Self-Organizing Network Capital and the Success of Collaborative Public Programs

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Shrestha, Manoj K.
• 署名单位: University of Idaho
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/mus007
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 307-329
• 关键词: collective action; Structural holes; policy networks; performance; institutions; management; FRAMEWORK; strength; search; IMPACT

摘要

The added value of self-organized policy networks is widely recognized, but how they impact outcomes is less well understood. This article extends the existing literature on networks and collaborative performance by analyzing the effect of network capital on policy outcomes in a developing country, Nepal. A study of the collaborative Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program (RWSSP) in Nepal shows that village communities' success in getting RWSSP funds for their projects depends on their ties to a greater number of organizational partners for resources and know-how, and particularly to bridging partners that can also draw on experiences from a wider range of other communities. Communities are also successful when they secure credible support from a more cohesive subgroup of organizational partners that have considerable overlap in the projects they do share. Thus, direct ties to a broader set of organizational partners and indirect reach to other communities lead to better performance but so does the greater cohesion among the partners who tend to share the same set of community projects. Since partner selection inevitably imposes a trade-off between indirect reach and cohesion, a balanced strategy that accounts for both features appears important for developing network capital.