MAKING GOVERNANCE NETWORKS EFFECTIVE AND DEMOCRATIC THROUGH METAGOVERNANCE

TLDR

Governance networks are proliferating as steering ambitions rise and social fragmentation increases, offering potential to address wicked problems and boost democratic participation, yet they risk conflicts, deadlocks, and reduced transparency and accountability. This paper aims to outline how to evaluate governance networks’ effectiveness and democratic quality and to argue that public metagovernors must cultivate strategic and collaborative competences to govern them successfully. The authors propose assessment methods and describe various metagovernance tools that can be employed to achieve effective and democratic network governance. They conclude that developing strategic and collaborative competences is essential for public metagovernors to effectively metagovern governance networks.

Abstract

In response to the growing discrepancy between the steadily rising steering ambitions and the increasing fragmentation of social and political life, governance networks are mushrooming. Governance through the formation of networks composed of public and private actors might help solve wicked problems and enhance democratic participation in public policy‐making, but it may also create conflicts and deadlocks and make public governance less transparent and accountable. In order to ensure that governance networks contribute to an effective and democratic governing of society, careful metagovernance by politicians, public managers and other relevant actors is necessary. In this paper, we discuss how to assess the effective performance and democratic quality of governance networks. We also describe how different metagovernance tools can be used in the pursuit of effective and democratic network governance. Finally, we argue that public metagovernors must develop their strategic and collaborative competences in order to become able to metagovern governance networks.