Collective responsibility & governance of SGAs

Introduction

Brief description of the Module

“The term Governance encompasses both formal and informal institutions, rules, mechanisms, and processes of collective decision-making that allows various stakeholders to influence and coordinate their interdependent needs and interests and their interactions with the environment at different scales” (Taconi, 2011).

Module 5 aims at empowering educators who will undertake facilitating and leading their local communities and promoting cooperative projects of transformation of shared spaces, into greener and more accessible areas, fostering social inclusion, common values and participation, as well as face environmental issues by training them into reaching SGA (Shared Green Area) governance by learning how: 

• to set up a concrete form of self-governance through different formal and informal models 
• to set up rules for shared decision-making 
• to define ways to make everyone included in the decisions and to educate them in reaching balanced decisions in an environment where a fair share of responsibility is dully allocated  
• to acquire knowledge and handling of mechanisms for resolving and settling conflicts as well as ensuring a good governance of SGAs

The theoretical approach in this module is based mainly on the contents and findings of “GREEN SURGE, Work package 6: GOVERNANCE, Deliverable 6.1: THE GOVERNANCE OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN SELECTED EU-CITIES” of the EU FP7 project GREEN SURGE (ENV.2013.6.2-5-603567; 2013-2017). The evidence-based work and study of the “GREEN SURGE” collaboration of 24 authors, in 20 EU Countries, identified that current governance arrangements can be viewed as the synergy of four parameters, equally contributing to its final formation and outcome. The four parameters being: 

• the Actors, i.e., either persons or organizations, or coalitions of both, aspiring to get involved with management, use or transformation of SGAs;
• the Rules, i.e., multiple circumstances, like opportunities or hindrances that Actors come across when acting in formal or informal contexts; 
• the Resources that can be utilized to fulfil purposes and ends towards use and/or reuse of SGAs, that could primarily be financial, basic, or soft skills, training, or land rights etc.; and 
• the Intended Outputs, i.e., personal visions, personal or communal aspirations, life purposes or merely long-awaited dreams of those engaged and committed. 

Any type of change or shift, regarding any parameter, can change the equilibrium or alter the final formation of the synergy. In short, the four parameters present the condition of actors being able, if they are willing, to bring change and innovation, but at the same time, they “sail along outlined seas”.  

Competence statement

It is important for the Educators to be able to identify and convey best practices corresponding to the needs for governance and decision-making within the communities they lead towards proper management of an SGA. Mainly, that is, mediation among stakeholders on shared green urban area management (rules, responsibilities, duties, and rights), on negotiation techniques to reach decisions within the community, and to allocate resources accordingly. It is important to know how to reach those decisions and which governance models to choose by the users of a green area.

Learning Outcomes

1. Define and describe the main forms of governing an SGA (e.g., formal, informal, cooperative, social business)
2. Identify and assess decision-making models (e.g., consensus-based, inclusive for minorities etc.) and decision-making habits
3. Acquire main accountability principles 
4. Define the main concepts of conflict resolution towards a good SGA governance

Keywords

• governance;
• good governance;
• co-governance;
• multi-level governance arrangements;
• participation policies;
• stakeholders;
• actors;
• shared decision-making;
• conflict resolution;

Hashtag of the Unit

#ParticipatoryGovernanceofSGAs

Expected Time

6 hours