From G-FORS to EPIGOV. Which Governance Modes for EPI? The Case of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Spatial Planning

The EU Commission’s 6th Research Framework Programme has funded two main projects aimed at analysing the relationship between environmental policy integration and governance modes: EPIGOV – Environmental Policy Integration and Multi-level Governance; G-FORS – Governance for Sustainability.In the chapter we present results from the G-FORS Italian case study related to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Province of Milan Master Plan (process of adaptation 2003–2007). This case fits well in the G-FORS analytical model, but it could also be useful in the light of the EPIGOV research questions, because it concerns an articulated policy process split into different phases and because the implementation of SEA passes through different conceptual definitions and governance arrangements as the process evolves.