Self-Organizing Network Capital and the Success of Collaborative Public Programs

Abstract

The added value of self-organized policy networks is widely recognized, but how they impact outcomes is less well understood. This article extends the existing literature on networks and collaborative performance by analyzing the effect of network capital on policy outcomes in a developing country, Nepal. A study of the collaborative Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program (RWSSP) in Nepal shows that village communities’ success in getting RWSSP funds for their projects depends on their ties to a greater number of organizational partners for resources and know-how, and particularly to bridging partners that can also draw on experiences from a wider range of other communities. Communities are also successful when they secure credible support from a more cohesive subgroup of organizational partners that have considerable overlap in the projects they do share. Thus, direct ties to a broader set of organizational partners and indirect reach to other communities lead to better performance but so does the greater cohesion among the partners who tend to share the same set of community projects. Since partner selection inevitably imposes a trade-off between indirect reach and cohesion, a balanced strategy that accounts for both features appears important for developing network capital. 《自组化网络资源以及合作性公共项目的成功性》 作者：马诺吉 K. 什雷斯塔 自组化政策网络(self-organized policy networks)的价值已被广为认可，然而我们对于自组化网络如何影响政策结果还所知甚少。本文旨在拓展了关于(治理)网络和合作性绩效(collaborative performance)的文献；并且以发展中国家尼泊尔为例，分析网络资源对于政策结果的影响。关于在尼泊尔合作性农村供水和卫生项目(Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program, RWSSP) 的研究表明, 村社 (village communities) 与其组织合作伙伴(organizational partner)之间的网络能提供共享资源和知识，因而对于村社获得农村供水和卫生项目的资金至关重要。与此同时，获得共享项目中合作伙伴稳定支持的村社也会相对成功。因此, 与诸多组织合作伙伴之间的直接联系、和其他村社之间的间接联系以及共享社区项目中合作伙伴之间的稳定和谐关系都有利于增进村社(在合作性公共项目中的)绩效。合作伙伴的选择必然要求考量间接扩展网络和网络内和谐性之间的均衡问题。所以， 发展兼顾二者的平衡策略对于拓展网络资源尤为重要。

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