2023

Policy transfer of cycling

support and promotion from
the Netherlands to the UK:
the political and economic
context

Course: Comparative Spatial Planning and

Metropolitan Development (MAN-MPL 027)
Teachers: Dr. Corinne VitaleDr.
Iulian Barba-Lata
Prepared: Natasha Lytvynenko, 1102072
Radboud University, 2023
3/17/2023
 Contents
Introduction. .............................................................................................................................. 2
2. The environmental factors .................................................................................................... 6
2.1 The policy arena .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 The subsystem ....................................................................................................................... 7
2.3 The general context................................................................................................................ 7
3.Transferability ........................................................................................................................ 8
3.1 Conveying ability .................................................................................................................. 8
3.2 Tolerance, normative fit and policy feature, the institutional fit. 9
3.3 The level of credibility of the policy being transmitted ......................................................... 10
4. Process design ...................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Actors, mutual understanding and adaptation ....................................................................... 10
4.2 Management of the exchange network ................................................................................. 10
4.3 Transfer type ....................................................................................................................... 10
5.Adoptability .......................................................................................................................... 11
5.1 Suitability ............................................................................................................................ 11
5.2 Capacity .............................................................................................................................. 11
5.3 Resourses ............................................................................................................................ 11
5.4 Ability to change the policy course ...................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 11

References 14

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Introduction.
The pollution level of large cities is a major environmental problem, and the main cause of this is
vehicle exhaust fumes, which raises demand in seeking possible solutions for tackling this issue.
One of the ways is looking at and adopting good practices that others employ within similar
situations.
"Policy transfer, imitation and learning refer to a process in which knowledge about policies,
administrative arrangements, institutions, etc. in one time and/or place is used in developing
policies, administrative arrangements and institutions in another time and/or place" (Dolowitz &
Marsh, 1996).
This research paper will focus on the question: “Is it possible to transfer cycling support and
promotion policies from the Netherlands to the UK: the political and economic context? “
The following parts are a brief description of the theory and the steps of the research carried out.
Firstly, we describe Clement's IDM framework and explain the definition of 'political-economic
context'. Then, we introduce an exploration of its approach to supporting and evidencing the
success/failure of policy transfer, based on the conceptual framework of policy transfer (Minkman,
van Buuren & Bekkers, 2018).
This report is supported by a paper ‘The comparison study of mobility and transport planning
systems in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom’, (Blauw, Kozak, Lytvynenko, 2023) which
was developed by the systematic comparative analysis of institutional analysis and development
(IAD) of Clement's. Whereas the current research focuses on policy transfer in a political economy
context, it is worth exploring the definition of this context.
The political-economic context
focused on:
-distribution of power between actors and decision-makers.
- how political and economic interests shape actors' decisions within a certain set of rules used.
Which Influence on policy-making discourses (Clement, 2010).
The conceptual framework of policy transfer, introduced by Minkman, Van Buuren and
Bekkers, (2018) enabled us to identify factors that can affect the effectiveness of transferring a
policy, expanding our understanding of the factors that can limit or aid the transferring process.
Considering D. Dolowitz and D. Marsh's (1996) comment that the transfer can be voluntary,
compulsory or a combination, we conventionally assume that the policy is adopted voluntarily
as the UK is the initiator of the policy transfer process, therefore we believed that the Minkman,
van Buuren & Bekkers', 2018 framework, which developed from successful voluntary policy
transfers is suitable for this study.

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Figure 1 The conceptual framework for policy transfer by Minkman and her co-authors (Minkman, van Buuren & Bekkers, 2018)

Operationalization and conceptual framework

In this research paper the following policy documents, visions and strategies in the transport and mobility
domain in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will be analysed:

• Comparison of mobility and transport planning systems in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,
2023;

• Practitioner briefing: cycling. Supporting and Encouraging Cycling in Sustainable Urban mobility
planning, September, 2019;

• UK transport vision 2050: investing in the future of mobility, August, 2021;

• Vision Sustainable Energy carriers in Mobility/Visie Duurzame Energiedragers in Mobiliteit, June,

2020.

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Figure 2 Operationalization and conceptual framework for policy transfer by Minkman and her co-authors, 2018

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Table 1 Overview of policy routes, which links transfer type, enabling and constraining factors and anticipated outcome to transfer route (Minkman, van Buuren, Bekkers, 2018).

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2. The environmental factors
A more detailed account of the environmental factors is given in the following section.
Understanding that environmental factors include current trends, political climate, etc, we can
define the current UK's environmental factors as the ones that seeking ways for reducing gas-
emission through moving towards more active use of electric cars with private and freight
(industrial) sectors, developing hydrogen-powered aircraft along with encouraging more cycling
and walking as ways for travel.

2.1 The policy arena

Prior to transferring a policy, it is important to analyse how the developed Dutch policy for
supporting and promoting cycling can fit and take root in the existing UK political arena. It is
worth mentioning that there are a number of important differences between the Dutch and the UK
transport governance. That in the UK, transport governance arrangements depend on the type of
transport, i.e. each type has its own governance structure. Altogether in the UK, there are 6 different
spatial levels (Fig. 3) representing different types of transport, which include a specific government
and a non-governmental actor/player associated with the type itself. Interestingly, the UK's
government have a quite significant influence over investment in road and rail infrastructure and
the support and regulation of services that use these networks. The Department for Transport is
responsible for planning and improving transport networks, building new infrastructure, providing
transport services and implementing transport policy (Blauw, Kozak, Lytvynenko, 2023). Whereas
Active Travel England - the government implementing agency sponsored by the Department for
Transport (UKGovernment, 2023) - is responsible for cycling policy to support cycling in the UK.

Figure 3 UK transport and mobility governance structure (G. Marsden, T.Rye, 2010)

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In contrast, in the Netherlands, the transport and planning system is centralised with clear
guidelines at all levels of government (Blauw, Kozak, Lytvynenko, 2023). Important to mention
here that the Dutch model for strengthening a cycling culture emphasizes a holistic approach,
where the infrastructure, public engagement and multi-stakeholder collaboration are all key to
prioritizing (Dönmez & Cörek Öztaş, 2019).

2.2 The subsystem

It is likely that the existing UK's alternative strategies for cycling can either facilitate or hinder
the implementation of the Dutch cycling policy. That the government initiative for
decarbonising transport (UK.Government, 2021) reported in section 2 (The environmental
factors) appears to support the assumption that this alternative policy will support encouraging
cycling through the Active Travel England platform.
There is also a strong possibility that the joint strategy between the Department for Transport
and Active Travel England - Gear change: a bold vision for cycling and walking, which aims to
make England a great nation of walkers and cyclists (UK.Government, 2020) - will support the
cycling initiative in the long term. Especially when the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on 14
July 2021 announced the revolutionary plan to decarbonise the UK's transport and achieve a
new reality with cleaner air, healthier communities and tens of thousands of new green jobs.
However, some difficulties may arise, when an attempt is made to implement the policy. One of
them is that the UK's ambitious and legally binding carbon reduction targets have become token
meta-politics with no meaningful impact on local transport policy and practice (Aldred, Watson,
Lovelace & Woodcockd, 2019).
Netherdeless, despite the mentioned above difficulties, a high level of support for cycling at the
government and leadership levels is a significant sign of a successful policy transfer.

2.3 The general context

As this study places policy transfer in a political economy context, this section will focus on the
political and financial barriers to policy transfer. Significant barriers to the successful adoption of
cycling in the UK transport system have been identified by Aldred, Watson,
Lovelace&Woodcockd, (2019) related to the financial and political barriers (Fig., 4).

Figure 4 Barriers to the transfer of cycling encouragement and support policies

What can be clearly seen in Figure 4 is the dominance of the financial barrier. The cause, as cited
in this study, is the difficulty in attracting investment to support cycling.The difficulty stems from

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the fact that cycling in the UK is still not seen as a serious means of transport when the importance
of 'car culture' dictates the direction of investment. This fact is not at all indicative of outright
hostility to cycling investment, the weak investment climate is related to inaction and/or conflict
between the high-level declaration of support for cycling and the refusal to implement the project
on the ground. According to a stakeholder's survey, the key barrier to investing in cycling is that
''the UK's politicians will sign up to the strategy, but will find it very difficult to overcome local
vociferous opposition when detailed schemes are proposed". (Aldred, Watson, Lovelace &
Woodcockd, 2019).

Figure 5. Analysis of qualitative data on barriers to cycling investment and wider stakeholder attitudes

Figure 5 reveals that the political factor becomes an increasingly important barrier to the policy
transfer process. While financial constraints can be overcome by a prominent local figurehead who
is willing to risk internal opposition or stakeholder/voter discontent. However, what stands out in
Figure 3 - which reflects the UK's Stakeholder views reported within a Barriers to investing in
cycling study - is the variability of opinions of many local UK political leaders that range from
apathetic to actively hostile to investing in cycling, favouring motorised tendencies.
This also has been highlighted by Aldred, Watson, Lovelace & Woodcockd, 2019, mentioning that
the political leadership still seems to see the car as the key to economic growth. Therefore large
businesses in our city with parking problems receive sympathy and encouragement to expand their
car parks.

3.Transferability
3.1 Conveying ability
With respect to the conveying ability of Netherlands practice, it has been worldwide acknowledged
the Netherlands' status as a country with a well-developed cycling infrastructure and the popularity
of cycling for all groups of the population. The conveying ability and credibility of the Netherlands
practice, have been worldwide acknowledged through achieving the status of a country with a well-
developed cycling infrastructure and the popularity of cycling for all groups of the population. This
has set a high standard for the country's cycling policy, infrastructure, and engagement practices
making cycling a safe and highly attractive choice of transport (LUKO, 2022) for their citizens.

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The fact that two Dutch cities, Utrecht (first place) and Amsterdam (fifth place), are in the top ten
of The most cyclist-friendly cities around the world (Fig., 6) has also confirmed their leading
position in the SUMP policy transfer.

Figure 6 The most cyclist-friendly cities around the world

The Netherlands is an active player in the SUMP policy transfer (SUMP.nl, 2023) , supporting
other countries to improve mobility, for example, Turkish cities İzmir, Eskişehir, and Lüleburgaz
(Dönmez & Cörek Öztaş, 2019).

3.2 Tolerance, normative fit and policy feature, the institutional fit.
Another significant aspect that determines transferability is the tolerance of the adopting actor,
which is defined by the receptivity and decision-making power of this actor (Minkman, van Buuren
& Bekkers, 2018).
As we discussed earlier, a serious weakness of the tolerance, however, is that there is a high level
of support for cycling at the national leadership level, while local support is passive. Nevertheless,
without working with actors of a local authority, the likelihood of tolerating the donor's policy is
minimal.
Policy specifics and regulatory compliance determine the transferability of the policy.
Many analysts now argue that despite the fact that the UK national government strives to achieve
more adequate transport however places the responsibility for implementing this initiative on local
authorities, who sometimes lack information and therefore are not always sure what to do,
demonstrating the lack of the balance of power clarity (Hull, 2005, p.320, 326). In contrast to the
UK's approach, the policy context of the Dutch transport system is characterised by a centralised
approach aligned with a land policy. The UK transport and mobility policy is deemed to have little

9
coherence and coordination with land policy, resulting in an uneven density of road networks
(Pucher&Buehler, 2008) than the Netherlands.

3.3 The level of credibility of the policy being transmitted (this section overlaps with the
Conveying ability section).
In terms of the credibility of transferring the cycling policy, it's important to mention that the Dutch
policy of supporting and promoting cycling has been accredited at a high level. The Netherlands is
internationally recognised as a country where cycling is not a means of transport but a lifestyle.
Policies with a reputation for proven effectiveness and success are popular targets for politicians
because such policies are justified by their (perceived) success (Ovodenko&Keohane, 2012;
Metz&Fischer, 2016).

4. Process design
4.1 Actors, mutual understanding and adaptation
As we discussed earlier, policy transfer into the UK practice requires support at the both
government and local leadership levels. This is also highlighted in Banović's, 2015 study, which
suggests that the process of adopting policy can fail in the final phase of the implementation also
due to unsecured support of executive officials in the earlier stages. Key players such as
entrepreneurs and political leadership can influence the success of the policy transfer process
through the charismatic characteristics of their leaders (Ohemeng, 2010) or the management of
strategic human resources.

4.2 Management of the exchange network

Most studies in the field established that the culture of politics, the structure of institutions, and the
political net are a result of the political development of the state. In the Netherlands, the policy for
supporting and encouraging cycling started in 1970, resulting in cycling reaching the current
masses of success, while mobility and transport policy in the UK has traditionally focused on the
car. In the UK, support for cycling has received attention in recent years with the launch in 2020
of the government's executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Transport - Active Travel
England (ATE) - to promote walking, wheeling and cycling as the preferred way to get around in
England (UK.Governement, 2020).
Considering the Netherlands' experience, it becomes apparent that the UK needs time to build
political power and support amongst the British people to achieve the same success. Otherwise, as
Pojani, Dorina and Stead, 2015 study revealed, without adequate consideration of time for the
exchange, the process may result in a superficial transfer.

4.3 Transfer type

This section will look at the appropriate and possible policy transfer types such as imitation
(referred to as copying, imitating or harmonising), adaptation and inspiration as mechanisms for
adoption (Minkman, van Buuren & Bekkers, 2018).
As we discussed in the introduction part, the policy transfer from the Netherlands to the UK is
voluntary. Inspiration and adaptation are beneficial types of policy transfer as the transferred
policy is adapted to the existing political culture, rules and governing institutions.

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5. Adoptability
5.1 Suitability
As we established in 3.2 Tolerance, normative fit and policy feature, and the institutional fit
suitability and flexibility of the policy play a key role in the process of its adaptation. This means
that a policy with a fixed core but high flexibility in implementation will be easier to adopt in
regions with lower levels of regulatory or institutional compliance. Moreover, a simple or
simplified policy will require less organisational capacity and hence will be less prone to failure at
this stage (Minkman, van Buuren & Bekkers, 2018).
Consequently, the lack of strategic national urban transport and mobility plans gives the mobility
and transport system flexibility, therefore increasing the likelihood of introducing new ideas and
policies at the local level.

5.2 Capacity
Looking at the capacity, it is worth mentioning that the implementation capacity consists of
expertise for sourcing and implementing external policy and organisational capacity for policy
evaluation. Notably that an extensive policy assessment will ensure that policy research is
conducted and transfers of only policies with a good level of comparability (Fawcett&Marsh,
2013). Analyses of the Netherlands' cycling policy established its high potential for transposition
into the UK, considering its significant endowment of positive practices and lessons that can be
learned. Difficulties in the transport and mobility system can exist even in bicycle-friendly
countries such as the Netherlands. One of them is the inclusion of older people in the mobility
system, bike parking and bike theft (Dönmez & Cörek Öztaş, 2019).

5.3 Resourses
Resource constraints, such as lack of time and finances, often lead to failure in the implementation
phase of policy transfer (Minkman, van Buuren & Bekkers, 2018). In section (2.3 the general
context), we already mentioned the problems of investing in cycling.

5.4 Ability to change the policy course

Moving on now to consider the ability to change the course of policy. A willingness and capacity
to change the course of policy are determined by the support of the decision-makers and the level
of compatibility of policy transfer, both in terms of integration of the policy into institutional
structures and its ability to overlap with existing policies (Minkman, van Buuren & Bekkers,
2018).
Given that this study does not imply an interviewing of decision-makers, we are unable to make
an objective assessment of the ability and willingness to change discourse. However, an earlier
established conclusion that allocating a particular place for cycling in the discourse would help to
improve the outcome of the cycling policy transfer.

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Conclusion
A summary of possibilities for transferring the Netherlands' policy for supporting and promoting
cycling into the UK is presented in Table 1.

Table 2 Outcome expected through policy transfer (Minkman, van Buuren& Bekkers, 2018).

In summary, this analysis has shown that the transfer of cycling policy from the Netherlands to the
UK is likely to be successful. Due to the empirical nature of obtained research data and lack of

12
practical examination, the main weakness of this study is insufficient accuracy, which also has been
affected by two limitations: the voluntary character of the policy and its political-economic context.
Considering the above, the following conclusion can be drawn regarding the conditions for
increasing success of Nethelands' cycling policy transfer:
- by transferring the policy to the local level (municipality, city, town);
- by strengthening the position of Active Travel England - the agency responsible for cycling;
- by encouraging the loyalty and support of local authorities;
- by promoting investment in cycling infrastructure;
- by creating an integrated mobility plan on a national scale.

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