Come Work With Me: Overview and Determinants of Local Government Networks

Abstract

There is a burgeoning number of studies examining network performance and accountability. Very few studies, however, have examined (1) detailed collaborative activities and (2) potential factors for determining network formation. This essay provides such a systematic analysis. Two-hundred and eighteen cases of collaborative management in Thai local governments, classified into three policy areas (environmental management and natural resource preservation, public welfare, and education and cultural programs) are examined regarding modes of networked collaborations, network sizes, and network partners and their contributions to networks.

The findings show that local networked arrangements are diverse, with an average number of partners of five, and are common  when local governments deal with environmental management, natural resources and public welfare programs. But it is not the case for the educational policy area. The author also finds that volunteered civic groups are very active local partners; national and regional governmental agencies, however, do not engage much in promoting the work of local partnerships. Likewise, collaborations among local governments are very rare.

In addition, a logistic regression model has been constructed to explain the probability of network formation. Five major groups of explanatory variables are included: institutional, programmatic, managerial, political, and socioeconomic factors. Analyses show that the most significant factors in determining network formation include the nature of the policies/programs, management capacity, and socioeconomic context. Local political climate also has a significant effect on network formation, but only indirectly. This study delineates the importance of the programmatic, managerial, socioeconomic, and political factors that local adrninistrators may consider when forming networks.