Translating the multi-level governance (MLG) framework across regions and actors is instrumental for the EU's successful, fair, and inclusive twin climate and digital transitions. The DeCrises project aims to identify theoretical and implementation gaps in the MLG model and put forward pathways to a just twin transition so as to effectively reduce existing inequalities and prevent the emergence of new ones.
One of the major challenges of the European Green Deal (EGD) is the need for a more inclusive and engaging approach to governance—one that actively involves all stakeholders, including national, regional, and local governments, citizens, businesses, NGOs, and others. In addition, different policy responses that EU Member States demonstrate concerning digitalisation and green transition ask for the formation of an innovative MLG framework, cross-border collaboration, and coordinated strategies that are well-prepared to overcome potential future uncertainties and crises. For this purpose, the project will offer a renewed conceptualisation of MLG and assess the implementation of the Green Deal at national and local levels and how it is intertwined with the EU’s Digital Strategy. Moreover, it will examine how the EGD promotes citizen participation and deliberation, identify collaboration models between different actors, stakeholders, and regions, and suggest policy recommendations for a just twin transition that fosters democracy, inclusiveness, citizen participation, and responsible decision-making.
DeCrises tests how community-led social innovation (SI) projects are integrated into the multi-level governance processes and proposes a stable space for them in an MLG system by focusing on four cross-regional SI projects from the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), namely, Green Region Vestland (Norway), Fingrid Datahub (Finland), Municipality of Potęgowo (Poland), and City of Riga (Latvia), and their impact and effectiveness on social development, cohesion, and inclusion in the national context. Furthermore, the project seeks to facilitate channels of collaboration and knowledge exchange between a diverse set of actors and explore ways to enhance shared ownership of policy instruments.
The project is multidisciplinary and draws insights from various fields and disciplines, such as public governance, environmental governance and management, European policies, European law, participatory politics, and more. It also adopts a multi-method approach, utilising a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse approach supports the development of well-informed, practical recommendations that respond to the needs of decision-makers at all levels of governance.
