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The consequence of state controlled forestry in Cameroon has been the overexploitation of forest resources often in conflict with local forest dependent communities and state conservation objectives. The failure of state controlled forestry to achieve sustainable forest management has led to the emergence of new network like arrangements amongst which is independent forest monitoring (IFM) by civil society. The aim of this paper is to scrutinize the factors which affect the effectiveness of IFM governance network in Cameroon. Our research focused on a case study of Cameroon, employing a governance network perspective. The main findings are that national civil society in Cameroon is playing a significant role in improving transparency in the forest sector and holding decision makers to account. The paper finds a shift from technical areas of forest monitoring to the monitoring of social obligations and the respect of community rights by private companies. An analysis of actors highlights a strong network of national NGOs with self-defined goals and strategies engaged in very fluid relationships with law enforcement agencies beyond traditional ministries of forests and wildlife characterised by a spectrum ranging from complementarity, substitution and rivalry. The lack of sustainable funding and weak capabilities of national NGOs to navigate these fluid relationships emerges as core constraints for network effectiveness. Accordingly, recommendations for effectiveness entail strategies for sustainable funding, capacity strengthening and network coordination to address current weaknesses but also to build trust and credibility of the governance network.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how national institutional structures affect farmers’ intentions to invest in renewable energy enterprises in the UK agricultural sector. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw on the construct of national institutional profile to identify the regulatory, cognitive and normative institutions affecting entrepreneurial intentions. A postal questionnaire survey of 2,000 farmers was carried out in the West Midlands Region of the UK and 393 usable responses were obtained. Principal component analysis and multivariate data analysis techniques are employed. Findings – Cognitive institutions were positively related to intentions. Contrary to expectations, the regulatory institutions were not associated with entrepreneurial intentions. Normative institutions were significantly related to intentions and interestingly, moderated the efficacy of regulatory institutions on entrepreneurial intentions. Practical implications – Cognitive and normative institutions may play a far more important role in determining farm entrepreneurship in the renewable energy sector than has been previously considered. Given that much of policy research is often biased towards regulatory institutions, this research shows that the construct of institutional profile offers a useful framework to investigate the effect of national level institutions on entrepreneurship. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship in the UK farm sector. It is the first study that demonstrates the role of the country’s institutional profile on farmers’ intentions to invest in RE. The existence of moderation effects between national institutions suggests that research focusing on single dimensions is likely to provide biased results.