Influencing the roll out of good policies: an evaluation of governance tools

Research on sustainable transport planning has concluded that, for the most part, the policies that will lead to more sustainable outcomes are known and what is required is a more widespread and intense application of such measures. In response, upper tiers of government with responsibility for achieving policy goals and for steering the lower tiers of government are often faced with a dilemma of how to encourage these lower tiers to ‘do the right thing’. This paper examines the presumptions surrounding the spread of ‘good policies’, considers the motivations of actors at a lower tier when faced with pressure to adopt policies and, drawing on a series of case studies from Europe, discusses the potential for a range of different approaches to stimulate the more rapid uptake of ‘good policies’. The research concludes that greater attention needs to be given to the notions of policy diffusion and the different stages of adoption (or rejection) of policies. Much better use should be made of pilot studies to understand the likely adoption pathway for policies and the extent to which the policies will spread without active intervention. Where intervention is needed, better communication of the benefits and the use of incentives to encourage compliance are likely to be more effective than sanctions and regulations. Sanctions and regulations can be difficult to design, expensive to enforce or oversee and will, faced with an underlying reluctance to comply, lead to compliance on paper but limited action. Good policies are only good policies in particular circumstances and plans to support their roll out should recognise this.