Collaboration, Enforcement, and Endangered Species: A Framework for Assessing Collaborative Problem-Solving Capacity

Abstract

The centrality of collaborative capacity to long-term problem-solving success in natural resource policy poses a critical challenge for social scientists. While the literature on antecedent capacity is relatively rich, there is virtually nothing in the literature related to collaborative capacity as an outcome—the idea of a collaborative capacity assessment framework. What criteria help us understand whether long-term, collaborative problem-solving capacity is enhanced, stays the same, or is diminished? Our framework develops capacity outcomes along multiple dimensions—the vertical, the horizontal, and the partnership linkages between the two—and is applied to collaborations involving endangered species. When the cases are measured along traditional vertical measures there is little difference; both register high rates of compliance. However, when assessed along all three dimensions of the framework, a stark contrast in long-term problem-solving capacity is evident. The Walla Walla case evinces high capacity overall, while the Methow Valley registers low, even diminished capacity.

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