Can sustainable transport planning take place in an era of government reorganization and reform? These slides report on the status of a project on sustainable transport planning and institutional change. The sub-project is part of the SUSTAIN research project, supported the Danish Strategic Research Council

1. Sustainable national transport planning and institutional change
SUSTAIN user forum
at CBS, 27 November 2013
National Sustainable Transport Planning
Visit: http://wwwx.dtu.dk/Subsites/sustain.aspx
”Theme C”:
Institutional change

2. Welcome to Department of Business and Politics
•
•
•
Founded as the International
Center for Business and
Politics in 2004
Became a Department at
CBS. Susana Borras HoD
Focus on ”political economy”
in a broad sense, i.e.
intersection between
business and politics;
markets and governance;
often with an international
perspective on corporations
and regulatory structures

5. Purpose & methodology
The purpose of this theme is to understand the relationship between new
organizational forms (such as privatized corporations and public-private
partnerships), transport planning processes, and sustainable transport
performance.
The main methodology is to do comparative case studies, including process
tracing
The analysis will include document analysis and semi-structured interviews
with key informants.

6. Analytical framework
The analytical framework draws its inspiration from institutional theory in
comparative political economy and theories of changing organizational
forms in a new governance perspective (Osborne, 2010).
The transport sector continues to undergo significant institutional changes.
During the era of New Public Management (NPM), services have been
outsourced to private sector contractors who are pursuing performance
management targets.
Recently, governments and private sector companies have formed joint
ventures and public-private partnerships for new opportunities in
transport management.
Post-NPM reforms have emphasized the need of coordination and regulatory
reforms (Sørensen & Longva 2011).

7. Analytical framework (1)
Institutional change
National sustainable transport
planning

8. Analytical framework (2) unpacking ”institutional change”
Path
dependency
Institutional
change
mechanisms
• Critical juncture
• Positive feedback
•
•
•
•
Displacement
Layering
Conversion
Drift

9. Analytical framework (3)
Institutional change in the New Public Management era: more focus on markets
Marketization (= regulated markets)
Management (make managers manage)
New governance tools that challenge ”planning”
Contracts
Independent regulatory
agencies
Partnerships and private
finance?
National sustainable transport planning
New conditions for planning: contracts and
regulatory agencies
Sustainability through government or
corporations?

10. Can national sustainable transport planning happen in a
competitive, but regulated market with (international)
corporations?
National
sustainable
transport
planning
International
markets for
transport infrastructure and mobility
(led by) corporate managers?

11. Core results (expected)
The core results of the theme will be
a comparative analysis of institutional
frameworks of national transport
planning in selected countries leading
to improved knowledge of institutional
change, sustainable transport
performance and politics.

12. Recent presentations
Christensen, L.T & Greve, C. (2013) “No Policy for Public-Private Partnership? PPP,
Collaboration and Institutions. The Bumpy Road of Transport Policy Development
in Denmark” Paper presented to the 2nd CBS-Sauder-Monash conference on
public-privat partnerships, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 13-14/6-2013
Christensen, L.T. (2013) at Thredbo-conference on delivery sustainable transport
Greve, C. (2013): “Public-Private Partnerships in Turbulent Times”. Presentation at
KPMG conference on PPP and finance 1 October 2013 in Copenhagen
Hodge, G. (keynote speech) and Greve, C. (expert panel). 5-7 November 2013 in
Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium at the international conference arranged by
Department of Transport and Regional Economics, University of Antwerp in
cooperation with f.ex. EU Cost Action TU1001: PPP in Transport: Trends and
Theory”. Conference theme: “Global Challenges in Public-Private
Partnerships: Cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary solutions?”
http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=*TPR&n=112187

13. Recent publications
Christensen, L.T. (2013): “Modes of Governance in Partly Privatized Public Service Provision. The
Case of Danish Passenger Rail” (in review – Review of Transport Economics Journal
(Elsevier))
Greve, C. (2013). Columns for “Altinget – website on transport policy”. 2 Columns: “PPP: Learn
from Canada” and “OECD’s principles are relevant for PPP in the transport sector”
Martin, L.; Lawther, W. Hodge, G. & Greve, C. (2013): “Internationally Recommended Best
Practices in Transport Financing Public-Private Partnerships” Journal article: Public
Administration Research (Canada) 2(2), pp. 15-25.
Hodge, G. & Greve, C. (2013): “Public-Private Partnership in Developing and Governing MegaProjects” in Priemus, H. Wee, B.v. (eds.). International Handbook on Mega-Projects.
Chelthenham: Edward Elgar. pp. 182-208 - November 2013.