Network Governance Analysis

Network governance analysis studies how public problems are addressed not by single hierarchical agencies but by networks of interdependent organizations — government bodies, nonprofits, firms and community groups — coordinating to deliver services or make policy. It combines the relational tools of social network analysis with Keith Provan and Patrick Kenis's influential 2008 typology of network governance, which distinguishes shared (participant-governed) networks, lead-organization-governed networks, and network administrative organizations. By mapping the structure of ties, computing network metrics, classifying the governance mode and relating these to outcomes, the method explains how a collaborative network is held together and why it performs as it does.