of the project. Especially in bigger cities, minor
deviations from this reference point are likely
and acceptable. To check whether the size and
composition of the steering committees correspond to the LAG 21 NRW approach and if all
relevant stakeholders participate during the
whole IMSS development process, continuous
monitoring as described above is highly useful. It
allows the recognition of erroneous trends at an
early stage to react in time if necessary.
Steering Committees Achieved Successful
Outcomes
With the help of the steering committees that
correspond to the LAG 21 NRW project
approach in terms of size and composition in
almost all municipalities, 12 municipalities
developed IMSS, including specific strategic and
operational targets, as well as measures. In
addition, three municipalities developed analytical documents for reporting their sustainable
developments and updates of existing sustainability strategies. The resulting IMSS covers a
wide range of SDGs. The target systems developed cooperatively by the steering committees
contribute not only to the 17 global goals but also
directly to attaining 96 of the 169 targets of the
Agenda 2030. In total, over 1,350 references
between the municipal strategic objectives and
the 169 targets of the Agenda 2030 have been
identified. Thus, the size and composition of the
steering committees have been proven to be
valuable to achieve results that correspond to the
overall project goals (see Sect. 4). Although
some intense discussions within and between the
participating actor groups appeared, they almost
always remained constructive. Only very few
conflicts appeared to be able to slow down the
overall process considerably or even endanger it.
In light of these overall results, it can be noted
that the working structure of the LAG 21 NRW
project approach is well suited for developing
IMSS in a cooperative manner.
According to the limited amount of stakeholders who took an active part in the steering
committees, the LAG 21 NRW project approach
is highly suitable to work cooperatively on IMSS
development and create commitment among
institutions and organizations represented by the
committee members, but it is not able to create
widespread support and broad acceptance among
the general public. To facilitate this process, the
implementation of “sustainability conferences”
has proven valuable. In the course of these conferences, citizens were not only informed but
also invited to develop appropriate measures that
contribute to achieving the elaborated IMSS
objectives.
Success Factors to Ensure an Effective and
Cooperative IMSS Development Process
Through the presented quantitative analysis of
the steering committees’ composition, the qualitative query of the project team members’
experiences and the survey of municipal coordination, the following key success factors of
ensuring a cooperative process of IMSS development and effective working in the steering
committees were identified:
• Political support from the heads of the
administration, as well as their presence on the
steering committees, are essential components
of effective working processes in the municipalities. First, it leads to a stronger identification of public administration members with
the whole process of implementing IMSS
when supported by the head of the administration. It also contributes to a formal decision
on the sustainability strategy. Second, majors
and department heads may sometimes settle
disputes better than external moderators
because of their local reputation. However, it
must be guaranteed that their presence does
not lead to a situation in which contrasting
opinions will not be heard (also see de Vente
et al. 2016). In the GNK NRW project, heads
of the administration attended steering committee meetings in almost half of the
municipalities.
• For the overall project process, it is helpful to
avoid creating parallel structures when forming the working structures of the LAG 21
NRW project approach. In fact, the diverse
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S. Eichhorn et al.
deviations from this reference point are likely
and acceptable. To check whether the size and
composition of the steering committees correspond to the LAG 21 NRW approach and if all
relevant stakeholders participate during the
whole IMSS development process, continuous
monitoring as described above is highly useful. It
allows the recognition of erroneous trends at an
early stage to react in time if necessary.
Steering Committees Achieved Successful
Outcomes
With the help of the steering committees that
correspond to the LAG 21 NRW project
approach in terms of size and composition in
almost all municipalities, 12 municipalities
developed IMSS, including specific strategic and
operational targets, as well as measures. In
addition, three municipalities developed analytical documents for reporting their sustainable
developments and updates of existing sustainability strategies. The resulting IMSS covers a
wide range of SDGs. The target systems developed cooperatively by the steering committees
contribute not only to the 17 global goals but also
directly to attaining 96 of the 169 targets of the
Agenda 2030. In total, over 1,350 references
between the municipal strategic objectives and
the 169 targets of the Agenda 2030 have been
identified. Thus, the size and composition of the
steering committees have been proven to be
valuable to achieve results that correspond to the
overall project goals (see Sect. 4). Although
some intense discussions within and between the
participating actor groups appeared, they almost
always remained constructive. Only very few
conflicts appeared to be able to slow down the
overall process considerably or even endanger it.
In light of these overall results, it can be noted
that the working structure of the LAG 21 NRW
project approach is well suited for developing
IMSS in a cooperative manner.
According to the limited amount of stakeholders who took an active part in the steering
committees, the LAG 21 NRW project approach
is highly suitable to work cooperatively on IMSS
development and create commitment among
institutions and organizations represented by the
committee members, but it is not able to create
widespread support and broad acceptance among
the general public. To facilitate this process, the
implementation of “sustainability conferences”
has proven valuable. In the course of these conferences, citizens were not only informed but
also invited to develop appropriate measures that
contribute to achieving the elaborated IMSS
objectives.
Success Factors to Ensure an Effective and
Cooperative IMSS Development Process
Through the presented quantitative analysis of
the steering committees’ composition, the qualitative query of the project team members’
experiences and the survey of municipal coordination, the following key success factors of
ensuring a cooperative process of IMSS development and effective working in the steering
committees were identified:
• Political support from the heads of the
administration, as well as their presence on the
steering committees, are essential components
of effective working processes in the municipalities. First, it leads to a stronger identification of public administration members with
the whole process of implementing IMSS
when supported by the head of the administration. It also contributes to a formal decision
on the sustainability strategy. Second, majors
and department heads may sometimes settle
disputes better than external moderators
because of their local reputation. However, it
must be guaranteed that their presence does
not lead to a situation in which contrasting
opinions will not be heard (also see de Vente
et al. 2016). In the GNK NRW project, heads
of the administration attended steering committee meetings in almost half of the
municipalities.
• For the overall project process, it is helpful to
avoid creating parallel structures when forming the working structures of the LAG 21
NRW project approach. In fact, the diverse
252
S. Eichhorn et al.