Success Stories

Radioactive Waste Disposal: Facilitation Mandate

In Switzerland, radioactive waste must be stored in geological repositories as specified in the Nuclear Energy Act. The involvement of the cantons, regions, towns and populations concerned is essential for the success of the site selection procedure for the deep geological repositories. In the context of regional participation, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy has twice given the chair a mandate for facilitation. In the first facilitation (2017), 18 official actors developed and unanimously signed a guideline for the process of negotiating compensation payments. In the ongoing facilitation, the regional actors aim to agree on a joint declaration regarding the placement of surface infrastructure.

Establishment of the Swiss School of Public Governance (SSPG)

The SSPG was established in 2016. Its mission is to transfer ETH knowledge and research findings to Swiss and international public sector professionals. The flagship initiative of the SSPG is a portfolio of two interdisciplinary certificate programmes (CAS). One programme targets Swiss-based professionals and focuses on negotiation and advocacy in an international context. The other is geared towards international participants, including a large contingent from the Global South, and emphasises good governance in the context of contemporary challenges. The CAS courses have had an average size of 20 participants. Additionally, the SSPG has organised two seminars for newly elected Swiss parliamentarians (Gerzensee-Seminar).