Cross Cutting Issues
Many policy issues cut across issues or sectors, or depend upon the ways in which environmental or other issues interact. Environmental impact assessment is one example of this – it relies upon examination of how different issues intersect and interact resulting in overall environmental impacts. Cross-cutting policy analysis can also cover issues that are themselves cross-cutting in nature – such as the interaction between science and environmental policy, or the environmental aspects of the concept of territorial cohesion. This type of analysis requires broad knowledge across different policy sectors, multi-disciplinary expertise and the capacity to synthesise complex interactions.
Milieu’s policy, legal and economic experts and associates possess not only the wide range of specialities required to carry out studies and analyses on cross-cutting issues, but also have experience in conducting sophisticated analysis that can track and organise information and results across policy sectors, as well as carry out studies that combine and review interactions between specific policy sectors.
Key past and current projects in the area of cross-cutting issues include:
Assessing and strengthening the science and EU environment policy interface, DG Environment, 2011: Milieu is exploring the relationship between scientific research and policy-making, including objectives, methods and operating procedures. The study will review the ways in which DG Environment acquires scientific evidence across all the policy topics it addresses, and develop options for a stronger framework for the interface between science and EU environmental policy. More info...
Territorial cohesion, European Environmental Agency, 2010: Territorial cohesion calls for the coordination and integration of policy actions at the level of a given territory. Milieu reviewed how two emerging policy topics – green infrastructure and EU water policy – contribute to the concept of territorial cohesion, including through coordination of land use planning across territories. More info...
Study on area K of the Beijing platform for action: women and the environment in the European Union, European Institute for Gender Equality, 2011: Milieu is developing indicators to measure the extent of women’s participation in climate change decision-making. The project will also analyse selected national-level energy and transport policies and programmes to better understand how they address gender issues. More info...
