Network Governance

Concepts, Theories, and Applications

Naim Kapucu, Qian Hu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781351056526
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Öffentlichsarbeit & Verwaltung

Network governance has received much attention within the fields of public administration and policy in recent years, but surprisingly few books are designed specifically to help students, researchers, and practitioners examine key concepts, synthesize the growing body of literature into reliable frameworks, and to bridge the theory-practice gap by exploring network applications. Network Governance: Concepts, Theories, and Applications is the first textbook to focus on interorganizational networks and network governance from the perspective of public policy and administration, asking important questions such as: How are networks designed and developed? How are they governed, and what type of leadership do they require? To whom are networks accountable, and when are they effective? How can network governance contribute to effective delivery of public services and policy implementation?

In this timely new book, authors Naim Kapucu and Qian Hu define and examine key concepts, propose exciting new theoretical frameworks to synthetize the fast-growing body of network research in public policy and administration, and provide detailed discussion of applications. Network Governance offers not only a much-needed systematic examination of existing knowledge, but it also goes much further than existing books by discussing the applications of networks in a wide range of management practice and policy domains—including natural resource management, environmental protection, public health, emergency and crisis management, law enforcement, transportation, and community and economic development. Chapters include understudied network research topics such as power and decision-making in interorganizational networks, virtual networks, global networks, and network analysis applications. What sets this book apart is the introduction of social network analysis and coverage of applications of social network analysis in the policy and management domains. PowerPoint slides and a sample syllabus are available for adopters on an accompanying website. Drawing on literature from sociology, policy sciences, organizational studies, and economics, this textbook will be required reading for courses on network governance, collaborative public management, cross-sector governance, and collaboration and partnerships in programs of public administration, public affairs, and public policy.

Section III

Applications

10 Networks in Emergency and Crisis Management

Earlier, we highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing complex policy and social problems. Collaboration is imperative to deal with challenges faced during emergency and crisis events. It is believed that “emergency management is an ideal context” for studying interorganizational collaboration (McGuire & Silvia, 2010, p. 280). Over time, emergency and crisis management has grown from a highly centralized and hierarchical incident command system to the one that emphasizes partnerships, coordination, and collaboration (Waugh & Streib, 2006; Comfort, Waugh, & Cigler, 2012). This chapter highlights the importance of networks in emergency and crisis management, as emergency and crisis management often require different sectors to work together and coordinate their efforts. It outlines the nature of emergency and crisis management as a layered function, involving multiple networks of intergovernmental and cross-sector agencies. Furthermore, this chapter develops a framework for investigating contributing factors to effective interorganizational collaboration during disasters. The chapter illustrates how interorganizational networks are designed in response to disasters and discusses how to evaluate the performance of emergency and crisis management networks. In addition, it provides application examples of network analysis in emergency and crisis management. This chapter addresses the following questions:

• What does the emergency and crisis management system look like?
• Why are networks and coordination imperative in emergency and crisis management?
• What are the different types and structures of emergency and crisis management networks?
• How does one evaluate network performance in emergency and crisis management networks?
• What does crisis network leadership mean in emergency and crisis management networks?

Emergency and Crisis Management Networks: A Multilevel and Cross-Sector Emergency and Crisis Management System

Emergency and crisis management networks refer to interorganizational arrangements dealing with emergencies. The current US emergency and crisis management system is multilevel; involving federal, state, regional and local emergency management agencies and other government agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations, civic organizations, faith-based organizations, and businesses at community levels (as shown in Figure 10.1a). Each level of government plays a crucial role in managing emergencies and crises. At the federal level, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates efforts with other federal departments and agencies in all mission areas of disaster management: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. To work with state and local emergency management agencies, FEMA established ten regional offices to coordinate disaster response efforts and allocate resources in collaborating with state and local governments (FEMA, 2018a).

Emergency & Crises Management Networks

Interorganizational arrangements dealing with emergencies and crises.

Figure 10.1aA Multilevel and Cross-Sector Emergency and Crisis Management System (adapted from Kapucu & Sadiq, 2016)

State-level emergency management agencies work closely with both the federal, regional, and local emergency management agencies. For instance, in face of a disaster, the Florida Division of Emergency Management coordinates resources and assistance at the state level. It assesses and monitors the disaster and decides whether to request federal assistance to prepare, respond to, and recover from disasters. Local governments, especially county governments, play a crucial role in local emergency management (Waugh, 1994). The county office of emergency management often establishes close relationships with local public agencies, nonprofits, faith-based, and for-profit organizations to prepare for and to respond to disasters.

From an organizational network perspective, emergency and crisis management networks include a wide range of public agencies at different levels and across jurisdictional and other organizations across sector boundaries, working together to deal with emergencies (Kapucu & Demiroz, 2017; Lukensmeyer, 2007). As Figure 10.1b demonstrates, the network not only involves vertical relations among government organizations across all levels, but also includes the horizontal relations among emergency management organizations and other government organizations (represented by squares), nonprofit organizations (represented by diamonds), and private organizations (represented by triangles). For instance, in response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting, 17 local government agencies, ten state government agencies, seven federal government agencies, 17 nonprofit organizations, six businesses, and one international government agency were involved in response efforts (City of Orlando Office of Emergency Management, 2016).

Figure 10.1bA Network Depiction of the Emergency and Crisis Management System

The Importance of Networks in Emergency and Crisis Management

A network approach to interorganizational coordination is critical for the effectiveness of emergency and crisis management (Comfort & Hasse, 2006; Nohrstedt, Bynander, Parker, & Hart, 2018; Waugh & Streib, 2006). On one hand, emergency management requires careful planning and systematic structuring of capacities and resources to prepare for scenarios. On the other hand, most emergencies and crises are low-probability but high-consequence events that occur and involve high levels of uncertainty, and potentially disastrous consequences (Waugh & Streib, 2006). Emergencies—from hurricanes to terrorist attacks—require immediate, well-coordinated response across jurisdictional, sectoral, and organizational boundaries.

Although the traditional command and control structure remains important for crisis management, a collaborative network approach is also necessary. The catastrophic failure in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reflects the limitations of a rigid bureaucratic structure (Kettl, 2006). In the case of Katrina, the top-down chain of command constrains the timely exchange of critical information across government levels and jurisdictions, preventing managers from receiving operational feedback to adapt the system within dynamic environments of disasters (Comfort, 2007; Kettl, 2006). This top-down communication structure explained why intelligence agencies failed to share information nor predict prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks (Kapucu, 2006; Moynihan, 2005). The long vertical communication line also caused delays in evacuation and resource allocation, making it difficult for intergovernmental coordination in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Kettl, 2006).

Furthermore, the engagement of diverse organizations demands a network approach to coordinate emergency and crisis management efforts (Comfort, 2007). A hierarchical structure is needed to “provide the critical, unifying structure to the capacity of complex organizations;” however, emergency response “requires horizontal relationships to put that capacity to work” (Kettl, 2006, p. 279). Horizontal relations are needed to enable effective communication and coordination among a diverse range of organizations of heterogeneous size, backgrounds, and capacity (Comfort, 2007). Compared with the hierarchical (vertical) approach, a network (horizontal) approach focuses on relations among participating organizations. An interorganizational network allows organizations to develop multiple types of ties, which can foster the growth of trust and social capital, an important contributing factor for effective coordination (Kapucu & Hu, 2016). Flexible and frequent communication in a network can help organizations overcome organizational differences. In addition, a network structure allows flexibility in the dynamic context of emergencies and crises (Hu, Knox, & Kapucu, 2014).

Both a command-control bureaucratic structure and a network structure are reflected in the adoption of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the Emergence Support Function (ESF)-based system. These systems are built with guidance from federal policies, frameworks, and accreditation standards applicable to emergency management agencies. The ICS provides a hierarchical structure that operates around five functional sections: command, operation, planning, logistics, and finance/administration (FEMA, 2008, p. 1). When an incident occurs, the incident commander, with the support from command staff, including a public information officer, a safety officer, and a liaison officer, issues a unified command to all the involved agencies (Bigley & Roberts, 2001; Kapucu & Hu, 2016; Moynihan, 2009). The ICS highlights vertical chain of command, unified command, and hierarchy of authority to establish standard processes to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in incident management (FEMA, 2008). The ESF-based system, with a designated coordinator, and primary and support agencies, demonstrates an emphasis on horizontal organizational coordination, processes, and structures (Kapucu & Hu, 2016). The ESFs define the roles, responsibilities, and coordination structure among organizations through ESFs (FEMA, 2008). According to the ESFs, primary agencies and support agencies under each ESFs should coordinate with one another in response to disasters. Both the ICS and ESF-based system are of value to emergency and crisis management. A hybrid model of both systems is often adopted in practice for NIMS compliance and accreditation purposes (Kapucu & Hu, 2016).

In fact, a collaborative network approach has been highlighted in recent federal policies, initiatives, and guidelines to engage whole communities in emergency and crisis management (Hu et al., 2014). A federal example is the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which aims to provide “high-threat and high-density” urban communities with funding to develop response capabilities and improve preparedness planning (Jordan, 2010). The UASI has promoted cross-jurisdictional collaboration in...