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Do governance networks build collaborative capacity for sustainable development? Insights from Solomon Islands

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Abstract

To build capacity for addressing complex sustainable development challenges, governments, development agencies, and non-governmental organizations are making substantial investments in governance networks. Yet, enthusiasm for establishing governance networks is not always matched by empirical evidence on their effectiveness. This gap challenges these groups to know whether investing in governance networks is worth their time and effort; a weighing-up that is particularly critical in contexts of limited resources. Through a qualitative case study in Solomon Islands, we evaluate the extent to which a governance network, called the Malaita Provincial Partners for Development, contributed to four dimensions of collaborative governance capacity: individual, relational, organizational, and institutional. We find that the network made moderate contributions to individual, relational and organizational capacity, while institutional capacity remained low despite the presence of the network. Based on these findings, we argue that governance networks are not a panacea. Continued efforts are needed to establish when, how, and in what contexts collaborative networks are effective for building collaborative capacity for sustainable development.

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Notes

  1. Please note, data was collected in 2014. A series of institutional and international moves among the authorship team lead to the delay in publication.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the members of the Malaita Provincial Partners for Development for their participation in this research. This work was supported by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR projects FIS/2010/057 and FIS/2012/074), and the CGIAR Research Programs on Aquatic Agricultural Systems and Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) which were supported by contributors to the CGIAR Trust Fund. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the Australian Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

    Jessica L. Blythe

  2. WorldFish, Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia

    Philippa J. Cohen

  3. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Philippa J. Cohen

  4. Australian National Centre for Ocean Resource and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Hampus Eriksson

  5. WorldFish, Honiara, Solomon Islands

    Hampus Eriksson

  6. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Daykin Harohau

  7. Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Daykin Harohau

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  1. Jessica L. Blythe
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Correspondence to Jessica L. Blythe.

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Blythe, J.L., Cohen, P.J., Eriksson, H. et al. Do governance networks build collaborative capacity for sustainable development? Insights from Solomon Islands. Environmental Management 70, 229–240 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01644-5

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