Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TransCrisis (Enhancing the EU\'s Transboundary Crisis Management Capacities: Strategies for Multi-Level Leadership)

Teaser

Transboundary crises are at the core of the ʹnew normalʹ that characterises politics and policy‐making in Europe. Whether it is the financial crisis and the subsequent debates about the governance of the Eurozone, the Icelandic ash cloud, floods, oil spills, horse meat and...

Summary

Transboundary crises are at the core of the ʹnew normalʹ that characterises politics and policy‐making in Europe. Whether it is the financial crisis and the subsequent debates about the governance of the Eurozone, the Icelandic ash cloud, floods, oil spills, horse meat and other food scandals, let alone geopolitical tensions, this ‘new normal’ has highlighted interdependences among European states, where crises do not stop at national political boundaries. In a world where national politics has limited capacity to exercise boundary control over crises, the importance of managing transboundary crisis points to the critical role that the EU can play. However, this realisation comes at a time of growing scepticism regarding the effectiveness and legitimacy of the EU, and a re‐nationalisation of electoral politics.

TransCrisis is a three‐year international research collaboration on EU transboundary crisis‐management that aims to:
• Advance our understanding of crisis management capacities across institutions within a multi‐level governance setting.
• Contribute to debates in the world of practice appropriate governance arrangements in the light of transboundary crises, especially in relation to EU institutions.
• Promote public debate about transboundary crises and what citizens might expect from crisis leadership in a multi‐level system.
To advance our understanding of the capacities and limits affecting crisis management and leadership in the EU and to develop high‐impact policy recommendations, this project focuses on a number of distinct components, ranging from (i) the role of European political leaders, their capacities and their responsiveness to public opinion, (ii) the crisis management capacities of EU institutions, and (iii) the interaction between the EU and national political‐administrative systems in managing crises.

Work performed

The work carried out from the beginning of the project to the end of the reporting period (1st April 2015 – 31st March 2016) has been completed in line with the plan of work described in the Grant Agreement.

In month 1, the ethical issues of each WP were discussed and the ethical reports (D9.1 and D9.2) were drafted. The dissemination strategy was also discussed in detail and this led to the dissemination strategy report (D8.1) being drafted.

In month 2, the kick-off meeting report (D1.1) was produced and submitted to the Participant Portal in addition to the report on ethical issues (D1.2) and dissemination strategy report (D8.1).

In month 3, the design of the analytical framework (D2.1a) and codebook (D2.1b) were discussed in detail by the project partners via email and Skype calls in order for CPLAN to finalise them.

In month 4, each beneficiary provided their personal data use authorizations (D1.6). This was checked and approved by the LSE ethics committee and submitted to the Participant Portal.

In month 5, CPLAN finalised the analytical framework (D2.1a) and condensed and translated this into a codebook (D2.1b) to be used in the other WPs. Beneficiary UU presented the cognitive mapping guidelines (2.1c) and other beneficiaries advised on it and it was finalised and submitted to the Participant Portal along with the analytical framework.

In addition to attending and contributing to the two consortium meetings and providing feedback and input on all aforementioned deliverables, all beneficiaries have started their research. In month 7, WP4 research commenced including SU, ThinkEuropa and IBEI starting their projects.

SU has started their research on capacity and legitimacy mapping exercises. ThinkEuropa started research on initiative reports and has started development of framework and coding. IBEI has started research on identifying agency leaders and surveying agency leaders. For WP5, LSE has started research on cross-sectoral analysis of crisis management regimes and started preparations for a workshop on crisis management regimes with practitioners and project members to consider the emerging findings and discuss crisis management regime in identified policy domains, including the areas of finance, environment, social protection, energy and immigration. UNICT started collecting information and data to analyse different perspectives on immigration crisis. For WP6, CEU CPS has started research on \'backsliding\' database and started preparations for a workshop on ‘backsliding’ in terms of corruption control, and human rights, equality and social justice in the EU.

In month 10, all beneficiaries gave advice and feedback to beneficiary UU on the cognitive mapping coding manual (D3.1). This was finalised and submitted to the Participant Portal.

In month 12, after gaining feedback from all beneficiaries, the final codebook (D2.2) was finalised and submitted to the Participant Portal.

During the first few months of the project, LSE developed and maintained a website (WP8) for the project that provides for a continued presence of the project, the team, and research news and as the project progresses it will provide details on research, findings, the project reports, and policy recommendations. The site is regularly updated to provide the public with information about events, contact details and other features to maximise the potential for contact with user communities. All beneficiaries have helped to develop the deliverables due in this reporting period, including the dissemination and knowledge exchange strategy plan that maps key academic and user communities and modes of communicating with them (D8.1) and a website, promotional material and web-based videos (D8.2). We also have a twitter account that is used by all beneficiaries to promote blog posts, research news and transboundary crisis related topics.

Final results

As the consortium is only starting to produce research findings, it is difficult to judge the overall impact of the eventual deliverables. However, the work on ‘backsliding’ has already started to gain traction in the wider debates about the future of the European Union (as evidenced by contemporary debates regarding EU governance in light of the refugee crisis in particular). We expect that the emerging research findings of WP6 will further add to the prominence of the TransCrisis consortium’s work. WP2’s work on crisis management and WP4.1 are also involved in debates about crisis management functions at the EU level.
More generally, the bringing together of general governance debates relating to the EU and the specific literatures on crisis management add to the existing literatures, as already evidenced by deliverable 2.2.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.transcrisis.eu.