Towards a future-proof Zwolle

CE Delft was commissioned by the Zwolle audit office to conduct a study on the Zwolle municipality’s climate adaptation policy. This study focused on two questions:

• Looking back (ex-post evaluation): How has the Zwolle municipality implemented its climate adaptation strategy in recent years, and to what extent has this implementation been efficient and effective?
• Current developments (ex-durante evaluation): How is the climate policy anchored in the organisation? What are the risks and unrealised potential of the current policy?

Effectiveness
Based on the study, the Zwolle municipality has implemented all projects and measures envisaged in the implementation agenda and the audit office therefore concludes that the implementation is effective. It should be noted, however, that the strategy only formulates long-term goals; there are no measurable medium-term and short-term goals and policy indicators. As a result, it is not clear whether the municipality is on track to achieve its long-term goals.

Efficiency
In the period 2020 to 2023, a programme on climate adaptation has been implemented in the organisation and funded by incidental resources. A choice was made to focus on issues and areas where Zwolle is most vulnerable. The funds proved sufficient to implement the planned projects and measures. This ensured that an effective policy was implemented with limited resources. It is worth noting that budgets are determined on a project-by-project basis. This means that any interconnected opportunities may not be realised, possibly resulting in fewer climate adaptation measures being implemented than are possible and necessary in the long term.

Anchoring in the organisation
The climate adaptation programme ended with effect from 2024 and climate adaptation has been embedded in the organisation. There has been no evaluation of the programme and no clear transition strategy for ‘anchoring in the line’. Similarly, no coordinator has been appointed to ensure consistency. This presents a risk for anchoring climate adaptation in the Zwolle municipality’s projects.

Recommendation
Based on the study, the audit office has made several recommendations. These include drawing up measurable operational goals and policy indicators, visualising the long-term costs and benefits of climate adaptation projects, and paying more attention to heat, drought and the principle of water and soil steering.

The full report of this audit office study, including the administrative response, can be found here.