Exploring the impact of collaboration processes on policy networks success: a case study of food policy councils

ABSTRACT

Innovative forms of collaborative governance have evolved to address a diversity of wicked problems. Collaboration processes involved in these forms of governance appear to have a paradoxical nature, where the necessary inclusiveness and diversity of actors may also be important obstacles for a successful collaboration. We apply theories of collaborative and network governance, and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, to explore the impact of collaboration process characteristics (network density, diversity, inclusion and participation) on 12 food policy councils. Our findings suggest that collaborative arrangements where diverse stakeholders have equal and inclusive access to active deliberation constitute one path to effective outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaborative governance
• collaborative process
• collaborative performance
• food policy councils
• local food systems

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beomgeun Cho

Beomgeun Cho is a PhD candidate at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. His research interests include network governance, social network analysis, and comparative public administration.

In Hae Noh

In Hae Noh is a PhD student at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, New York. Her research interests include collaborative governance, social network analysis, and public management.

April M Roggio

April M Roggio is research associate at the Center for Policy Research at the University at Albany, and a senior lecturer at RPI in Troy, NY and at the College of St. Rose, in Albany, NY. She holds a PhD. in public administration and policy from the University at Albany, and coordinates multi-institution research team focused on food system localization. Her recent work focuses on the study of municipal interest in foodshed localization; participatory guarantee systems in developed nations; collaborative governance; agricultural taxation; and cannabis policy in New York State.

Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes

Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes is a Professor of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany and a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow. He has been a Fulbright Scholar and he is currently Faculty Fellow at the Center for Technology in Government. He is also a Research Affiliated at the Universidad de las Americas, Puebla and a member of the Mexican National Research System. His research is at the intersection of Public Administration, Information Systems and Systems Sciences. More specifically, Luna-Reyes use multi-method approaches to contribute to a better understanding of collaboration and governance processes in the development of information technologies across functional and organizational boundaries in government.