Governance Networks in the Public Sector
Erik Hans Klijn, Joop Koppeman
H1. Governance networks in the public sector
1.1 Introduction: governance networks as the answer to complexity
Government, business, and civil society in our contemporary network society are increasingly faced with complex
societal problems. Attempts to deal with these problems may result in enduring processes of policymaking, policy
implementation, and public service delivery that are hard to manage. Governments, businesses, and civil society are
often unable to tackle these issues by themselves because they lack the resources or problem-solving capacities to do
so. The complexity of these issues and interdependencies between actors result in intensive interactions between
actors. As a result, governance networks emerge: networks of enduring patterns of social relations between actors
involved in dealing with a problem, policy or public service. As a consequence, traditional methods of dealing with
problems no longer suffice but they require a new approach: a more horizontal cooperative approach which is often
referred to as the shift from government to governance.
1.2 Government, governance, and governance networks: a conceptual clarification
The definition government refers to public problem solving, policymaking and service delivery according to the
Traditional Public Administration Model that dominated the public administration practice in many countries all over
the world for a large part of the twentieth century. In this model, problems, policies and services are assigned to
specialized governmental units. Integration and coordination is realized by command and control within the
bureaucracy, characterized by task differentiation and procedures. The governmental apparatus is professionalized
and aimed at the production of effective policies and services doing justice to the principles of quality, legitimacy and
legality. Complexities are dealt with by deconstructing them and assigning tasks to specialized units, in which they are
processed as intellectual design challenges with the input of policy analysts, professionals and scientific knowledge.
New ways of problem solving, policymaking and service delivery have emerged and are referred to as governance.
There are four dominating meanings of this term:
1. Governance as good governance or as corporate governance. Governance refers to the principle of a
properly functioning public administration: fair treatment of citizens, an unambiguous organization that
adheres to the basic principles of the rule of law. Emphasis on the operation of the government;
This has not much to do with governance is everywhere so that is a misunderstanding.
2. Governance as New Public Management, as improving performance and accountability, or as market
governance. The role is rather to steer than to row. The implementation of policies and the delivery of
services are best left to other organizations or separate agencies that can be held accountable through the
use of clear performance indicators and the other market mechanisms;
New Public Management explicitly aim to resolve the ineffectiveness and uncontrollability of
traditional bureaucratic organizations. NPM can be considered an opposing paradigm to
governance since it emphasizes the need for central steering. Governance, in contrast to NPM,
tends to emphasize the horizontal relationship between governmental organizations and other
organizations.
3. Governance as multi-level governance or inter-governmental relations. Networks are needed to address
the problems of achieving results in multi-actor settings, because they tend to cross the boundaries of public
organizations and their hierarchical level;
4. Governance as network governance. Governance takes place within networks of public and non-public
actors, and the interaction between these groups makes processes complex and difficult to manage.
Consequently, different steering and management strategies are required compared with more classical
approaches. The focus is on the complex interaction process in an network of private, public and societal
actors.
Although not necessarily a mistaken idea, the understanding that networks are self-governing is
confusing. Often, self-governing processes get blocked or stagnate, because of conflicting interests,
perceptions, strategies or institutional barriers.
These four terms are different but share some elements too. They empathize the process of governing rather than the
structure of government. They also acknowledge the limits of governmental power. Concluding can be said that we
governance should be understood as governance within governance networks (network governance).
, Traditional Public New Public Management Governance Network
Administration Perspective
Focus Differentiation and Internal functioning of Relations between
coordination within governmental bodies and government and with
bureaucracy. contractual relations. other factors.
Objectives Production of effective and Improving effectiveness and Improving inter-
uniform policies and services efficiency of public service organizational
according to principles of delivery and public coordination and quality
equality, legitimacy and organisations. of policymaking and
legality. service delivery.
Core Using hierarchy and command Using business and market Using network
ideas/management and control; line management; instruments to improve management; activating
techniques building on the rule following; service delivery. actors; organizing
loyalty and a public service research and information
orientation of civil servants; gathering; exploring
policy cycle as control content; arranging;
mechanism. process rules.
Politics Politicians set goals that are Politicians set goals. Policy Goals are developed and
implemented by the executive implementation and service negotiated during
in an neutral way. Both civil delivery is done by interaction processes,
servants and elected independent agencies or with no sharp distinction
administrators are held market mechanisms on the between formation,
accountable by representative basis of clear performance implementation and
bodies of elected politicians. indicators. delivery of policies and
services. Politicians are
part of these processes or
facilitate these process.
Complexity in Complexity is dealt with by Complexity requires the Complexity requires
society deconstruction and assigning setting of clear goal dals interaction and network
task to specialized units; dealt allowing implementers relations given
with as intellectual design discretionary space to interdependencies.
process with input of policy realize outcomes. Keep away Taking part in complexity
analysts, professionals and from the complex by interacting with actors
scientific knowledge. interactions with society. in society is unavoidable
Use market incentives to and/or necessary to
govern implementing units. reach effective and
supported outcomes.
1.3 Defining governance networks and network governance
So governance is the process that takes place within governance networks. How to define by characteristics:
Networks are characterized by complex policy problems that require the collective actions of several actors;
Networks have relatively high interdependencies between actors because resources necessary to solve
problems are owned by different actors;
Interdependencies cause a high degree of strategic complexity and an unpredictable course of interactions;
Networks have complex interactions because each of the actors is autonomous and has its own perception of
problems and strategies;
Networks interactions show some durability over time.
This leads us to the following description of governance networks: more or less stable patterns of social relations
between mutually dependent actors, which cluster around a policy problem, a policy programme, and/or a set of
resources and which emerge, are sustained and are changed through a series of interactions. Further concepts can be
defines as:
Governance network processes are all the interaction processes within governance networks addressing a
specific problem, policy, programme or public service;
Governance network as the set of conscious steering attempts or strategies of actors within governance
networks aimed at influencing interaction processes and/or the characteristics of these networks;
Network management as all the deliberate strategies aimed at facilitating and guiding the interactions and/
or changing the features of the network within the intent to further the collaboration within the network
processes. Other terms for network management are meta-governance, collaborative governance or
collaborative management.
1.4 Complexity in governance networks
Complexity is an inherent characteristic of governance network that are confronted with societal problems and that
try to develop policies and services to deal with these. With complexity, this book doesn’t mean complicatedness
, which applies to a technical or social phenomenon or system that consists of many components that interact in a
complicated way with each other. Complexity actually goes beyond complicatedness because it refers to dynamics
within systems. Three major types of complexity that characterize governance networks can be distinguished:
1. The substantive complexity within governance networks is caused by the uncertainty and lack of
consensus over the nature of problems, their causes and solutions;
2. The strategic complexity within governance networks springs from the strategic choices actors make with
regard to problems, policies and services. It concerns the fundamentally erratic and unpredictable nature of
interaction processes within governance networks;
3. The institutional complexity are caused by different actors from different institutional backgrounds
dealing with complex problems, policies and services which could lead to clashes.
Traditional policy analysists approaches complex problems as an intellectual design activity. These approach will not
do in current complex societies, nor will traditional hierarchical forms of government be suitable. The network
approach provides theoretical concepts and normative starting points for analysing and assessing complex processes
of problem solving, public policymaking and service delivery in network settings and the roles that perceptions,
strategic interactions and institutions play in this. The governance network perspective distinguishes itself by using
the multi-actor nature of interaction settings and the presence of diverging and sometimes conflicting perceptions,
objectives and institutions as the starting point for analysis and management. The governance network approach links
theory building and analysis closely to a management perspective.
H2. An intellectual history of networks
2.1 Three theoretical traditions of the governance network concept
In this chapter, three main ideas of three traditions of network governance are presented. In this classification, the
book builds on earlier work and classification made by others. By that, three traditions of research can be
distinguished focusing on a different type of network:
1. Research on policy networks is rooted in political science. It focuses on the question of which actors
participate in public policymaking and which actors have power;
2. Research on inter-organizational service delivery and policy implementation has an inter-
organizational perspective and focuses on resource interdependencies and networks as vehicle for service
delivery and implementation. Central is the realization of concrete services and policy implementation;
3. Research on collaborative governance and intergovernmental relationships focuses on the governance
problems of complex policy problems that evolve in a fragmented institutional context. Focuses on
implementation networks around policy implementations.
Policy networks Service delivery and Collaborative and
implementation network governance
Main origin Political science Organization science/inter- Public administration,
organizational theory collaborative planning and
argumentative policy
analysis
Focus Decision making and effects Inter-organizational Solving societal problems
Closure and power relations coordination by managing horizontal
on issue and agenda setting Effective policy/service collaboration
delivery
Integrated policy
Main fields and Which actors are involved in How can complex integrated How to manage governance
research decision making? services be coordinated? networks?
question How are the power What mechanisms are effective How to organize them to
relations and what are the and efficient? traditional institutions?
effects on decision making? How to improve variety of
content and combine
various value judgements?
History Starts with the pluralist Starts with the first inter- Starts in the mid-1970s
political science research of organizational theorists that with work on inter-
the 1960s and continues focus on inter-organizational governmental relations and
through to research on coordination and continues continues with analyses of
subsystems, policy through to research on service new governance forms and
communities and policy delivery. their effects and
networks. management requirements.
2.2 Policy networks: policymaking in networks
Research on policy networks in built on a rich tradition of political science studies, that has focused on the influence of
interest groups on decision making, the process of agenda building and the opportunities that occur in these
