Aim of the course
Transformations of state and society over the last 3 decades have increased the importance of various forms of collaborative and network governance in forming and implementing public policy. Collaborative and network forms of governance take place in networks (including collaborative arrangements like partnerships and arrangements to foster coproduced public services), and engage public, private and civil society actors at transnational, national, regional and local scales in shaping the future of our societies. These networks or collaborative arrangements however may fail due to many causes. Managing network and collaborative arrangements is considered essential as a means to mitigate the risk of failure and enable networks to achieve desired outcomes in terms of more effective and democratic governance, more innovation policy making and delivery of public services.

Research into collaborative and network governance is now firmly established all over the world and the research keeps growing. It offers important opportunities for theoretical and methodological development, and for the generation of new knowledge with both academic and policy relevance. National and local differences demonstrate the need for theoretically and methodologically sound comparative research. The course will provide both an overview of the state of the art and a platform for discussing collaborative and network theories and students individual contributions.

This course is offered by the Netherlands School of Governance (NIG) in cooperation with the International Research Society of Public Management (IRSPM) and hosted by the University of Bologna (Italy). Main lecturers are professor Erik-Hans Klijn (former IRSPM-president and co-chair of the Special Interest Group ‘Complexity & Network Governance’) professor Joris Voets (co-chair of the Special Interest Group ‘Complexity & Network Governance’), supported by guest lectures by dr. Robin Lemaire (Louisiana State University) and dr. Rianne Warsen (Erasmus University Rotterdam). This course creates a learning community in which PhD students will:

• Develop their analytical understanding of collaborative and network governance;
• Strengthen their theoretical and methodological knowledge;
• Test their ideas and conclusions through dialogue with leading researchers;
• Contextualize their research in a comparative, multi-national setting;
• Have a chance to present and discuss and gain feedback on their research;
• Build an international network of young researchers in the field.

Credits
The course accounts for 4 ECTS, which includes the writing of a paper and preparing the literature. When finished the course students will get an official certificate issues out by The Netherlands Institute of Governance (NIG), which is an official accredited research school.

Program 
This is a 2,5 day course, combining daily lectures, exercises, and discussions of core themes in the field of collaborative and network governance research with presentations and discussions of the PhD-research of the participants.

THEORY: The course deals with the theory and practice of network and collaborative governance. How can we define governance, collaborative governance and governance network? What is the potential role of networks and how do we explain their formation? How is collaborative and network governance practiced in different national contexts and at different levels? What are the main differences between the leading theories? The social network perspective on this topic is also introduced.

ANALYSIS: The course also explores how we can reconstruct/analyze networks and complex collaborative decision making processes.

NORMATIVE ISSUES: The course covers the normative aspects of (network and collaborative) governance: their democratic legitimacy and how we can evaluate outcomes.

RESEARCH METHODS: We elaborate on a set of research methods that are relevant in collaborative & network research. What is out there, what is being used, for which types of questions?  We discuss possibilities and strengths and weaknesses of various methods.

FUTURE RESEARCH: What is the agenda for network and collaboration researchers?  

The course includes several types of activities:

• Interactive lectures which present the state of the art of the field (= lectures)
• Discussions between lecturers and PhD-students on core readings which focus on central questions and topics (= discussions)
• Application of theoretical skills in empirical analysis (= exercise)
• Presentations by PhD students of their own work (= PhD presentations)

PhD-presentations
The course has several sessions in which the PhD students get a chance to present their research project to the other PhD students and senior researchers. The PhD-students will be divided into groups according to the topic of their thesis. Each student must prepare and circulate a 10-15 page project description or paper which reports (part of) the research in advance (or the first draft of a conference paper or article of course).

Lecturing scheme (indicative)

Reading list (preliminary can be changed)
To ensure maximal interaction and in-depth knowledge development, part of the preparation requires reading essential articles and book chapters. Most of these materials are provided electronically in PDF – do not distribute these materials any further.

Know the network lingo: main conceptualizations (Klijn, day 1)

• Rhodes (1996), ‘The new governance: Governing without government’, Political Studies Association, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 652-667.
• Ansell, C. and A. Gash (2008). Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18(4): 543–71
• Peters, G. & Pierre, J. (1998). ‘Governance without Government? Rethinking Public Administration’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2(1998): 223-243.
• Klijn, E.H., J.F.M. Koppenjan (2016), Governance networks in the public sector, Oxon: Routledge. Chapter 1 => these chapters are not included in the PDF-package

 
Reconstructing and analyzing networks and complex decision-making processes (Voets, day 1)

• Klijn, E.H., J.F.M. Koppenjan (2016), Governance networks in the public sector, Oxon: Routledge (especially chapter 12). => this book is not included in the PDF-package
• M. Bryson (2004), ‘What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification and analysis techniques’, Public Management Review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 41-53.

 
Theories of network governance (Klijn, day 1)

• I. Agranoff and M. McGuire (2001), ‘Big questions in public network management research’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 295-326.
• Popp, J., MacKean, G., Casebeer, A., Milward, H. B., Lindstrom, R. (2013). Interorganizational networks. A critical review of the literature to inform practice. 123 p.
• Klijn, E.H., J.F.M. Koppenjan (2016), Governance networks in the public sector, Oxon: Routledge. Chapter 2 => these chapters are not included in the PDF-package
• Provan, K. G., and P. Kenis. 2008. Modes of network governance: Structure, management, and effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(2): 229–252.

Managing networks (Voets, day 2)

• Klijn, E.H., J.F.M. Koppenjan (2016), Governance networks in the public sector, Oxon: Routledge (chapter 6-8) => this book is not included in the PDF-package
• McGuire, M. and R. Agranoff. 2011. ‘The Limitations of Public Management Networks’, Public Administration, 98, 2, 265–84.
• Daniela Cristofoli, Benedetta Trivellato & Stefano Verzillo (2019) Network management as a contingent activity. A configurational analysis of managerial behaviors in different network settings, Public Management Review, 21:12, 1775-1800, DOI:10.1080/14719037.2019.1577905

 
Do networks deliver results? Measuring network performance (Voets, day 2)

• Turrini, A., D. Cristofoli, F. Frosini and Nasi, G. (2010). ‘Networking literature about determinants of network effectiveness’, Public Administration, 88(2): 528-550. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2009.01791.x
• Cepiku , D. F. Giordano , M. Mastrodascio & W. Wang. (2020). ‘What drives network effectiveness?’ A configurational approach, Public Management Review, 23(10):1479 -1503. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1764084
• Voets, J., Van Dooren, W. & F. De Rynck. (2008). ‘A Framework for Assessing the Performance of Policy Networks’, Public Management Review, 10(6): 773-790.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030802423129
• George,B. Klijn, E.H., Ropes, E., Sattlegger, A. (2024). Do network management and trust matter for network outcomes? A Meta-analysis and research agenda. Public Management Review. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2327629 (OPEN ACCES!)

The social network perspective (Lemaire day 3)

• Kilduff, M. and W. Tsai. (2003). ‘Is there social network theory? A critical examination of theoretical foundations’, in Social networks and organizations. Sage, London.
• Kilduff, Martin and Brass, Daniel J. 2010. “Organizational Social Network Research: Core Ideas and Key Debates”. The Academy of Management Annals, 4(1): 317 — 357
• Lemaire, R. H. 2020. What is Our Purpose Here?: Network Relationships and Goal Congruence in a Canadian Child and Youth Health Network. American Review of Public Administration, 50 (2): 176-192.

The democratic legitimacy of governance networks (Klijn, day 2)

• Koliba, C. & Meek, J. (2008). ‘Governance in Networked Environments: Democratic Anchorage in Multi-Sector Systems’, Working paper, Minnowbrook III Conference NY, Lake Placid. 40 p.
• Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2005). The democratic anchorage of governance networks. Scandinavian Political Studies, 28(3), 195–218.
• H. Klijn and C. Skelcher (2007), ‘Democracy and network governance: Compatible or not? Four conjectures and their implications’, Public Administration, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 587-608

How to research networks? (Warsen, day 3)

• Chamberlain, D. & Farr-Wharton, B. (2020), ‘network and collaboration research futures. In: Voets, J., Keast, R. & Koliba, C. (eds) Networks and collaboration in the public sector: essential research approaches, methodologies and analytical tools. Oxon/New York: Routledge, pp. 242-255.
• Warsen, R., Klijn, E.H. & Koppenjan, J. (2019). ‘Mix and Match: How Contractual and Relational Conditions Are Combined in Successful Public–Private Partnerships’, Journal of Public Administration Research And Theory, 2019, 375–393
• Warsen, R. (2022). The use of research methods in public-private partnership research. In: Hodge, G.A. & Greve, C. (Eds.) (2022). A Research Agenda for Public–Private Partnerships and the Governance of Infrastructure. Edward Elgar Publishing. (forthcoming – do not distribute)

The future of network research (Klijn & Voets, day 3)

• Huanming Wang & Bing Ran (2021): Network governance and collaborative
  governance: a thematic analysis on their similarities, differences, and entanglements, Public
  Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.2011389
• Lewis, JM (2011) ‘The future of network governance research: Strength in diversity and synthesis’ (Introduction to symposium of papers on network governance research), Public Administration 89(4): 1221-1234.
• Voets, J., Keast, R., Meek, J.W. & C. Flynn (2023) Conclusion: the practices of modern networks. In: Keast, R., Voets, J., Meek, J.W. & C. Flynn (Eds) A Modern Guide to Networks. Edward Elgar. pp. 313-332. => this chapter is not included in the PDF-package