Creating Public Value Through Networked Governance
5 lessons from the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network (NBSPRN)
Networked governance is an approach to problem solving that involves external organizations and individuals working with the government. Smart governments use the knowledge and experience of citizens to inform decision making and cooperate with other groups to create value.
How networked governance and knowledge mobilization support a shift to an open government paradigm
ShiftFlow’s Nick Scott spent more than four years leading the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network (NBSPRN) that used networked governance as an approach to policy development. Some lessons he learned that might help others in adopting this approach include:
Work with the Government from the start to identify, frame and prioritize the problems they want to solve, and the problems that require further research and engagement. Team roles: government relations; strategic partnerships
Invest in a membership structure to develop, manage and engage a group of members. As a membership organization with a Customer Relationship Management tool, you can position yourself to connect the right people to the right projects at the right time. Establishing a membership registration process that collects needed information and involves an orientation plan for new members is critical. Team roles: outreach; engagement; member relations
Build capabilities to translate and mobilize knowledge. An important role as a network is to share knowledge. Invest in infrastructure to help share information, and to train your members. Joining a group such as Research Impact Canada can help catalyze your thinking and capacity to mobilize knowledge. Team roles: research; design; communications; digital media
Develop a strong facilitation practice. Anyone who has been to a poorly chaired meeting knows how unproductive and frustrating they can be. It’s many times worse when bringing together a larger audience from a multitude of backgrounds and having them collaborate. It takes a special skill and intentionality to facilitate this effectively, so invest in training your staff and partner with outside facilitators. Team roles: citizen engagement; facilitation; event hosting
Focus on what matters. Don’t spend time being transactional. In an environment driven by financial success measures like return on investment (ROI), it’s easy to spend a lot of time focusing on grant applications. Instead, focus on building infrastructure and systems to help advance your goals as a network. Long-term success is about far more than financial ROI, and investing in such infrastructure will in turn contribute to a greater success rate in getting grants anyway. Team roles: systems thinking; organizational design; network leadership
A map of the networked governance ecosystem in New Brunswick in 2017
One thing NBSPRN did well from the start is collaborate generously. The Network’s founder once said:
“the only way to counter ego is to not have ego, and the only way to counter territorialism is to not be territorial”.
Building an ecosystem capable of shifting centuries old institutions requires facilitating collaboration between others and being collaborative yourself. In networked governance, you lead and work in new ways. You can't expect to own or take credit for anything. You should be willing to share and give credit to others. The most important thing is your transformative purpose, not small “p” politics or personal glory.
In times of fast changes, no single organization or government can know everything needed to be responsive. Investing in networking and the ability to work with actors across sectors is a necessity to creating public value in the 21st century. Networked governance is an approach to doing just that.
