In this web platform dedicated to the “HWF planning methodologies across EU countries” there are descriptions of 15 good practices from 7 EU countries related to the 5 key elements of a HWF planning system. There are also some videos in which the in-country experts put in evidence the main aspects of each “good practice” with some suggestions on how to implement it in other contexts.
But why are they “good practices” and not “best practices”? Well, as it is written in the Handbook (page 273), planning is not a rocket science, it is (mainly) a political activity that takes place in a context of high uncertainty and with features that are context-dependent. So, a best way (the right way) doesn’t exist by definition, but there are some practices which represents, on the base of the evidence and of the results, a good solution to specific problems.
Is it feasible to implement those solutions in other countries facing similar problems? Of course, it depends on the specificity of problems, on the proposed solutions and on the features of the context in which the “good practice” is going to be applied. But the feasibility of the implementation depends also by the use of the “good practice”. In the Handbook the good practices are used as a “learning tool”: an example of how theoretical principles can be turned into practice producing results.
The two Pilot Projects in Italy and Portugal, as well as the two Feasibility Studies in Germany and in Romania and Moldova, have tested the “learning power” of those 15 good practices. The findings of these tests will follow in the next posts.