Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social network position and causes of fatigue within participatory water governance networks

解决水资源可持续性等环境和社会挑战需要参与式治理。这一论点是由科学家提出的，他们的研究表明，公众参与既可以确保民主，又有助于更可持续地使用、分配和分配水。参与性论坛是国家和非国家行为体聚集在一起讨论公共问题的空间，是谈判社会变革的强大治理平台，可以支持积极的环境政策成果。官僚是参与论坛的关键角色，他们在政府和公民社会交汇处的独特地位意味着他们的工作往往涉及将他人的想法转化为政策。然而，当政府决定让非政府行为者参与公共决策时，就会出现意想不到的新挑战，这些挑战可能破坏公众参与的预期目标。本博士论文项目使用社会网络分析工具和组织疲劳模型，通过更好地理解一线水资源管理者（对水资源做出决策的自然资源官员）为何以及如何体验和应对参与疲劳、加剧的挫折感和有时伴随参与式水资源治理的压力，来推进自然资源治理参与式模式的理论和实践。这个项目的研究结果将分发给参与设计和执行参与性水管理的研究参与者和各种政府和非政府组织。本项目的总体目标是了解官员如何理解参与性水治理（PWG）背景下的参与疲劳，以及为什么他们使用定性和定量方法的结合，从探索性（第一阶段）发展到验证性（第二阶段）的数据收集和分析阶段。这些方法包括积极参与观察、半结构化访谈、社会网络分析和文化共识分析。由于参与是政府行为体在实施参与式水资源管理时面临的一个关键挑战，因此对这一现象进行更深入的理解可以为参与式治理空间的设计提供信息，从而减轻疲劳，并产生更好的水资源政策成果。这项工作的发现具有全球意义，因为参与式水治理模式在有兴趣应对新出现的环境挑战的国家中日益流行。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Resolving environmental and social challenges like water sustainability requires participatory governance. This argument has been posed by scientists whose research suggests that public participation can both secure democracy and contribute to more sustainable use, allocation, and distribution of water. Participatory forums—spaces where state- and non-state actors come together to discuss public issues—are powerful governance platforms for negotiating societal change and can support positive environmental policy outcomes. Bureaucrats are key actors in participatory forums, and their unique position at the intersection of government and civil society means that their work often involves translating the ideas of others into policy. However, when governments decide to involve non-governmental actors in public decision-making, new and unexpected challenges emerge that can undermine the intended goals of public participation. This doctoral dissertation project uses tools for social network analysis and models of organizational fatigue to advance the theory and practice of participatory modes of natural resources governance by developing a better understanding of why and how frontline water managers—natural resource bureaucrats who make decisions about water— experience and navigate participation fatigue, intensified frustration and overwhelm that sometimes accompanies participatory water governance. The findings of this project will be disseminated to research participants and diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in designing and implementing participatory water governance.The overarching goal of this project is to understand how bureaucrats understand participation fatigue within the context of participatory water governance (PWG) and why they experience it the way that do using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies thatprogresses from an exploratory (Phase I) to a confirmatory (Phase II) phase of data collection and analysis. These methods include active participant observation, semi-structured interviews, social network analysis and cultural consensus analysis. Because participation is a key challenge that government actors face when implementing participatory water management, developing a more formative understanding of this phenomenon can inform the design of participatory governance spaces that mitigate fatigue and lead to better water policy outcomes. The findings of this work hold global significance as participatory water governance models become an increasingly popular strategy among nations interested in addressing emerging environmental challenges.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.