Networks in Public Administration: Current scholarship in review

Abstract

Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. This rapid growth has created come confusion about terminology and approaches to research in the field. We organize the network literature in public administration using compact citation networks to identify coherent subdomains focused on (1) policy formation, (2) governance and (3) policy implementation. We trace how these domains differ in their approach to defining the role of networks, relationships and actors and to what extent the articles apply formal network analysis techniques. Based on a subsequent content analysis of the sample articles, we identify promising research awnues focused on the wider adoption of methods derived from social network analysis and the conditions under which networks actually deliver improved results.

Swiss Public Administration

“…Linked to the theoretical discourse about network governance and collaborative governance (Ansell and Gash 2007), this approach emphasizes the self-organizing, non-hierarchical character of actors involved in policy implementation and the resolution of local collective action problems or natural resource management (Lubell et al 2014). These two currents are perfectly complementary (Lecy et al 2014) and make it possible to recognize, if not understand, the different facets of administrative work during the different stages of the public policy cycle. This chapter focuses on the policy formulation and policy implementation stages (for a discussion of 'upstream' agenda-setting and 'downstream' policy evaluation, see Varone et al 2016).…”

“…Indeed, policy networks are an undeniable reality in many sectors where the state intervenes to solve collective problems. Political decision-makers, administrative elites, and academic researchers experience this on a daily basis, and it is therefore reasonable to devote more sustained attention to the SNA approach (see Kapucu et al 2017;Lecy et al 2014or Fischer 2017 for an up-to-date overview of the state of empirical research), one which helps in identifying the new roles inhabited by public administration.…”

L’administration publique dans la gouvernance multiniveau infranationale : état de la question et perspectives

“…Par contre, deux autres courants de littérature (la gouvernance en réseau et la gouvernance collaborative) fournissent des indications pertinentes sur la pratique administrative dans la GMN, puisque les relations entre les échelons y sont parfois étudiées. Ces deux courants qui ont fait l'objet de bilans récents (Klijn et Koppenjan, 2012 ;Lecy, Mergel et Schmitz, 2013 ; O'Leary et Vij, 2012) s'entrecoupent tout en demeurant distincts, car la collaboration n'est qu'une des finalités possibles d'un réseau. Nous aborderons successivement le statut de l'administration publique, les dispositifs qu'elle anime, les rôles qu'elle joue et les principaux défis qu'elle doit relever.…”

Levels of Governance in Policy Innovation Cycles in Community Education: The Cases of Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education

“…All four approaches run the risk of excluding potentially influential actors that operate at the margins or outside a given policy domain. In cross-cutting issue areas like CCE and ESD this may lead to an overstatement of educational organization's influence at the national and sub-national levels, such as schools, while at the same time underestimating the role of international environmental organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (for the general argument see [35,36]). Overall, in multi-level and multi-actor issue areas that span different policy domains, such as CCE and ESD, the conventional methods for assessing actor influence reach their limits, since scholars tend to focus on highly visible and central actors, disposing of significant resources and openly articulating their policy preferences.…”