EAGER: Integrating the Analysis of Decision-Making in Meetings with the Analysis of Network Interactions in the Study of Environmental Governance

EAGER：环境治理研究中会议决策分析与网络互动分析的结合

• 批准号: 1408169
• 负责人: Christina Wasson
• 金额: $ 2.49万
• 依托单位: University of North Texas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-01-15 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1408169&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Integrating; Analysis; Decision; Making

Environmental governance is increasingly shifting from a top-down approach, in which bureaucrats and scientists make decisions, to a 'participatory' approach, in which representatives of diverse stakeholder groups make decisions collaboratively. However, implementing the goal of giving all stakeholder groups a voice has proved challenging. Much work remains to develop an adequate conceptual model of what egalitarian decision-making would actually look like and how it might be implemented. Most studies have focused their analysis either on the stakeholder meetings where decisions are negotiated, or on the broader interactions among networks of stakeholders that influence those meeting decisions. On their own, each of these approaches has serious limitations. The goal of the proposed pilot study is to develop a new methodological approach that integrates the analysis of meetings and network interactions. The proposed study is high risk due to the complexity and novelty of the planned methodology, which brings multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on a multilevel analysis. If successful, the proposed study will have high payoff in its enhanced ability to adequately theorize participatory decision-making by giving equal consideration to both the meeting context where actual decisions are made, and the broader set of network interactions that shape meeting participants' understandings of the issues and relationships with each other. The proposed pilot study will launch a research trajectory with the potential to benefit society by conceptualizing and disseminating more effective practices of 'participatory' environmental governance, thereby reducing the number of intractable conflicts among stakeholders that result in further damage to the environment. Findings could also benefit other fields that espouse 'participatory' decision-making, such as international development and community-based health. Improvements in decision-making practices could benefit the many Americans whose lives are affected by environmental and other challenges that are being addressed by local task forces, committees, and councils.

环境治理正日益从自上而下的方法（官僚和科学家做出决策）转向“参与式”方法（不同利益相关群体的代表共同做出决策）。然而，事实证明，实现让所有利益相关群体都有发言权的目标具有挑战性。要开发一个适当的概念模型来说明平等主义决策实际上是什么样子以及如何实施，还有很多工作要做。大多数研究都将分析重点放在协商决策的利益相关者会议上，或者关注影响这些会议决策的利益相关者网络之间更广泛的互动。就其本身而言，这些方法都有严重的局限性。拟议试点研究的目标是开发一种新的方法，整合会议分析和网络交互。由于计划方法的复杂性和新颖性，拟议的研究具有高风险，它带来了多种跨学科的观点来进行多层次的分析。如果成功，拟议的研究将通过平等考虑做出实际决策的会议背景以及塑造会议参与者对问题和相互关系的理解的更广泛的网络互动，增强充分理论化参与决策的能力，从而获得很高的回报。拟议的试点研究将通过概念化和传播更有效的“参与式”环境治理实践，启动一条有可能造福社会的研究轨迹，从而减少利益相关者之间导致环境进一步破坏的棘手冲突。研究结果还可能使其他支持“参与式”决策的领域受益，例如国际发展和社区卫生。决策实践的改进可以使许多美国人受益，他们的生活受到环境和当地工作组、委员会和理事会正在解决的其他挑战的影响。