Institutional Capacity as a Key Factor in Territorial Development Policies: A Case Study Analysis in Three EU Countries

Abstract

This paper presents results from the SMART-IST project, funded under the ESPON programme and led by Politecnico di Milano, which explored the relationship between capacity building, institutional capacity, and territorial development policies within the framework of territorial cohesion. The study analysed nine case studies in eight European regions (Italy, France, and Poland), focusing on diverse policy areas such as integrated projects, decentralisation, river and landscape management, and waste and water policies across two programming periods (2000–06; 2007–13). The paper highlights the crucial role of institutional capacity in designing effective territorial policies and discusses how this broad concept can be operationalised through empirical research. It also reflects on lessons learned for the design and implementation of EU cohesion policies in the 2014–20 programming period.