IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i18p11600-d915954.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enhancing Policy Capacity for Better Policy Integration: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a Post COVID-19 World

Author

Listed:
  • Kidjie Saguin

    (Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Michael Howlett

    (Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

Abstract

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN, in 2015, established a clear global mandate for greater integrated policymaking, but there has been little consensus on how to achieve them. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the role of policy capacity in mounting this kind of integrated policy response; however, the relationship between pre- and post-pandemic SDG efforts remains largely unexplored. In this article, we seek to address this gap through a conceptual analysis of policy integration and the capacities necessary for its application to the current SDG situation. Building on the literature on policy design, we define policy integration as the process of effectively reconciling policy goals and policy instruments and we offer a typology of policy integration efforts based on the degree of goal and instrument consistency including: policy harmonization, mainstreaming, coordination, and institutionalization. These forms of policy integration dictate the types of strategies that governments need to adopt in order to arrive at a more coherent policy mix. Following the dimensions of policy capacity by Wu et al. (2015), policy capacities are identified that are critical to ensuring successful integration. This information, thus, contributes to both academic- and policy-related debates on policy integration, by advancing conceptual clarity on the different, and sometimes, diverging concepts used in the field.

Suggested Citation

  • Kidjie Saguin & Michael Howlett, 2022. "Enhancing Policy Capacity for Better Policy Integration: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a Post COVID-19 World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-13, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11600-:d:915954
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11600/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11600/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2021. "World Inequality Report 2022," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-03693233, HAL.
    2. Christine Wamsler & Stephan Pauleit, 2016. "Making headway in climate policy mainstreaming and ecosystem-based adaptation: two pioneering countries, different pathways, one goal," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 71-87, July.
    3. Underdal, Arild, 1980. "Integrated marine policy : What? Why? How?," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 159-169, July.
    4. Frankel, Jeffrey A., 1988. "Obstacles to International Macroeconomic Policy Coordination," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3-4), pages 353-374, July.
    5. Polidano, Charles, 2000. "Measuring Public Sector Capacity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 805-822, May.
    6. Scharpf, Fritz W., 2000. "Institutions in comparative policy research," MPIfG Working Paper 00/3, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    7. Joshi, Devin K. & Hughes, Barry B. & Sisk, Timothy D., 2015. "Improving Governance for the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: Scenario Forecasting the Next 50years," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 286-302.
    8. Dietmar Braun, 2008. "Organising the political coordination of knowledge and innovation policies," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(4), pages 227-239, May.
    9. Fritz W. Scharpf, 1994. "Community and Autonomy Multilevel Policy-Making in the European Union," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 1, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    10. Francis Fukuyama, 2013. "What Is Governance?," Working Papers 314, Center for Global Development.
    11. Kidjie Saguin & M. Ramesh & Michael Howlett, 2018. "Policy work and capacities in a developing country: evidence from the Philippines," Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 1-22, January.
    12. Michael Howlett, 2014. "From the ‘old’ to the ‘new’ policy design: design thinking beyond markets and collaborative governance," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 47(3), pages 187-207, September.
    13. Namrata Chindarkar & Michael Howlett & M Ramesh, 2017. "Introduction to the Special Issue: “Conceptualizing Effective Social Policy Design: Design Spaces and Capacity Challengesâ€," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 37(1), pages 3-14, February.
    14. Florian Kern & Michael Howlett, 2009. "Implementing transition management as policy reforms: a case study of the Dutch energy sector," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 42(4), pages 391-408, November.
    15. Andrew Jordan & Elah Matt, 2014. "Designing policies that intentionally stick: policy feedback in a changing climate," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 47(3), pages 227-247, September.
    16. Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel, 2020. "COVID-19 and public-sector capacity," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 256-269.
    17. Lema, Adrian & Ruby, Kristian, 2007. "Between fragmented authoritarianism and policy coordination: Creating a Chinese market for wind energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 3879-3890, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giliberto Capano & Michael Howlett, 2020. "The Knowns and Unknowns of Policy Instrument Analysis: Policy Tools and the Current Research Agenda on Policy Mixes," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440199, January.
    2. Browne, Geoffrey R. & Hürlimann, Anna C. & March, Alan & Bush, Judy & Warren-Myers, Georgia & Moosavi, Sareh, 2024. "Better policy to support climate change action in the built environment: A framework to analyse and design a policy portfolio," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Christina Steinbacher, 2024. "The pursuit of welfare efficiency: when institutional structures turn ‘less’ into ‘more’," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 57(2), pages 353-378, June.
    4. Leonore Haelg & Sebastian Sewerin & Tobias S. Schmidt, 2020. "The role of actors in the policy design process: introducing design coalitions to explain policy output," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(2), pages 309-347, June.
    5. Michael Howlett & Ishani Mukherjee, 2014. "Policy Design and Non-Design: Towards a Spectrum of Policy Formulation Types," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(2), pages 57-71.
    6. Edmondson, Duncan L. & Kern, Florian & Rogge, Karoline S., 2019. "The co-evolution of policy mixes and socio-technical systems: Towards a conceptual framework of policy mix feedback in sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    7. Marc Dijk & Eric Iversen & Antje Klitkou & René Kemp & Simon Bolwig & Mads Borup & Peter Møllgaard, 2020. "Forks in the Road to E-Mobility: An Evaluation of Instrument Interaction in National Policy Mixes in Northwest Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    8. Strunz, Sebastian & Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2021. "Analyzing the ambitions of renewable energy policy in the EU and its Member States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Reckien, D. & Salvia, M. & Pietrapertosa, F. & Simoes, S.G. & Olazabal, M. & De Gregorio Hurtado, S. & Geneletti, D. & Krkoška Lorencová, E. & D'Alonzo, V. & Krook-Riekkola, A. & Fokaides, P.A. & Ioan, 2019. "Dedicated versus mainstreaming approaches in local climate plans in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 948-959.
    10. Araz Taeihagh, 2017. "Network-centric policy design," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(2), pages 317-338, June.
    11. Grace Skogstad, 2020. "Mixed feedback dynamics and the USA renewable fuel standard: the roles of policy design and administrative agency," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(2), pages 349-369, June.
    12. White, Lee V. & Hughes, Llewelyn & Lyons, Chell & Peng, Yuan, 2021. "Iterating localisation policies in support of energy transition: The case of the Australian Capital Territory," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    13. Georg Winkel & Metodi Sotirov, 2016. "Whose integration is this? European forest policy between the gospel of coordination, institutional competition, and a new spirit of integration," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(3), pages 496-514, May.
    14. Rogge, Karoline S. & Reichardt, Kristin, 2016. "Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: An extended concept and framework for analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1620-1635.
    15. Matsuo, Tyeler & Schmidt, Tobias S., 2019. "Managing tradeoffs in green industrial policies: The role of renewable energy policy design," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 11-26.
    16. Schmidt, Tobias S. & Sewerin, Sebastian, 2019. "Measuring the temporal dynamics of policy mixes – An empirical analysis of renewable energy policy mixes’ balance and design features in nine countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    17. Ishani Mukherjee & M. Kerem Coban & Azad Singh Bali, 2021. "Policy capacities and effective policy design: a review," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(2), pages 243-268, June.
    18. Matthew Lockwood & Caroline Kuzemko & Catherine Mitchell & Richard Hoggett, 2017. "Historical institutionalism and the politics of sustainable energy transitions: A research agenda," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 312-333, March.
    19. Sofien Tiba & Mohamed Frikha, 2020. "Sustainability Challenge in the Agenda of African Countries: Evidence from Simultaneous Equations Models," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(3), pages 1270-1294, September.
    20. Rogge, Karoline S. & Reichardt, Kristin, 2013. "Towards a more comprehensive policy mix conceptualization for environmental technological change: A literature synthesis," Working Papers "Sustainability and Innovation" S3/2013, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11600-:d:915954. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.