A strategic governance framework for the EU CAP Network
Good governance helps any organisation function better. Successful governance systems and structures depend on evidence-based decisions, and this strategic approach is also being applied to the governance of the EU CAP Network.
- 2023-2027
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In political science, Good governance refers to ways in which decision-making powers are exercised by public and private sector authorities, including those supporting the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Good governance of CAP-funded technical assistance initiatives, like the EU CAP Network, is used to safeguard the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of CAP networking actions that are programmed to help realise the CAP’s full potential. Good governance also helps to boost CAP stakeholders’ confidence in and commitment to networking.
The Governance of the EU CAP Network involves an Assembly and its Steering Group. The Assembly also has three permanent Subgroups, respectively on CAP Strategic Plans (SoCSP), LEADER and territorial development (SoLTD), and Innovation and knowledge exchange (SoIKE).
The governance bodies are representative of the broader range of EU CAP Network stakeholders, so the ongoing dialogue with these bodies, including through dedicated events, ensures the EU CAP Network is connected to the grassroots level. Regular consultations also ensure that the EU CAP Network's Annual Work Programme reflects the main priorities of its stakeholders, focusing on emerging issues and important topics in agriculture and rural development for the 2023-2027 CAP funding period.
Strategic networking
The same regulation setting up the EU CAP Network also designed the governance mechanisms and designated the governance members. To be successful, this policy-based governance system relies on clarity and consensus on how success is determined.
The success of the EU CAP Network will be assessed against the objectives for CAP Networking (as defined by Article 126 of the CAP Strategic Plans’ EU regulation). These objectives are illustrated in Figure 1.
Here is where the Strategic Framework comes into play as a valuable tool to assess the EU CAP Network. The Strategic Framework has been developed collectively for the governance bodies by the Network Support Units. A draft version of the SF was shared with the Steering Group members in October 2024 for their comments and inputs. It was then revised, refined and presented to the members of the Assembly, and was validated during their latest meeting in December 2024.
The Strategic Framework has these general purposes:
- Providing a unified and commonly understood frame for the operations of the EU CAP Network
- Guiding and ensuring coordination between the Network Support Units in the further elaboration of their activities
- Supporting the governance bodies of the EU CAP Network to align the priorities of the Network Support Units
- Setting the basis for monitoring and evaluating the activities of the EU CAP Network
The Strategic Framework views the activities of the EU CAP Network all together within one single intervention logic. It takes into account that the different Network Support Units responsible for CAP implementation, innovation and knowledge exchange, evaluation, and communication all contribute in different ways to the delivery and success of the networking objectives.
Factors of success
When considering how to demonstrate what success would look like in relation to the networking objectives stated in the regulation, a set of ‘Factors of success’ was developed. This was done to help operationalise the objectives and provide a basis for measuring if the EU CAP Network had been successful in achieving them.
Factors of success include, for example, increasing meaningful engagement of stakeholders; sharing information and creating opportunities for exchange on successful examples of CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) implementation; analysing and disseminating evolving trends in agriculture and rural development, sharing successful innovation and research approaches; creating spaces where stakeholders can meet; and improving the quality of monitoring and evaluation activities and ensuring the results of the CSPs are shared with a wide audience with the support of the National CAP Networks in Member States.
The wide-reaching and varied activities of the EU CAP Network are linked to demonstrating the Factors of Success, and quantitative and qualitative data from these activities will be collected on a regular basis. The Strategic Framework recognises that many of the activities of the EU CAP Network relate to multiple networking objectives and that the combination of the activities of the different Network Support Units reflects the multi-stakeholder environment that exists at grassroots level.
Thanks to this common monitoring tool, the EU CAP Network’s governance bodies will have access to useful information to inform them as to how the Network’s key goals are being met. Information derived from the Strategic Framework can provide good insights to ensure that networking activities are seen to be ‘meaningful’, ‘relevant’, and ‘appropriate’ for different stakeholders.
Such data will also help inform evidence-led governance decisions, for instance, to identify ways to coordinate and optimise the support that the EU CAP Network can provide to different types of stakeholders to meet its objectives.
The Assembly and Steering Group meeting reports provide fuller information on the topics discussed by the members and the work of the governance bodies of the EU CAP Network.
Author(s)
EU CAP Network
