The Emergence of Inter-Municipal Collaboration: Evidence from Metropolitan Planning in Portugal

Abstract

Inter-organisational collaboration as a means for policy coordination has come to be seen as a solution to difficult and complex urban challenges. In Portugal, where metropolitan governance structures are highly fragmented, critics highlight the need for better coordination between municipalities-a situation typical in many countries. We seek to understand the forces behind the emergence of inter-municipal collaboration around land use and mobility issues, using a case study method. Based on nine cases from Portugal's two largest metropolitan areas, we test a model of inter-municipal collaboration, attempting to identify the factors and conditions which contribute to the emergence of collaborative relationships. The analysis suggests several points of validation as well as propositions for extending and refining the model. We find that collaboration is facilitated by a combination of positive incentives, ambiguity and flexibility in the institutional system, an external catalyst, existing inter-organisational networks, and specific organisational characteristics. The existence of any one of these factors is not enough. A combination of several factors, possible but apparently uncommon in Portugal, is necessary. This research suggests that the Portuguese planning system may be most likely to achieve metropolitan policy coordination through a metropolitan association that can incentivise collaborative projects.

Fiscal federalism and prospects for metropolitan transportation authorities in Portugal

“…The central government could also test the effectiveness of, and build the capacity of, the AMTs by endowing them with some grant-making capabilities. For example, Rayle and Zegras (2012), in an analysis of inter-municipal collaboration in Portugal, find evidence supporting the role of financial incentives in inducing such collaboration. Perhaps the AMTs could be enabled to deploy modest sums for projects of inter-municipal interest, which also seems consistent with the AMT Law.…”

“…According The country's model of metropolitan governance remains loosely coordinated constituent municipal activities, with few and fragmented metropolitan administrative powers, subsidiarity to municipal governments (Oliveira, 2009;Rayle and Zegras, 2012), and a lack of public finance autonomy. Table 1 summarizes the acronyms used to refer to the relevant institutions in Portugal.…”

Steering the Metropolis: Metropolitan Governance for Sustainable Urban Development 

“…An intermediate question that he attempts to answer from prior work is which factors give rise to inter-municipal collaboration. In that study (Rayle and Zegras, 2013), ad hoc inter-municipal collaboration in relation to land use and mobility in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal, was found to be facilitated by positive incentives (e.g., money), flexibility in the institutional system, the presence of an external catalyst, existing networks, and specific organizational characteristics. The authors found that nearly all of these factors must be present for collaboration to occur.…”

“…Metropolitan governance is limited to fragmented administrative powers, largely subsidiary to municipal governments and dependent on the central government for most financial support (Rayle and Zegras, 2013). The nation has been undergoing a relatively slow process of deconcentration and decentralization, conditioned in part by membership in the quasi-federalist EU system.…”

“…Rayle and Zegras (2013) examined ad-hoc inter-municipal collaboration in Lisbon and Porto in the land use and mobility realms, finding that collaboration is facilitated by positive incentives (e.g., money), flexibility in the institutional system, the presence of an external catalyst, existing networks, and specific organizational characteristics. Any one of these factors is insufficient; nearly all must be present for collaboration to emerge.…”