Faking and forcing trust: The performance of trust and distrust in public policy

Vries, J.R. de; Roodbol-Mekkes, P.H.; Beunen, Raoul; Lokhorst, Anne Marike; Aarts, Noelle

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.11.022

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similarly, participants in our study spoke about the need for honest individuals within the team, so as to allow for the development of trusted relationship with stakeholders. While trust between scientists and decision-makers is often considered as a critical precondition for enhancing the impact of science on policy and practice [ 74 ], the exact mechanisms by which trust is formed, maintained and broken in science-policy-practice networks is largely unknown [ 75 – 76 ]. Furthermore, it has also been suggested that too much trust among scientists and decision-makers can lead to adverse environmental outcomes, as well as to reputational damage to individuals and organisations [ 77 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building university-based boundary organisations that facilitate impacts on environmental policy and practice

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Responding to modern day environmental challenges for societal well-being and prosperity necessitates the integration of science into policy and practice. This has spurred the development of novel institutional structures among research organisations aimed at enhancing the impact of environmental science on policy and practice. However, such initiatives are seldom evaluated and even in cases where evaluations are undertaken, the results are rarely made publicly available. As such there is very little empirically grounded guidance available to inform other organisations in this regard. To help address this, the aim of this study is to evaluate the Baltic Eye Project at Stockholm University–a unique team consisting of researchers from different fields, science communicators, journalists and policy analysts–working collectively to support evidence-informed decision-making relating to the sustainable management of the Baltic Sea environment. Specifically, through qualitative interviews, we (1) identify the impacts achieved by the Baltic Eye Project; (2) understand the challenges and barriers experienced throughout the Baltic Eye Project; and (3) highlight the key features that are needed within research organisations to enhance the impact of science on policy and practice. Results show that despite only operating for three years, the Baltic Eye Project has achieved demonstrable impacts on a range of levels: impacts on policy and practice, impacts to individuals working within the organisation and impacts to the broader University. We also identify a range of barriers that have limited impacts to date, such as a lack of clear goals at the establishment of the Baltic Eye Project and existing metrics of academic impact (e.g. number of publications). Finally, based on the experiences of employees at the Baltic Eye Project, we identify the key organisational, individual, financial, material, practical, political, and social features of university-based boundary organisations that have impact on policy and practice. In doing so this paper provides empirically-derived guidance to help other research organisations increase their capacity to achieve tangible impacts on environmental policy and practice.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building university-based boundary organisations that facilitate impacts on environmental policy and practice

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The interdependencies between actors influence how particular actors can and will act, the forms of cooperation, and the way in which actors deal with conflicting ideas or interests. Here, trust is seen as vital to overcome conflicts and smooth the process between interdependent actors (de Vries et al, 2014). Secondly, the interdependencies between actors and institutions require attention.…”

Section: Fig 1 Illustration Of How a Governance Path Is Formed By Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning strategies for dealing with population decline: Experiences from the Netherlands

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper explores the selection and implementation of planning strategies and land use instruments for dealing with population decline in three different regions in the Netherlands. The study shows that each region developed very specific responses that can be explained by the different discourses that dominated planning and policymaking in that region. Although the perceptions about population decline, its consequences and suitable responses are strongly context specific, in all three regions responsible governments deemed it necessary to adapt existing policies and plans and to tailor strategies to a situation with population decline. The study also shows that ideas about using planning as a tool to stimulate economic growth prevail in the studied regions, but that it are precisely these ideas that hamper the development and implementation of policies for dealing with population decline. The paper also illustrates how Evolutionary Governance Theory can be useful for explaining why regions take different routes in dealing with population decline and for analysing the different dependencies that influence the selection of strategies.

show abstract

“…Take for instance, the case of the so-called Peat Colonies in the north-east of the Netherlands: stories that stressed the poverty and lack of opportunity in that region demotivated entrepreneurs to start a business in that region which consequently led to a lack of entrepreneurial spirit in that region (Van Assche et al, 2012). De Vries et al (2014) demonstrate in their study focused on interactions between government officials concerning the Investment Fund for Rural Areas (ILG) that stories about distrust can truly create an atmosphere of distrust in reality: 'The feeling of distrust became the dominant story of the ILG on which people based their actions; the distrust became performative. These actions included the design of detailed agreements, the complex monitoring and control system, and the termination of the sharing of sensitive information' (de Vries et al, 2014: 287).…”

Section: The Concept Of Performativity In Planning and Public Adminismentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning New Public Management theory into reality: Performative struggle during a large scale planning process

Merkus¹,

Veenswijk²

2017

Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within the literature of governance and policy making in the context of planning, the notion of performativity is specifically conceptualized as the self-fulfilling property of performances – such as story-telling – that shape public reality. One specific stream of performativity researchers – dominant in the realm of organization studies – focuses on the enactment of academic theory into reality. We contribute to this idea of bringing theory into being by conceptualizing purposive performative agents who strive to enact a specific theory in reality. Our paper demonstrates through which mechanisms the theory of New Public Management has shaped the reality of public governance at the will of one powerful performative agent. Using a perspective based on performative struggle, our interpretative case study – focused on a large policy process – exhibits how New Public Management doctrine gains influence at the expense of other public management theories. In conclusion, we claim that our findings offer a potential perspective for understanding through which dynamics certain agents aim to shape the public realm in alignment with their preferred theoretical propositions.

show abstract

Faking and forcing trust: The performance of trust and distrust in public policy

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Building university-based boundary organisations that facilitate impacts on environmental policy and practice

Building university-based boundary organisations that facilitate impacts on environmental policy and practice

Planning strategies for dealing with population decline: Experiences from the Netherlands

Turning New Public Management theory into reality: Performative struggle during a large scale planning process

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About