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.
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. This pilot study developed a new methodological approach that integrated the analysis of meetings and network interactions. The study was high risk due to the complexity and novelty of the methodology, which brought multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on a multilevel analysis. The study had high payoff by developing a more comprehensive way to analyze the activities and outcomes of participatory decision-making groups tasked with environmental governance. Findings will enable more adequate theorization of participatory decision-making processes as well as having practical applications for groups engaged in these processes. The study examined a commission that was charged with developing city ordinance related to hydraulic fracturing, as a case study. This commission held eleven meetings over the course of three months. All meetings were videorecorded and transcribed. They were then analyzed using conversation analysis and frame analysis. In addition, most of the commission members shared copies of the email messages they wrote and received pertaining to the commission. These emails were analyzed using social network analysis and semantic network analysis. Local blogs and news media were also examined using semantic network analysis. Finally, several members of the commission and other key players were interviewed. The analyses of all of these forms of data were successfully integrated to illuminate four aspects of decision-making: 1. Trajectories of Information and Frames. The integrative methodology made it possible to trace new ideas for ordinance recommendations from their initial appearance in emails, through their presentation as motions in meetings and their evolution during meeting discussions, to specific recommendations approved by vote. In addition, the often contrasting frames that different commission members used to interpret these ideas were identified, and the evolution of these frames was traced over time. The study also examined the evolution of the ordinance text, from initial presentation of motions in meetings to the final language approved by the city council many months later. Finally, the study linked these findings to how the commission’s activities were portrayed in local environmental circles and the local news. 2. Influence of Relationships among Stakeholders on Decisions. Often in group processes, there are behind-the-scenes negotiations among group members that shape meeting decisions while being invisible on a meeting transcript. The approach developed in this study made it possible to connect meeting interactions with outside interactions, using email conversations as a proxy for outside interactions in general. 3. Agency of Social Actors. The study was able to contextualize the agency or influence of particular commission members in the meeting context with respect to interactions outside of the meetings. This involved two kinds of analyses. First, interactions among commission members in meetings were compared with interactions among commission members over email. Second, the potential influence of the broader social network of people who interacted with commission members was examined. 4. Perceptions and Practices of Decision-Making. The study traced the development of culturally specific norms of negotiation and collaboration as they emerged in commission meetings. Various factors shaping these norms were identified. The study also investigated how the commission’s decision-making practices were perceived by commission members and by the broader community, including city staff, environmental activists, and the local news media. The study launched a research trajectory that will have 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 can 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.
