Performance and Implementing Institutions in Rural Land Development

In Dutch spatial planning, performance is a major problem in the relation between spatial planning and ‘executive’ sectoral policymaking. These sectors usually have their own planning procedures and, unlike spatial planning they also have means to implement measures. Spatial planning, for its policies to perform through to the phase of implementation, thus has to establish close relations with these sectors. The issue of planning performance is applied to rural land development. In the Netherlands, this is a policy sector for improving the structure of rural areas, not only for agriculture but also for nature, the landscape, outdoor recreation, and the environment. And it is a policy sector which has its own means of implementation, including a centrally funded budget. We address the performance relations between spatial planning and rural land development and discuss the different kinds of policy statements that should perform and the way in which performance can be assessed. The analysis is grounded in a policy network approach.