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

环境治理正越来越多地从由官僚和科学家做出决策的自上而下的方法转变为由不同利益相关者群体的代表共同做出决策的“参与式”方法。然而，事实证明，实现给予所有利益相关者群体发言权的目标具有挑战性。要建立一个足够的概念模型，说明平等主义的决策实际上是什么样子，以及它可能如何实施，还有很多工作要做。大多数研究都将分析集中在谈判决策的利益攸关方会议上，或者关注影响这些会议决定的利益攸关方网络之间更广泛的互动。就它们本身而言，这些方法都有严重的局限性。拟议试点研究的目标是制定一种新的方法，将会议和网络互动的分析结合起来。由于计划方法的复杂性和新颖性，拟议的研究风险很高，这带来了多个跨学科的视角来进行多层次的分析。如果成功，拟议的研究将获得很高的回报，因为它通过平等考虑做出实际决定的会议背景以及塑造会议参与者对问题和彼此关系的理解的更广泛的网络互动，增强了充分建立参与性决策的理论的能力。拟议的试点研究将启动一条研究轨道，通过概念化和传播更有效的“参与性”环境治理做法，从而减少利益攸关方之间导致进一步破坏环境的棘手冲突，从而有可能造福社会。研究结果还可以使其他支持“参与式”决策的领域受益，例如国际发展和社区卫生。决策实践的改进可能会让许多美国人受益，他们的生活受到当地特别工作组、委员会和委员会正在应对的环境和其他挑战的影响。

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.