Author: Carla Wember (IFLS)
The latest Tools4CAP report (D3.1) identified five major challenge clusters in the CAP Strategic Plan design, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring, including issues such as data availability, the complexity of multi-level governance, and a lack of transparency. To address these challenges, six working groups have been co-designing new and improved methods. The tools were selected through a structured process, based on innovative and adaptable tools identified through extensive literature reviews and consultations across multiple Member States (MS). The selection criteria emphasised adaptability and feasibility, ensuring the tools are suitable for a variety of contexts.
Tools highlighted in the report
The new report provides comprehensive guidelines for these methods, which integrate ex-ante modelling tools with participatory approaches. The aim is to improve stakeholder engagement and enhance decision-making in the CAP Strategic Plan design, ultimately leading to higher-quality policy outcomes. The report highlights the need for new methods that promote transparency, accountability, and impact assessment.
- The Participatory Vision Building Tool aims to engage stakeholders in the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) design process by aligning common goals for agriculture, rural areas, and environmental protection. It utilizes three methods: the Delphi method, the Quadruple Helix approach, and the Stakeholder Salience Model, ensuring diverse participation and effective consensus-building.
- A Guideline for Process communication and stakeholder engagement seeks to enhance transparency and communication, involving digital and analogue platforms to keep stakeholders informed.
- The prioritisation and decision-making tool ranks stakeholders’ needs, ensuring a fair process through a structured committee approach
- It also includes the Intervention-Objective-Impact (IOI) matrix, which supports policy-makers in prioritising interventions.
- Finally, intervention logic and scenario building for Policy Impact Assessment help assess potential outcomes, supporting evidence-based policy-making and promoting transparency, accountability, and strategic planning.
What’s next?
These co-designed tools offer policy-makers structured approaches to navigate the complexity of the CAP while fostering stakeholder ownership and accountability. In the next phase, the co-designed implementation guidelines will be assessed for alignment with the CAP model and governance principles. The resulting methodological guidelines will be applied and refined in real-world case studies.
More information: D3.2 Report on co-designed improved or new decision-making tools