Categorie: Report

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City typology as the basis for policy

Towards a tailor-made approach to the benchmarking and monitoring of the energy and climate policy of cities

KPMG | 2010

The whole world is facing a significant challenge of how to limit the effects of climate change. These days, there is little doubt that climate change is an important issue. Therefore, the main question now is how to address it. A noteworthy report with ideas and concepts.

Bernd Hendriksen, Director, Sustainability Advisory practice, KPMG in the Netherlands: “Addressing climate change is a shared responsibility requiring the joint support of citizens, businesses and governments. Cities occupy a crucial position in this respect. They house large populations and many businesses, generating a great deal of mobility, and are, therefore, significant emitters of greenhouse gases.

This also implies that cities have unique opportunities to develop an energy and climate policy to reduce these emissions significantly. To achieve this, cities can mobilise the parties involved, create awareness and enforce specific changes through legislation and regulations. The range of issues to be addressed is virtually endless, from waste collection and industrial policy to car use in the inner cities and grant schemes for green energy.

“Cities are responsible for about eighty per cent of the global energy consumption and half of the total greenhouse gas emissions (European Commission, 20081). Cities are, therefore, one of the key locations in the fight against global warming.”

Moreover, this also presents cities with opportunities: a city that successfully tackles this issue can raise its profile accordingly. In the near future, this will become an increasingly important way for cities to distinguish themselves.

Understandably, cities are already using the opportunities available to place the issue of climate change on a solid footing. Domestically as well as internationally, numerous initiatives and tools have been implemented to measure the efforts, benchmark and share knowledge.

In this publication, KPMG Sustainability analyses and compares the impact of various tools and initiatives. One of our conclusions is that the landscape is cluttered, showing little uniformity or cohesion. We also conclude that initiatives are often not correctly aligned to the specific characteristics of a given city and, therefore, do not invite a tailor-made approach. We have therefore made several suggestions for improvement. These are also based on the awareness that cities, particularly in the coming years, will require tailor-made policies that are designed to achieve optimal and sustainable results cost-effectively.

Furthermore, requirements will become stricter. The Covenant of Mayors (a European Commission initiative for commitment by signatory towns and cities to go beyond the objectives of EU energy policy in terms of reduction in CO2 emissions), for example, is drafting stricter requirements concerning reporting. The European Commission will also keep a close eye on the energy and climate policies of cities.”

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Risk Culture

Under the Microscope Guidance for Boards

The Institute of Risk Management | 2012

Richard Anderson, Chairman of The Institute of Risk Management: “For over 25 years, the Institute of Risk Management has provided leadership and guidance to the emerging risk management profession with a unique combination of academic excellence and practical relevance. The Institute’s profile continues to grow internationally with heightened interest in the management of risk across government, public and business domains. 

This board guidance on risk culture is our latest contribution to thought leadership in the field. Although essential, the continuing parade of organisational catastrophes (and some notable successes) demonstrates that frameworks, processes and standards for risk management are insufficient to ensure that organisations reliably manage their risks and meet their strategic objectives. What is missing is the behavioural element: why do individuals, groups and organisations behave the way they do, and how does this affect all aspects of the management of risk?

“Problems with risk culture are often blamed for organisational difficulties but, until now, there was very little practical advice around on what to do about it.”

Problems with risk culture are often blamed for organisational difficulties, but until now, there has been very little practical advice on what to do about it. This paper seeks to give guidance in this area, drawing upon the wealth of practical experience and expert knowledge across the Institute. It aims to provide advice to organisations wanting a greater understanding of their own risk cultures and to give them some practical tools that they can then use to drive change. It should be of interest to board members, executives and non-executives, risk professionals, HR professionals, regulators, and academics.

This short document summarises our approach to risk culture for those working at the board level. There is also a longer companion document – Risk Culture: Resources for Practitioners – which covers the detailed thinking behind the concepts and models we found helpful. This remains a developing area, and we do not consider that we have written the last word on the subject – we expect to see more models and tools and, in particular, sector and issue-specific work emerging in the future.”

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Een waterschap voor het waterbeheer van de toekomst

Myrthe van Delden, Johan Oudega, Martijn van der Steen en Marise van ’t Wout | 2023

“In 2023 zijn opnieuw Waterschapsverkiezingen in Nederland. In de aanloop naar die verkiezingen voerden de waterschappen met elkaar een strategisch gesprek over de uitdagingen die er op waterschappen afkomen, over de kansen die er liggen en over de onzekerheden die er zijn. Ze zijn in gesprek gegaan over hoe waterschappen, vanuit hun sleutelrol in het veilig, leefbaar en veerkrachtig houden van Nederland, zich het beste zouden kunnen organiseren en profileren. Om met dit gesprek de publieke waarde waar ze voor staan ook in een sterk veranderende tijd te blijven realiseren.

Het verkennen van de toekomst en het ontwikkelen van strategie om daar mee om te gaan, betekent het omgaan met inherente onzekerheid. De toekomst ‘is’ nog niet. Er kunnen geen metingen over verricht worden en het is ook nooit met zekerheid te zeggen hoe de toekomst zal zijn. Dat betekent dat het nodig is om de onzekerheid in alle mogelijke vormen te onderkennen.

Daartoe kunnen drie samenhangende stappen worden gezet: signaleren, interpreteren en anticiperen. Signaleren welke ontwikkelingen (ver weg en dichterbij) op de waterschappen afkomen; deze ontwikkelingen kunnen interpreteren zowel vanuit meer en beter (en verlengde van het heden) evenals vanuit anders (discontinuïteit); en het organiseren van omgaan met (on)voorspelbare verrassingen. Omgaan met het onbekende is een belangrijk onderdeel van strategie. Het gaat dan om het vermogen om te anticiperen op dat wat we nog niet weten.

Deze manier van nadenken over de toekomst van het waterschap leidt ook tot de constatering dat maakbaarheid een woord is dat lange tijd centraal heeft gestaan in het doen en denken van de waterschappen – en het mogelijk nog steeds vaak doet – maar dat aan die maakbaarheid een grens lijkt te zitten. Er ontstaan scheurtjes in het verhaal van door waterschappen verzorgde zekerheden. Kleine – en soms grotere – incidenten maken zichtbaar dat niet alles (meer) maakbaar, kenbaar of voorspelbaar is. Het antwoord van de waterschappen – ‘we gaan het fixen’ – zoals dat lange tijd is geweest, lijkt dus niet (altijd) meer passend. Om ruimte te maken voor het omgaan met onzekerheid, met grote ontwikkelingen zoals klimaatverandering, is een nieuw strategisch verhaal nodig.

Strategie voor een onzekere toekomst vereist ruimte voor dilemma’s. Het verhaal van het waterschap is meer dan ooit een verhaal van het omgaan met dilemma’s, Het is een verhaal van en-en: een waterschap voor de toekomst omarmt zowel de zekerheden als de onzekerheden. In de zoektocht naar dat nieuwe verhaal hebben we in deze strategie-expeditie betekenis gegeven aan verschillende trends en ontwikkelingen in de omgeving van de waterschappen. Gezamenlijk hebben de waterschappen kiemen en signalen van dynamiek in beeld gebracht, die ze hebben doordacht vanuit continuïteit, maar ook vanuit discontinuïteit en mogelijke disruptie. De vragen daarbij waren steeds: welk waterschap is nodig voor het waterbeheer van de toekomst? De opbrengst van dat traject is niet de routekaart voor de toekomst, maar strategie als gedeelde betekenis: een gedeeld verhaal om met een open vizier en ambitie de toekomst tegemoet te treden.”

Lees publicatie.

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The resilient city – state of the art

Nikola Hochholdinger, Alexandra Schantl and Thomas Prorok | KDZ

During the pandemic, the discussion about the resilience of our social system and especially of Austrian cities and municipalities is increasingly becoming the focus of political and social discourse. This working document provides a first overview of the state of scientific discussion on urban resilience, existing literature, research projects and planning tools with a focus on the local level.

In the context of cities and municipalities and public administration, the concept of resilience is primarily related to disaster management. In addition to governance, resilience management also includes other disciplines such as technical, economic, ecological, and social resilience.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://civitasnaturalis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-resilient-city-–-state-of-the-art.pdf” title=”The resilient city – state of the art”]

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Actieagenda Sterk Bestuur

Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties | januari 2023

In haar brief inzake Actieagenda Sterk Bestuur formuleert de minister: “Een dienstbare overheid let niet alleen op de regels, maar kijkt ook hoe haar handelen voor mensen uitpakt. Een responsieve overheid luistert goed naar wat er leeft en zorgt ervoor dat wetgeving, beleid en uitvoering meer één geheel vormen. Dat signalen uit de uitvoering ook tijdig bij de beleidsmakers terugkomen.

Een realistische overheid belooft niet meer dan ze waar kan maken. Met alle uitdagingen die er op dit moment zijn wordt dat er niet eenvoudiger op. Zo’n betrouwbare overheid is noodzakelijk voor de stabiliteit van onze democratische rechtsstaat.

Lees verder “Actieagenda Sterk Bestuur”

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UN High Seas Treaty

This evening more than 100 nations finally have reached a historic agreement to protect the world’s oceans following 10 years of negotiations. The High Seas Treaty places 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, aiming to safeguard and recuperate marine nature. The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.

The existing agreement of 1982 established an area called the high seas – international waters where all countries have a right to fish, ship and do research – but only 1.2% of these waters are protected. Marine life living outside of these protected areas has been at risk from climate change, overfishing and shipping traffic.

The legally binding agreement to conserve and ensure the sustainable use of ocean biodiversity was agreed after five rounds of protracted United Nations-led negotiations that ended in New York on Saturday, a day after the original deadline, as reported by Reuters.

UN delegates reach historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters.

Read UN press release

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The new Danish guide on Risk Leadership

Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Jesper Hjort | May 2007

In January 2007, PRIMO Danmark launched its national guide on (public) risk management, Risikoledelse – En Kommunal Opgave. The guide was endorsed by the Danish Minister of Interior, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who wrote the first part of the preface to the guide.

Rasmussen: “Every day, local authority managers make decisions involving risks; that is, decisions involving significant uncertainty. It is important to note that these may be risks facing citizens, local communities or the local authority organisation itself.

Risk is simply a condition of life when the future is uncertain. To put it in another way: making important decisions on an uncertain foundation is also part of overall management. Executives can never be entirely certain about the foundations of their decisions. However, if entirely risk-proof decisions were possible, nothing would happen.

So, for executives, the whole secret is – in the words of Kierkegaard – to take upon one self this uncertainty. Executives in the public sector should, therefore, work systematically on minimizing the negative sides of risks and on maximising the positive sides.

The task of dealing with risks in society in general has, so far, been carried out reasonably well. From a historical perspective, the world – not to mention the average Danish municipality – has by no means become a more uncertain or risky place to live. To the contrary: we live longer, we live healthier lives and we have prospects of fewer losses of human lives and assets than ever before.

When we, nevertheless, see a need to focus on public executives’ ability to handle uncertainty, this is due to a number of essential changes of the conditions under which this management is carried out. It is not just a question of a more globalised world, or of a higher degree of complexity in the production of services and the exercise of public authority.

And, it is not just a question of an increasingly larger body of laws and regulations, nor just a question of the rapid technological developments and of the many opposing pressures from an increasing number of stakeholders with whom today’s executives need to deal. It is not least a question of the public’s very explicit and legitimate expectations that the authorities manage the part of our daily lives, for which they today – to a considerable extent – are responsible.

This leaves executives with an equally legitimate claim on having decision support; and a systemised decision support for dealing with uncertainties is exactly what risk leadership is about.

By working with corporate governance, the private sector has attempted to meet today’s expectations of good corporate governance from the public and from politicians as well as from national and international requirements and regulations. From the very start, risk management has been recognised as an integral part of corporate governance in international codes of conduct as well as in the (for example) Danish Nørby Report.

“I would argue that the public sector as well should include risk management as a natural part of good public governance.”

To earn the citizens trust everyday places a heavy responsibility on local authority top executives. Of course, public executives and organisations cannot guarantee certainty and progress. However, they can assist citizens, local communities and private enterprises in handling the risks which are connected with safeguarding the welfare of society now and in the future in a more thoughtful, yet also more proactive, way. Instead of letting ourselves be governed by fear, we should face the future in an intelligent way.”

From municipal perspective

Chairman of PRIMO Denmark Jesper Hjort writes in the preface of Risikoledelse: En Kommunal Opgave* (2007):

“Challenges lying in front of us. This guide aims to give top municipal managers a concise approach to risk management, thus providing them with decision support to systematically manage uncertainty. At the same time, it is hoped that other managers and specialists will also benefit from the reading and that the ideas and systems of risk management will achieve greater application in the public sector in Denmark. 

Municipal leaders have a great responsibility—and after the municipal reform, it is no less. With its broad-spectrum scope, complexity of services, and number of employees, the average Danish municipality is at least as difficult to manage as most private companies. 

For some years, private companies in Denmark have been able to get help with risk management through the Nørby report’s recommendations and other codes and standards. Something similar has not been worked out for the public sector, which has had to look to England in particular to find guidance in this area. With the assistance of several private companies, a contribution to a Danish model of risk management in the public sector is now available. 

The guidance will show public leaders that, given their significant responsibilities, they are well served by a mental and methodical response to critical uncertainties when making decisions. The guide will primarily introduce the risk management philosophy and illustrate how risk management can be translated.

Risk management is well-known in most municipalities and other public organisations. If public leaders don’t improve some form of risk management, they will hardly be leaders for very long. However, this introduction is necessary because the terms of management, public and private, have changed on a number of key points. It challenges both traditional operational risk management and the more intuitive approach, not to mention the often indirect acceptance of risks in practice. 

The guidance has been made from the recognition by the co-acting municipalities that the time is ripe for a strategic and methodical approach to managing risks. The European Municipal Directors’ Association, UDITE, has also recognised this by putting risk management on the agenda in the 15 Member States in 2005 and forming the Public Risk Management Organisation (PRIMO). 

The starting point is that risk management does not require the reassurance of the municipal organisation or a change in a manager’s entire management philosophy and style. Instead, risk management is about completing ordinary work with practical knowledge and knowledge in relation to risk issues. 

The guide is prepared in the spirit of public governance, and it is hoped that it will help meet the challenges that municipalities face following municipal reform. The guide is based on five key recommendations:

      1. Put risk management on the executive board’s agenda.
      2. Review the overall organisation from a risk perspective.
      3. Insert risk and opportunity assessment as a form requirement in decision settings.
      4. Integrate risk management into the municipality’s information and management system.
      5. Establish a central controller risk management function.

Following these recommendations can really reap the benefits of risk management. The communities both clearly achieve greater planning and security while strengthening development and innovation. All in all, municipalities can better meet their social and social obligations. 

All experiences show that good risk management increases confidence in management. It is my hope that the management boards of the new municipalities will follow these recommendations as much as possible, thereby making risk management a municipal task in the near future.”

This article was published in the Public Risk Forum in May 2007.

*Translation from Danish by Jack Kruf.