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This document offers an in-depth analysis of the Austrian Competence Centre Programmes and highlights the sometimes unexpected joys of learning in the context of political systems. It examines the historical framework of the Austrian RTD system in the 1990s, discussing the challenges faced, including limited resources, lack of political support, and trust deficits among ministries. The text explores the concepts of policy learning, communication, and institutional settings that facilitate innovation and motivation, culminating in key insights for political learning and policy innovation.
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The Austrian Competence Centre Programmes: The Sometimes Unexpected Pleasures Of Learning in Politics Dr. Peter Biegelbauer Institute for Advanced Studies Projects Financed by the FWF and the Austrian National Banque
The Austrian RTD System in the 1990s • One major policy instrument • Five ministries • Two social partners • (Very) scare resources • No interest from top-level politics = no authoritative politically legitimised coordination • Communication of ministries lacks trust = prisoners dilemma and reform blockade
Calls for Reform • The Schmidt-Hochleitner concept, a radical reform initiative, fails in spring of 1997 • In fall of 1997 a young science and transport ministry official begins to think about a new programme in his ministry • A bit later a senior economics ministry civil servant takes up the idea for his ministry
Learning and Its Pleasures • The (widely) unexpected pleasures of learning • There is no learning without communication • Learning becomes more likely in certain institutional settings (creating spaces for communication, building trust to overcome prisoner‘s dilemma, disturbing routines and hierarchies to allow innovation) • Learning needs motivation (e.g. problem-pressure) • Political learning is a precondition for a policy innovation, too
