Regionalisation and the New Politics of Waste, 2002-2004

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>This research project examined how new policy agendas, institutional arrangements and political pressures have influenced the strategic planning for the management of municipal solid waste across England. Focusing on the evolution of regional institution building and particularly the role of the new Regional Technical Advisory Bodies for waste management, the study traced the level of involvement and the role of various actors and regulatory frameworks from different spatial scales in the development and implementation of subnational waste management strategies. Emphasis was placed on the variety of coalitions developing around strategic waste planning and their role in enabling or constraining different waste policy options. Placing these issues in the context of the challenges of sustainable development, the project sought to inform the wider debate on institutional change and the prospect for new ways of thinking about sustainable resource management through England's emerging regional structures.<br> <br> The research comprised two key phases:<ul><li>semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis to provide an initial comprehensive assessment of the regional structures and emerging policy processes in all English regions</li><li>detailed case-study analysis on interactions between regional and local decision-making processes in three regions (Yorkshire and Humberside, North West England and Eastern England), selected on the basis of the findings from the first phase</li></ul><B>Main Topics</B>:<br>The data collection comprises 59 transcripts of semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face and via telephone during both phases of the research. Interviews were conducted with waste planners/managers in waste planning/collection/disposal authorities and the waste industry, planners in regional assemblies, environment agency officers, individuals within voluntary sector groups, politicians, planners at Government Office Region (GOR) level, consultants, and personnel from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The accompanying documentation includes the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) End-of-Award report for the project and interview schedules for both phases of the research