Structures Indicating a Shift Toward a Culture of Collaboration in National Park Service Urban Networks

Abstract

Park and protected area agencies are increasingly enacting a “culture of collaboration” – or viewing relationships (with agencies, nonprofits, educational institutions, etc.) as the routine approach to meeting immediate needs and longer-term goals (e.g., relevance, stewardship). Trust is fundamental to developing a culture of collaboration. We examine potential components of trust in a culture of collaboration in National Park Service (NPS)-identified urban relationships promoting relevance with stakeholders. Specifically, we detail three-actor relationships and network-wide structures using a quantitative Exponential Random Graph Model analysis. Networks in Detroit, Tucson, and Boston exhibit potential transitions toward a culture of collaboration, perhaps spurred by the NPS’ Urban Agenda efforts. These relate to the development of trust, the NPS positionality as supportive rather than core in the networks, and the large potential for increasing reciprocity (which decreases network hierarchy). These structures highlight where Urban Agenda relationship-building processes may aid in developing collaborative cultures across settings.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.