The European Commission’s report on the whole-of-government approach calls for more coordinated R&I policies across different sectors and levels within the EU.
Coordinating policies and actions across sectors, levels of governance and national borders has become essential to ensure efficient outcomes. Earlier frameworks, such as FP7 and Horizon 2020, have laid the groundwork for going beyond traditional silos in European research and innovation (R&I) policy. This integrated approach is being implemented under Horizon Europe, which supports Commission priorities such as the European Green Deal and A Europe fit for the Digital Age. The EU Missions exemplify this approach by pooling resources including funding, policies, regulations and activities across the EU and within member states. In light of this, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) recently published a report titled ‘The Whole-of-Government Approach in EU Research and Innovation Policy’. The report analyses how government structures and policies can be integrated to drive innovation, particularly in the areas of sustainability and digitalisation. It highlights the opportunities and challenges of adopting a whole-of-government approach (WGA) and provides concrete recommendations for improving governance practices at EU, national, and regional levels.
A core element of the WGA is administrative structural integration, which involves strengthening the centre politically or reorganising subordinate levels to ensure better coordination. Another element of the WGA is policy integration, which refers to aligning goals across and inside different policy portfolios. The WGA approach in R&I policy focuses on integrating government actions across different levels and sectors to achieve common goals. The author underscores the importance of improving coordination both vertically, between different levels of government, and horizontally, across various sectors.
However, the report highlights several challenges in implementing such an approach. One such challenge is the fragmented nature of government structures, both within the EU and in member states, which makes it difficult to integrate research and innovation policies with those in other sectors like climate and digitalisation. These challenges often stem from a lack of consistency and coherence in governmental policies. The report further explores how national cultural and institutional traditions impact the effectiveness of the WGA. It suggests that path dependencies in national governance structures and professional norms hinder effective cross-national collaboration. This is particularly evident in climate policy and digitalisation, where fragmented solutions and political polarisation are often encountered.
To address these challenges, the report offers several policy recommendations aimed at implementing the WGA. First, from an instrumental-structural perspective, the report suggests that the use of advanced Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions should be systematically integrated to enhance the WGA approach. Additionally, a holistic innovation policy is needed to foster stakeholder participation at regional and local levels to overcome protective sectoral attitudes. This approach would improve the EU’s role as a meta-governance entity, facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration in innovation. The author suggests that the EU can strengthen its leadership by offering member states more financial and advisory support, allowing them to tailor policies to their specific contexts while aligning with overarching EU objectives. Building on studies related to climate policy, the report further calls for increased involvement of the European Commission Secretariat General in coordinating climate policy at the EU, national and local levels. The Secretariat General should take on a more prominent meta-governance function to ensure better coordination among different Directorates-General and enhance policy coherence. Additionally, interservice consultation processes (ISCs) should play a stronger role in providing institutional comments and feedback on policies. Drawing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, the report highlights the importance of maintaining a close relationship between national political leaders and experts during major crises. The author emphasises the need for local efforts to adapt central solutions to local conditions by focusing on scalability, modularisation, prototyping, bricolage and strategic polyvalences.
In conclusion, the report advocates for a holistic and integrated approach to governance that moves away from one-size-fits-all solutions. To achieve sustainability and digitalisation goals, EU institutions and member states should enhance coordination, leverage digital tools and foster a culture of collaboration. That way, governments can ensure that R&I policies are aligned with broader societal priorities.