Italy's National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development

1. A Visual version of Italy’s National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development

Infographic 1.1. The NSDS as umbrella to integrate sectoral policies for achieving sustainable development

The Italian National Sustainable Development Strategy (SNSvS/NSDS)

Overview:

The NSDS/SNSvS represents the political framework to implement the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs in Italy.

Produced by:

The NSDS has been approved with Delibera CIPE (108/2017) in December 2017 after a consultative formulation process. The 2022 NSDS revision proposal will be presented to the Interministerial Committee for Ecological Transition (CITE) for approval in 2022 (Dlgs Art. 34 co 3, 152/2006) and includes the National Action Plan for PCSD.

Addressed to:

Line ministries, Regions, local authorities and the National Forum for SD as the reference policy framework for sustainability. The public at large to engage in plans and projects.

Characteristics:

The Italian SNSVS/NSDS is structured around the five areas of the Agenda 2030: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. The 5Ps of the SNSVS/NSDS are spelled out in a system of strategic choices and national strategic objectives, specific to the Italian context.

Enablers for implementation:

Complementary to the “5P”, the 2022 NSDS/SNSvS revision proposal provides for a set of enablers for its implementation (Vettori). This is where the PCSD is endorsed as the reference approach at all levels.

The section dedicated to Vettori is complementary to this proposed Action Plan in identifying fundamental levers to initiate, manage, disseminate and monitor the integration of sustainability into national policies, as well as to stimulate an active participation from private sector, citizens and civil society organisations. Overall, three types of Vettori have been defined, accompanied by related cross-cutting Trajectories.

Monitoring mechanisms:

The Ministry for Ecological Transition (MiTE) is responsible for reporting every year on the overall implementation of the SNSvS/NSDS to CITE. This Implementation Report builds on the collaboration with all the actors and specifically with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation (MAECI) on the international dimension. MiTE is also responsible for updating the NSDS every three years. To support the domestic implementation of the NSDS, MiTE created over the last three years a constructive dialogue with central administrations, regions, autonomous provinces, and metropolitan areas as well as with the National Forum. On this basis MITE led a dialogue to co-revise the SNSvS/NSDS. The 2022 NSDS revision proposal includes numeric targets and a set of core primary indicators. The targets and indicators have been identified through a multi-stakeholder process and then validated with ISTAT and ISRA. They are aligned with the indicators included in fundamental programmatic schemes such as the NRRP, the Cohesion Policies National Partnership Agreement, the National Ecological Transition Plan (PiTE), the Economic and Financial Document (DEF).

Other countries’ experience: Finland

The “Finland we want by 2050”, adopted in 2014 and updated in 2016, aims at reconciling economic, social and environment imperatives. The strategy provides a long-term strategic framework for a whole-of-society commitment to sustainable development.

The Prime Minister’s Office co-ordinates national SDG implementation. An interministerial Coordination Network consisting of sustainable development focal points from each line ministry supports the co-ordination function of the PMO. The National Commission on Sustainable Development (NCSD), a prime minister led multi-stakeholder forum, brings together the public and private sectors, Civil Society Organizations, academia and municipalities and regions with the task of integrating sustainable development into Finnish policies, measures and everyday practices at different levels.

Infographic 1.2. PCSD entry points along the policy cycle

Policy Coherence Matrix per each NSDS’s strategic choice

Characteristics:

Living Document compiling the linkages across existing policies’ objectives, targets and indicators relevant for a long-term sustainable choice.

Produced by:

• NSDS/PCSD Implementation and Assessment Group designs the template of the Coherence Matrixes building on existing territorial and national Coherence Matrixes and defines the guidance for compiling them.

• Ministerial Focal Units for NSDS and PCSD and territorial Cabine di Regia provide the information for the Matrixes relevant to their policy areas and levels.

• The PCSD labs compile the Matrixes for each Strategic choice.

• PCSD Labs will update the Matrixes on a rolling basis.

• Contributions from the National Forum for Sustainable Development to the Matrixes will be activated.

Used by:

• Line ministries, regions, local authorities.

Why using the Matrix:

• Check how sectoral policies are directly contributing to a same strategic choice of the NSDS (e.g. eradicating poverty).

• Highlighting linkages across sectoral policies in that policy area to better balance future policies (trade-offs/potential or synergies).

• Highlight common key policy indicators for each Strategic Choice.

• Check how the policies in that area influence the achievement of SDGs targets in other relevant areas as well as in developing countries building on the indicators included in the area Partnership of the NSDS.

When using the coherence matrix in the policy cycle:

• During policy formulation: each ministry, region, local authorityy will use the Coherence Matrix a basis of information when filling in the coherence fiche for new investments and policies.

• During ex ante and ex post assessments: provide data potentially useful for existing ex ante screening process (DNSH, RIA,CIPESS, etc) of investments and policies and their evaluations.

Infographic 1.3. Coherence Matrix (OECD visual elaboration)

Infographic 1.4. Steps in the formulation of a Policy Coherence Fiche (OECD visual elaboration)

Objectives:

This qualitative valuation tool shows:

• The contribution of the policy proposal in relation to the indicators of the NSDS Strategic Choices and targets/indicators therein.

• Identifies potential trade-offs and synergies, transboundary impacts of the proposed policy with other relevant strategies identified in the Coherence Matrix, as well as interactions with other policy sectors.

• The estimated costs associated to the actions are associated to their positive and negative contributions to NSDS (tagging).

• Initiate the process to sketch potential mitigation strategies or cross-sectoral actions to balance interactions with existing strategies.

Produced by:

The NSDS/PCSD Implementation and Assessment Group produces the template. The Ministerial Focal Units for NSDS/PCSD, the territorial Cabine di Regia for SD and the Regional Evaluation Units fill the Fiches when developing new policies and investments. The PCSD/NSDS Labs verify the content.

Point of entry in the policy cycle:

• Consider the merit of using the information your ministry collected in the Coherence Fiches, to contribute to ex ante assessment processes DNSH, AIR/VIR, EIA/Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA/VAS/IPCC), CIPESS investment assessments and other budgetary assessment such as gender impact assessments (GIA) and well-being (ESW).

• Going forward can contribute to designing Sustainability Impact assessment SIA framework along the lines of EU better regulation toolbox.

• Take into consideration the comments to the proposals formulated by civil society through participatory mechanisms within and/or outside the PCSD PAN implementation process.

• Facilitate policy effects’ comparability within and across policy areas by using the same outcome/result indicators as the ones proposed in the Sustainability Dashboard.

Infographic 1.5. Filling-in a Policy Coherence Fiche: example of formulation of a measure contributing to the NSDS Strategic Choice “Ensure conditions for human capital development”

Infographic 1.6. Institutional Mechanisms and the PCSD Labs to support the implementation of the PCSD Action Plan

Other countries’ experience: Germany

The country has co-ordination between all ministries on sustainable development or PC(S)D. In Germany there is a national Council (or Forum) for sustainable development in which civil society groups, trade unions and the private sector all participate. Consultation mechanisms are in place on sectoral policies, for instance on development cooperation, but not specifically on PCSD. It plans to achieve sustainable development through a “triple approach” consisting of implementation in, with and through Germany. The implementation of the German Sustainable Development Strategy is supported by an elaborate governance structure which includes different levels of government ranging from inter-ministerial co-ordination to collaboration between the national government and the Bundesländer governments, co-ordinated by the Chancellery.

Infographic 1.7. A visual snapshot of the PCSD Action Plan for Italy

Infographic 1.8. The Sustainability Dashboard (OECD visual elaboration)