Administrative and organizational capacities of civil society in EU Cohesion Policy

ABSTRACT

Administrative capacities are among the crucial factors influencing success in European Union (EU) Cohesion Policy absorption. The current research concentrates on the public sector, while administrative capacities in other stakeholders are omitted. Our research focuses on whether local stakeholders from civil society have sufficient capacities to contribute effectively and efficiently to EU Cohesion Policy implementation. We performed our research on 57 integrated urban development plans in Czechia and Portugal and conducted 33 interviews with local entities. The results indicate a different level of capacity not only between the public and civil society organizations but also within civil society.

KEYWORDS:

• administrative capacities
• Cohesion Policy
• integrated urban development plans
• civil society organizations
• co-production

JEL:

• D78
• H11
• O21
• R58

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments. Moreover, we thank John Bachtler and Laura Polverari for their constructive comments on the first draft of the research.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. ‘[CSOs] can be defined to include all non-market and non-state organizations outside the family in which people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain’ (Tomlinson & AidWatch Canada, 2013, p. 123).