Shared Agendas in Catalonia: Collective Action in TIP

Since 2020, Ingenio (CSIC-UPV) has been collaborating with the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Regional Government) and other regional stakeholders to support the development of a conceptual and methodological framework for shared agendas (SA).

Shared agendas (SA) are an approach within TIP aimed at understanding and managing alternatives for addressing complex local challenges. This is achieved by facilitating collective action among different actors through the coordination of participatory governance models. While the specific configuration of these shared agendas depends on factors such as the specific local challenge, the territory, the involved actors, and their transformative ambition, they share some common elements (Fernández et al., 2022; Fernández and Romagosa, 2020; Generalitat de Catalunya, 2023): 

1. They start with the identification of strategic challenges and shared diagnoses, based on intersectoral collaboration and knowledge generation among diverse actors. This allows them to comprehend and manage complex problems from a holistic and dynamic perspective, taking into account long-term effects and direct and indirect impacts.
2. They focus on change, transformation, and sustained collective impact over time. They are adaptive strategies that actively respond to unexpected effects and developments, both successes and failures.
3. They promote the design and experimentation of possible solutions and alternatives for addressing challenges, involving the affected groups from the outset.
4. They are connected to broader strategies and agendas (such as the EU’s research and innovation missions) with the aim of replicating successful solutions or implementing them on a larger scale.

This initial development of the SA approach is carried out within the framework of RIS3CAT 2014-2020, with three pilot shared agendas that Ingenio closely collaborates on in a formative evaluation process:

• Shared Agenda for Terres de Lleida, Pirineu i Aran in the field of bioeconomy.
• Shared Agenda for Bages in the field of health.
• Shared Agenda for the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the field of university transformation.

By the end of 2022, the collaboration between the Generalitat de Catalunya and Ingenio has resulted in the completion of 31 workshops and formal meetings involving people from over 50 different organisations. These encounters combined online and in-person meetings held in five Catalan localities. Additionally, key information has been gathered, and 23 semi-structured interviews with participants in the shared agendas have been conducted to gain deeper insights into their functioning (Illustration 1). The collected data have contributed to research that examines the challenges and opportunities of shared agendas from the perspective of participating organizations. The (spanish) publication can be accessed here.