Environmental science and policy: A meta-synthesis of case studies on boundary organizations and spanning processes

Jensen-Ryan, Danielle; German, Laura

doi:10.1093/scipol/scy032

Cited by 19 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Recent literature supports a boundary spanner’s involvement in managing or mitigating power imbalances early on and throughout the engagement process (Delaine et al 2015 ; van Meerkerk and Edelenbos 2018 ; Liu et al 2018 ; Jensen-Ryan and German 2019 ). The consequences of not managing resource, knowledge, or positional imbalances are often significant and may lead to increased stakeholder conflict, lack of trust, or high stakeholder attrition.…”

Section: Findings and Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary spanning in the context of stakeholder engagement in collaborative water management

Burbach

Eaton

Delozier

2023

Socio Ecol Pract Res

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Boundary spanners are individuals able to reach across organizational borders to build relationships and interconnections to help better manage complex problems. What is not clear, however, are the skills that allow boundary spanners to cross diverse scales, sectors, and organizations. To address this gap, we use a qualitative case study approach to examine evidence for how boundary spanning skills are implemented in the context of stakeholder engagement for addressing water challenges in agricultural settings. We employ a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis approach to examine interview data collected with 25 stakeholder participants as well as direct observation of engagement behavior. Interview instruments were designed to elicit responses related to six deductively derived skills of boundary spanning: relationship builder, authentic leadership, trustworthiness, autonomy, perspective-taking, and effective science communication. Our inductive analysis identified evidence for three additional boundary spanning skills. Our study finds that some boundary spanning skills were exhibited more than others, and their frequency of use varied throughout the engagement process, and certain skills were used interchangeably. This research provides guidance on what boundary spanning looks like in action, and thus provides guidance on identifying and enhancing these skills in stakeholder engagement for water resource management.

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Section: Findings and Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary spanning in the context of stakeholder engagement in collaborative water management

Burbach

Eaton

Delozier

2023

Socio Ecol Pract Res

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“…• Building bridges linking the different communities through facilitators and boundary organizations [43][44][45][46] that provide a neutral space for discussion and problem-solving.…”

Section: Accelerating Science-policy-practice Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating climate research and action in cities through advanced science-policy-practice partnerships

et al. 2021

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Cities have become increasingly recognized as key sites for climate research and action. Recently, these efforts have been significantly advanced through science-policy-practice partnerships. The objective of this paper is to assess how these partnerships are structured, the research and action agenda that underpins them, and how this agenda is being articulated and implemented. The assessment also helps to define some of the conceptual and operational gaps faced by the science-policy-practice community and how they can be addressed. The work evaluates the critical conditions for promoting these advances including the definition and fulfillment of knowledge needs, the integration of different perspectives and approaches, establishment of pathways to finance the urban climate research and action community, and creation and promotion of new partnerships. The paper concludes with a series of strategies and recommendations for how targeted policy adjustments can accelerate and support the production of actionable knowledge and this integrated researcher-policymaker-practitioner community.

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Process ownership in science–practice collaborations: the special role of transdisciplinary processes in sustainable transitioning

Scholz

Steiner

2023

Sustain Sci

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The complexity and importance of environmental, societal, and other challenges require new forms of science and practice collaboration. We first describe the complementarity of method-driven, theory-based, and (to the extent possible) validated scientific knowledge in contrast to real-world, action-based, and contextualized experimental knowledge. We argue that a thorough integration of these two modes of knowing is necessary for developing ground-breaking innovations and transitions for sustainable development. To reorganize types of science–practice collaborations, we extend Stokes’s Pasteur’s quadrant with its dimensions for the relevance of (i) (generalized) fundamental knowledge and (ii) applications when introducing (iii) process ownership, i.e., who controls the science–practice collaboration process. Process ownership is a kind of umbrella variable which comprises leadership (with the inflexion point of equal footing or co-leadership) and mutuality (this is needed for knowledge integration and developing socially robust orientations) which are unique selling points of transdisciplinarity. The extreme positions of process ownership are applied research (science takes control) and consulting (practice takes process ownership). Ideal transdisciplinary processes include authentic co-definition, co-representation, co-design, and co-leadership of science and practice. We discuss and grade fifteen approaches on science–practice collaboration along the process ownership scale and reflect on the challenges to make transdisciplinarity real.

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Environmental science and policy: A meta-synthesis of case studies on boundary organizations and spanning processes

Cited by 19 publications

References 93 publications

Boundary spanning in the context of stakeholder engagement in collaborative water management

Boundary spanning in the context of stakeholder engagement in collaborative water management

Accelerating climate research and action in cities through advanced science-policy-practice partnerships

Process ownership in science–practice collaborations: the special role of transdisciplinary processes in sustainable transitioning

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