Content area
Full Text
Networks have assumed a place of prominence in the literature on public and private governing structures. The many positive attributes of networks are often featured-the capacity to solve problems, govern shared resources, create learning opportunities, and address shared goals-and a literature focused on the challenges networks pose for managers seeking to realize these network attributes is developing. The authors share an interest in understanding the potential of networks to govern complex public, or "wicked, "problems. A fundamental challenge to effectively managing any public problem in a networked setting is the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across participants. When knowledge is viewed pragmatically, the challenge is particularly acute. This perspective, the authors argue, presents a challenge to the network literature to consider the mind-set of the managers-or collaborative capacity-builders-who are working to achieve solutions to wicked problems. This mind-set guides network managers as they apply their skills, strategies, and tools in order to foster the transfer, receipt, and integration of knowledge across the network and, ultimately, to build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity.
Networks have assumed a place of prominence in the literature on public and private governing structures, gradually nudging hierarchies and markets as the foremost means to organize to address complex problems, share scarce resources, and achieve collective goals (Kickert, Klijn, and Koppenjan 1997; Peters 2001; Podolny and Page 1998; Powell, Kopet, and Smith-Doerr 1996). Just what constitutes a network and how a network comes to be a network rests within liberal definitional boundaries. In very broad terms, networks are defined by the enduring exchange relations established between organizations, individuals, and groups. As Hall and O'Toole (2004) note, these relationships may be a simple interorganizational arrangement between two government agencies or a complex combination of organizations, groups, and individuals from a variety of sectors. Network analysis focuses on the structure of those relationships, the implications for behavior and performance, and ways to measure collaborative capacity (Milward and Provan 1998; Podolny and Page 1998; Provan and Milward 2001 ; Weber, Lovrich, and GafFney 2005). Networks may evolve gradually to govern a shared resource or evolve to deal with impending problems (Gerberding 2004; Ostrom 1990); they may be initiated by mandate or regulatory requirement (Hall and O'Toole 2000, 2004; Weber 1998; Weber and Khademian 1997),...