Un-packing the Black Box of Local Government Projectification in the EU

Over the last couple of decades we have witnessed an increasing reliance on project organizations in the public sector, a development sometimes referred to as projectification (cf. Schuster; 2916; Godenhjelm: 2016). Some... [ view full abstract ]

Over the last couple of decades we have witnessed an increasing reliance on project organizations in the public sector, a development sometimes referred to as projectification (cf. Schuster; 2916; Godenhjelm: 2016). Some researchers argue that there has been a proliferation in not only the number and size of projects but also the range of project types (Lundin et al,.2015), as public activities are not only organized, but also presented, and understood, as projects (Abrahamsson & Agewall, 2011; Sahlin-Andersson & Söderholm, 2002). The EU can and has been understood as an important driving force in this context as the implementation of EU social cohesion policy has created an environment that both advocates and supports projects and the re-organisation of local politics in the project format. This means that despite regional variations in different member states, the EU has brought forth a new way of public policy implementation that affects all member states (cf. Godenhjelm et al 2015).

The aim of this paper is to un-pack local processes of projectification in order to understand and explain changes on the organisational level in municipalities. Despite our knowledge of growing project activities in the public sector (including EU's important role in this development), we know very little about the practicalities of public sector projectification at the local level – which are the important actors? What characterizes processes of translation and local adaptation? How can changes on the organizational level be understood?

EU funding is attractive for local governments but the governance structure of EU-funds is complex and dynamic. As a result of this complexity local governments are increasingly seeking to draw on the resources and expertise of different public and private organizations such as “EU-experts” in order to facilitate learning, collaboration and coordination. In this paper we will study mechanisms of public sector projectification through a study of a Swedish, regional “EU expert” organization and their method – European Project Analysis (EPA). EPA is a policy tool devised to match local government’s perceived problems to EU funding. More specifically civil servants/consultants at regional mediating organisations scans local budgets and/or visionary documents for potential EU-funding. In terms of theory, the ACTORS conducting EPA will be conceptualized as “mediators” between the EU and the local authorities, as we argue that they can be seen as “EU-amplifyers” advocating (perhaps unconsciously) projectification. The PROCESSES on the other hand are characterized by "translation" where local politics are presented in the wordings of the EU funds - a process that also inherently changes municipal policies, including not only an intrinsic shift from the permanent-, to a temporary organizational form - but we will also show that the changes can include policies shifting from one policy area to another. Our study is based on interviews with civil servants employed as EU coordinators at a local authority, consultants conducting EPA, as well as an in-depth analysis of 30 EPA.