic Management Eds RabinJMillerG JHildrethW B, (Marcel Dekker, New York) pp 353–372.
62.
WilliamsP M, 2002, “Community strategies: Mainstreaming sustainable development and strategic planning?”Sustainable Development10197–205.
