Norwegian Perspectives on EEA and Norway Grants Projects. A Summary

Transcription

1 Norwegian Perspectives on EEA and Norway Grants Projects A Summary KS 2015

2 Introduction This booklet is a summary of the research project Norwegian Perspectives on EEA Projects: Identifying Factors Influencing Municipality Participation carried out for KS by Irina-Nicoleta Bentea, Audun Sagedal Bie, Margrethe Heibø Modalsli, Alina Notø and Chris Rønningstad as part of the master s programme in Organisation, Leadership and Work at the University of Oslo. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the participation of Norwegian local government units in EEA and Norway Grants projects. It examined the local government units grounds for deciding whether to participate, as well as their opinions on KS efforts and assistance in this process. The main results of this research project are thus presented below in brief. EEA and Norway Grants and the role of KS The EEA and Norway Grants provide funding for 32 programme areas within different sectors, with the overall aim of reducing social and economic disparities between the more established EU nations and the 13 new member states who joined in 2004 or later as well as Greece, Spain and Portugal (EEA Grants only). These are programmes where organisations in the beneficiary countries co-operate with organisations from donor countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) on a set of programmes based on national needs and priorities. Norwegian municipalities and counties are thus potential partners for their counterparts in the beneficiary countries for projects within the 32 programme areas. Participation is open to municipalities, counties and intermunicipal organisations. KS, as the representative organisation of local government in Norway, plays an important role in briefing its members on relevant European developments within in the sphere of local government and also manages and organises a number of externally-financed international cooperation projects. Part of this work is the EEA and Norway Grants scheme, and here KS would like to encourage greater participation from Norwegian municipalities, counties and inter-municipal organisations. Methods Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in order to provide KS with the most complete information regarding the participation of municipalities and counties in EEA and Norway Grants projects. With assistance from KS, four different case-types were determined based on degree of participation. The entire data set consists of 170 individuals representing 65 organisations (44 municipalities, 17 counties and 3 inter-municipal organisations). Ten in-depth interviews with key informants were undertaken, and a survey was sent to all 170 representatives mentioned above. The response to this survey was moderate, with only 73 replies a response rate of 43%.

3 The data collected was subject to statistical analysis using SPSS. Besides calculating percentage distributions, medians and modes, correlation coefficients were worked out and independence tests undertaken (Fisher s exact test and Chi-squared) in order to find possible patterns in the data such as possible associations between the answers given to different questions. What motivates local government units to participate in EEA and Norway Grants projects? The survey reveals that the strongest factor in motivating local government units to participate in EEA and Norway Grants projects is competence-building, closely followed by the project fitting in with municipal strategies and needs, making new contacts and network-building, and, finally, cultural exchange. Given that participation in EEA and Norway Grants projects is voluntary and that local government units cannot be forced into collaborating against their will, it is important that they regard the activity as rewarding in itself: their motivation needs to be intrinsic. Network-building was a medium or large motivating factor for over 94% of respondents. Motivational factors which were met to the highest degree included network-building, cultural exchange, and the project fitting with municipal strategies, as well as gaining experience of project work. The latter was particularly emphasised as a positive outcome in the interviews undertaken with project participants. Thus, one gets the impression that many view EEA and/or Norway Grants project participation as an investment undertaken in order to make project processes smoother in the future both locally and internationally. As noted, a strong motivational factor was that the project fit with a specific need in the municipality. While a majority of respondents answered that this factor had been met to a high degree as a result of the participation, the central tendency is rather less positive. This shows that although it was important for local government units to find a project that had direct relevance to their own challenges, there is some debate as to whether the project was actually relevant or not. This question of relevance will be discussed further below. One can thus see that some of the motivational factors positively correlated with the factors that were fulfilled through project participation. This trend of positive correlation is to be expected and can be explained by Festinger s theory on cognitive dissonance. According to Festinger, people want to see a match between what they feel and what they experience, and in order to reach this state they will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase dissonance. Thus, the real utility of these projects may be lower than this data suggests. Key findings: The biggest motivating factors are competence-building, networking, cultural exchange and how the project fits with municipal needs/strategies. In addition, the results show that the expectations of Norwegian local government units are, to a large extent, met when it comes to these factors. They also gain a recognition of their own knowledge and acquire project management skills. This is valuable information in terms of encouraging more local government units to participate in

4 EEA and/or Norway Grants projects and can be used as a way to present success stories to engage and communicate with potential new project participants. Challenges with EEA and Norway Grants collaboration projects There are a number of challenges which need to be overcome in order to have a successful EEA and/or Norway Grants project collaboration. Some of these relate to the demands placed upon local authorities in terms of extra work and collaborating with different cultures and organisational forms, but a perhaps more institutional obstacle is the way in which these programmes and projects are managed at the macro level. As one informant reflected, the EEA and Norway Grants project system is characterised by enthusiasts and coincidences. Each programme and project is developed and managed by entities in the beneficiary state. As a result, information tends to be customised to the needs of the beneficiary entities and hence the objectives and terms of collaboration, as well as information on potential partners and the participation process may not be clear or available for Norwegian local authorities. In addition, their needs and interests are not taken into account at programme/project initiation, and their ability to influence objectives and the terms of the collaboration may be somewhat limited. They had huge, top-heavy meetings with lots of words, very little concrete. The first time I attended this kind of meeting... I came out of it without understanding a word of what it was really about. These difficulties are a result of the peculiar way in which the decision-making process is structured. Many different organisations are involved in the projects at the different phases and in different ways, and decisions affecting individual projects are made at a number of levels. As such, Norwegian partners such as local authorities end up evaluating potential collaborations from the wrong end: instead of having a problem and trying to find a solution, they are presented with a solution (based on a problem in a beneficiary country) and have to find a local problem which might require the offered solution. As such, Norwegian local authorities need to have a good understanding of the relevance of the projects and work out what is in it for them; there is certainly room for improvement here. Moving to the project level, other potential obstacles cause concern to Norwegian partners. The survey found that the most significant factors preventing Norwegian local authorities from applying to EEA and/or Norway Grants projects were: 1) too much bureaucracy/reporting, 2) demands too much time, 3) too short deadlines, and 4) uses the municipality/county s own budget. These are often also the problems most frequently reported by those who take part in projects as well. Other obstacles encountered include language difficulties and cultural differences, in terms of both working methods and practices and more generally. Informants have expressed concerns about having to explain complicated terms in English, and the unexpected necessity of having to use interpreters an added layer of difficulty. However, it would appear that although, as one informant put it, it is scary to be involved in something new and unknown, these difficulties dissipate with experience. Both a statistical analysis of the data and the interviews conducted indicate that there is a strong correlation between the

5 ease of finding a partner and respondents experience. The longer respondents work in particular organisations and the more project partners they have had, the easier it is for them to find a partner and complete a project. Key Findings: The main obstacles for participating in EEA and/or Norway Grants projects are: the peculiarities of the decision-making process, bureaucracy and the reporting burden, too short deadlines, and a lack of temporal, human and financial resources within the local authorities. However, the more projects a municipality has participated in, the less significant these obstacles become and the easier it is to find appropriate partners and projects. The benefits of participation and success factors for EEA and Norway Grants projects The survey reveals that Norwegian local authorities do indeed find value in participating in EEA and/or Norway Grants projects. The most common benefits are considered to be the opportunities for networking, the possibilities for learning, cultural exchange and the potential to solve a specific local issue. Hence, despite the challenges and obstacles, local authorities end up feeling that the overall experience of participation is positive and beneficial. Mutuality is a key element in successful project collaboration, and the results of this investigation shed light on the relationship between donor and beneficiary partner in EEA and/or Norway Grants projects. For instance, one can see that a large proportion of respondents (79 percent) agree with the statement that both partners need to benefit equally from participating. This is further reflected in how Norwegian local authorities see the importance of networking and cultural exchange as motivational factors for entering a project partnership. It can also be said that by both parties wanting something tangible out of a project, it is more likely to be conducted effectively and successfully. This can indeed be observed in the data by looking at the high degree of correlation between those participants who considered the project to be beneficial for the fulfilment of a specific need and those who found the project beneficial as a whole. This indicates that local authorities who enter these projects with a clear goal regarding what they want to achieve are more likely to leave the projects with a greater sense of having benefitted from participating. Conclusions and lessons for the future Calmer waters eventually? Over 96% of respondents say that participation has benefitted their organisation. KS: Based on a statistical analysis of the data along with the qualitative information gathered from the interviews, one can conclude that, in general, the local government units are satisfied with KS support regarding the various issues connected to the EEA and Norway Grants projects. However, KS could help local government units and motivate them to participate even more by providing more concrete information about the projects, as well as providing support at all stages of an EEA or Norway Grants project. Furthermore, when informing local government units about projects, KS should emphasise how these projects can help realise existing municipal strategies. There should

6 also be a focus on how participation can result in soft benefits such as cultural exchange, networking and competence-building in addition to serving a specific problem-solving purpose. Informing the local government units of the added burden of extra formal bureaucracy as early as possible in the process may lead to more applicants making value-rational decisions in favour of projects that fit their strategies and thus benefitting more from their participation. Too much focus on the obstacles can of course scare potential participants from investigating project collaboration further, but the findings suggest that many local government units are not adequately prepared for these difficulties. Municipalities/Counties: The most important motivational factors for Norwegian municipalities/counties are competency-building, finding projects which match the municipality/county s needs and strategies, acquisition of new contacts and network-building, and cultural exchange. When judging the benefits participating in projects, the local government units which gained the most benefit were those who found a project which best fit with their own needs and strategies. Furthermore, and as has been noted previously, the more familiar Norwegian partners become with EEA and Norway Grants project participation, the more they see the possible benefits and better handle the obstacles. Hence, the best returns from project participation may not come until the second collaboration or thereafter. Experience of the procedures and practices of EEA and Norway Grants projects as well as an awareness of the need to be both flexible and committed are important skills which need to be learned on the job, rather than from a handbook or in a meeting.