Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 20th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview Public Policy Analysis Development Issues Author(s) Dangis Gudelis Mykolas Romeris University Vilnius Lithuania Title Network governance and public policy File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Dangis Gudelis Abstract The article will discuss the network governance as a theoretical approach which could contribute to the understanding of policy making process and to the finding of effective solutions to various policy problems. The network governance approach is developed on the basis of the interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical research of the last thirty years, including contributions from political science (Rhodes 1997; Mayntz 1998), public administration (Klijn, Koppenjan et al. 1995; Provan and Milward 1995; Kickert, Klijn et al. 1997; Simon 1997; Klijn, Klijn et al. 2000; Agranoff 2007; Provan, Kun et al. 2009), economic sociology (Granovetter 1983; Granovetter 1985; Granovetter 2003), and behavioral economics (Kahneman and Tversky 1979; Thaler and Sunstein 2008). The approach is based on several assumptions: 1) bounded rationality: human beings have limited abilities to process information, to focus attention, to memorize, they thinking is dependent on habits and frames (Simon 1997; Kahneman and Tversky 1979); thus they often make wrong decisions; 2) bounded morality: it implies that human beings obtain the moral sense and the ability to act according to moral obligations and responsibility, but such moral motives are limited by natural selfishness, bad habits, the weakness of will (akrasia), and ignorance; 3) network embededdness: human beings as well as organizations are embedded in various social networks, including individuals and public, non-governmental and private organizations; 4) participation of society and business in the policy making process: it stems from the definition of ‘governance’ which is understood as the interaction between government institutions and various other social and political actors resulting in various policy outcomes. Within the network governance approach the distinction between governed and passive networks will be developed. Passive networks are regular interrelationships of various actors based on some communalities (identity, values, geographic proximity, etc.) and mutual trust. Governed networks are the networks which members have agreed on common goals and means to achieve them and they made commitments to act according to the agreement. The article will discuss different dimensions of the network governance approach: 1) normative dimension: how and what public policies ought to be made? 2) ontological dimension: what is public policy? What are policy actors and how they interact in policy making process? 3) epistemological dimension: how public policy could be investigated? The network governance approach could be understood as a frame which has consequences for various policy actors: politicians, policy analysts, society and business. It could also contribute to the self-understanding of sciences of public policy and public administration. Politicians acting within this frame would perceive that many policy problems are caused by bounded rationality and morality of people and they look for interventions how to change people’s thinking and motivation. They also would try to foresee how their decisions will affect human behavior taking into account the facts of bounded rationality and morality as well as network embededdness. Policy analysts would acknowledge the bounded rationality and morality of policy actors and try to develop policy insights that could broaden the number of policy alternatives. Society and business organizations would become more open to learning from mistakes and seek how to exploit the potential of collaboration with other people and organizations.
