Place-based approaches to policy design and deployment enable decision-making to be brough closer to citizens. Many EU policies seek to do this by exploring the role of national, regional and local governments in policy interventions. By allowing local governments and communities to take a greater role in the deployment of policies that impact them, the aim is to empower citizens and promote trust in democratic processes.
The concept of active subsidiarity has been recognised as a guiding principle for democratic decision making in the EU. This concept promotes the autonomy of local governments and communities by allowing them more say in the: distribution of resources, involvement of stakeholders, production and sharing of knowledge, and organisation of citizen participation processes. In the first of our policy briefs, we explore important considerations for the deployment of active subsidiarity in just sustainability transitions.
Active subsidiarity is a vital concept in efforts to make sustainability transitions more inclusive and just. It promotes processes where transition policies can be better adapted to the features, histories and cultures of territories that are impacted by changing industries and processes. In the policy brief, we dive into the opportunities for and barriers to enabling active subsidiarity in this type of policymaking.
The policy brief contains a number of recommendations for the development of just sustainability transition policies at an EU and national/local level. Head over to our releases page here to read it and discover the key considerations of applying active subsidiarity in just sustainability transitions.