Evaluation of the administrative regulation on intensifying public participation in planning and approval procedures

With the “Administrative Regulation on Intensifying Public Participation in Planning and Approval Procedures” (VwV ÖB) and the related “Guidelines for a New Planning Culture” (planning guidelines), a regulatory and institutional framework was created in 2013 and 2014 to meet the demands of citizens in Baden-Württemberg for more information and participation. An important element is the early involvement of the public in significant infrastructure projects through appropriate public participation measures.

The VwV ÖB and the planning guidelines underwent a detailed evaluation between 2015 and 2019. The “National Institute for Public Administration Germany” (NIPAG) carried out extensive analyses on behalf of the state government of Baden-Württemberg. In implementation of the recommendations of the evaluation, the VwV ÖB was extended and a public participation service center was established to support and relieve the burden on authorities and local governments.

Five years after the first evaluation, the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg has now commissioned the “National Institute for Public Administration Germany” (NIPAG) to evaluate the VwV ÖB once again. The aim of this evaluation project is to determine the long-term impact of early public participation on the application, approval, and implementation process for infrastructure projects. All types of public participation covered by the VwV are considered: early public participation, informal and subsequent public participation, and participation scoping.

Like the previous project, the evaluation project uses a mixed-methods design. It combines a quantitative inventory of the procedures in which the VwV ÖB is applied with an in-depth qualitative analysis of selected cases. The seven procedures that were already examined in detail in the first evaluation are being reviewed again and supplemented with additional cases where necessary. This allows for an analysis of the longer-term effects of ÖB measures and a longitudinal view of the selected procedures.

The project is scheduled for completion at the end of June 2027.