Towards a sustainable EU: Comparison of 3 Cooperation Types and Their Impact on Governing Effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to build on previous Public Administration research, contributing a better understanding of three cooperation models (PPPs, Co-production and Society-driven cooperation) and their respective perceived governing effectiveness in two different European contexts. Since the topic of Interactive Governance is relatively under-researched, this study was to show how different forms of Interactive Governance work in practice and how they could be used to reach sustainable transition. A final aim of this study was to address Derk Loorbach’s call for a framework of effective cooperation models serving as a guide in various societal contexts. The research question guiding the study is: What is the influence of cooperation models (PPPs, Co-production and Society-driven cooperation) on the perceived successful effectiveness of steering in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, in the context of a sustainable transition? To come up with answers to the research question, a mix of qualitative methods was used. First, six case studies of Dutch and Czech sustainable projects, where each cooperation model was seen in practice, were analyzed. Then, 18 interviews with Dutch and Czech respondents who worked or are currently working on the sustainable projects identified, were conducted. The results show that achieving perceived governing effectiveness under PPPs is more straightforward than under the other two cooperation models, which builds on the existing theory that this is the case. However, one of the main contributions of this study is the finding that Co-production and Society-driven cooperation both reach higher governing effectiveness in the Czech cases than in the Dutch. Because of the differing cultural and institutional contexts, the Czech government is advised to consider applying Society-driven cooperation and the Dutch government may apply Co-production, to reach sustainable transition. This study concludes that PPPs have a direct positive influence on the perceived successful governing effectiveness in both contexts, yet they are not suitable in aiming for a sustainable transition. Second, Co-production has more of a positive influence on the perceived successful governing effectiveness in the Czech case, though having a high potential in the Dutch, in terms of reaching the sustainable transition. Last, Society-driven cooperation also has more of a positive influence on the perceived successful governing effectiveness in the Czech case, though having a rather negative influence on governing effectiveness in the Dutch case, regarding the sustainable transition.