Connectors and coordinators in natural resource governance: insights from Swiss water supply

Angst, Mario; Widmer, Alexander; Fischer, Manuel; Ingold, Karin (2018). Connectors and coordinators in natural resource governance: insights from Swiss water supply. Ecology and Society, 23(2) Resilience Alliance Publications 10.5751/ES-10030-230201

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Fragmentation across scales in natural resource governance can impede coordinated action and decrease innovation capacity. Bridging actors who connect others within governance networks help to overcome this challenge. This paper analyzes two bridging positions for actors in governance networks. First, periphery connectors integrate otherwise unconnected actors and provide access to new knowledge. Second, central coordinators efficiently connect actors at the center of the network and thus facilitate coordinated action. The paper proposes a way to identify periphery connectors and central coordinators within governance networks and formulates expectations about types of actors that are likely to occupy these positions. An analysis of three actor networks in the water supply sector in Switzerland suggests that periphery coordinator positions are more likely to be occupied by organizations at higher jurisdictional levels. Central coordinator positions are more likely to be occupied by governmental actors as compared to non-governmental actors. Thus, in addressing challenges of fragmentation, higher-level governmental actors continue to play an important role, even when they delegate competences to lower-level and private actors.

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