Evaluation of Organisational Capacity in Gelderland

In the period from September 2023 to February 2024, Dialogic conducted an evaluation of the Gelders Organising Capacity (GOV) for the province of Gelderland. A significant part of the provincial innovation policy is implemented (partly) by the GOV: a collection of nine organisations focused on innovation stimulation funded by the province of Gelderland. These organisations assist entrepreneurs with innovation, other business issues, and transformation challenges. Through the GOV, the province aims to create an ecosystem where innovations can thrive, through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and (European) financing.

The aim of this assignment is to evaluate the outsourced work of the GOV and assess if the support meets market needs. To achieve this, we mapped out the provincial innovation policy, the role of the GOV in it, and an overview of the nine organisations/programmes. Through in-depth interviews with those involved in the nine organisations within the GOV, we gained insight into the functioning of the individual organisations, the GOV as a whole, and its relationship with the province. We captured the experiences and challenges of clients/partners of the GOV through group sessions and a survey. Finally, we organised two interactive sessions with the province and the GOV to reflect on how the province and its partners provide direction through the programmes and organisations to enhance the GOV.

The evaluation and the underlying report are now in the public domain and can be found here, along with the letter from the Executive Council to the Provincial States of Gelderland.

Based on our analysis, we draw conclusions about efficiency, effectiveness, agility, and cross-sector collaboration and monitoring. We also outlined several decision points: areas where the province can make concrete choices or provide direction to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and agility of the GOV/GOV organisations. Finally, we formulate some key lessons for the province of Gelderland for the future of innovation stimulation. These lessons can be seen as building blocks in the vision and policy that, in our opinion, the province can further develop towards the GOV, GOV organisations, and how this fits within a provincial vision on broadly defined innovation stimulation (including consideration of SME services and policies focused on achieving provincial transition challenges). Below, we provide a brief overview of the main conclusions, identified decision points, and policy lessons.

Conclusions:

• Efficiency: We observe that the GOV as a whole is limited in efficiency. There are areas for improvement in the allocation and use of resources in relation to the delivered products and services. Due to inadequate coordination from the province, time is spent on coordination and alignment between organisations within the GOV. There is a risk that certain resources are inefficiently used due to overlapping tasks of organisations within the GOV (due to the lack of an overarching assessment framework).
• Effectiveness: Concerning the effectiveness of the GOV as a whole, we cannot make a definitive statement. We see that the nine organisations within the GOV individually have clear objectives and that most organisations generally seem to achieve their goals with their products and services. However, the focus of this evaluation is on the GOV as a whole, where we conclude that there is a lack of clearly defined (SMART) objectives for the GOV as a whole and which services could be offered for which target groups. Consequently, it is not entirely clear how the organisations within the GOV can contribute to innovation stimulation in the province of Gelderland.
• Agility: Furthermore, we conclude that there is limited agility. The overall capacity of the GOV to respond promptly to current and future developments is uncertain because the organisations in the GOV vary significantly in terms of mandate, size, and organisational capacity.
• Cross-sector collaboration: Lastly, we see limited cross-sector collaboration within the GOV. Multilateral coordination is lacking in the GOV. However, there are examples of self-organising capacity where organisations in the GOV reach out to each other (bilaterally).
• Monitoring: Based on our analysis, we find that monitoring takes place on an individual basis at the nine organisations, that the KPIs mainly focus on throughput and outcome (rather than outcome and impact), and are not informed about the organisations. The KPIs do not appear to have been set based on a (overarching) policy theory on provincial innovation policy and the GOV.

 

Decision Points:

• Efficiency: The province must decide whether it wants to manage the GOV as an integral system provision, including a clear division of roles, and make choices about the size and use of structural and incidental resources. Additionally, decisions need to be made on which innovation stimulation services are to be facilitated and financed, and how the province shapes the governance relationship, both financially and otherwise, with the GOV, including the financing of services outside the province and the potential establishment of a common front desk.
• Agility: A decision must be made whether GOV services will remain exclusively focused on the four central Gelderse ecosystems or if there is room for more flexibility in focus.
• Effectiveness: The province must develop a vision for innovation stimulation and the role of the GOV, with emphasis on SME services, alignment with transition policies, and a clear orientation towards target groups, while also considering regular substantive discussions and demand-driven work. Additionally, there is a need for re-evaluation of subsidy conditions to better align them with goals and KPIs.
• Cross-sector collaboration: Consideration must be given to other public and private parties outside the GOV that play a role in innovation stimulation, and the province must assess whether it wants to improve regional innovation statistics and promote data exchange between GOV organisations.
• Monitoring: The province must decide whether improving regional innovation statistics and promoting data exchange within the GOV is a priority.

 

Policy Lessons:

1. Innovation stimulation is crucial for a competitive and vital business community in Gelderland, where the province must play a more active role in direction, governance, and utilisation.
2. The province must formulate an overarching vision for the GOV that clarifies the innovation stimulation it aspires to and the roles the organisations play in this.
3. It is essential to establish clear relations between innovation stimulation, SME services, and transition policies to prevent policy and execution overlap.
4. The province must define its role in the spectrum of innovation service provision, making choices on which tasks fall under provincial responsibility and where streamlining is necessary.
5. Through conceptual design dimensions, the province can clearly define the innovation stimulation services expected from the GOV.
6. The province should determine appropriate governance forms for the GOV, with the focus not solely on financial aspects but also on substantive dialogue.
7. The province can guide the GOV as a system provision to support the broad SME sector, with clear role divisions to prevent fragmentation.
8. Best practices should be made more widely available in Gelderland to increase awareness and adoption of innovations, focusing on digitisation and sustainability.
9. Innovation stimulation should be complementary and unifying, with local and nationally defined focuses and a focus on collaboration with private parties.
10. The agility of the GOV can be enhanced through incidental funding, substantive dialogue, and utilisation of innovation capacity outside the GOV.
11. A policy theory can assist in defining the desired impact of the GOV and enable monitoring and better management of outcome and impact.
12. Regular consultation among all stakeholders in innovation stimulation is necessary to align offerings and define focal points.