Evaluating Collaborative Institutions in Context: The Case of Regional Water Management in Southern California

Sara Hughes and Stephanie Pincetl
Additional contact information
Sara Hughes: University of California, Los Angeles, Institute for the Environment and Sustainability; current affiliation: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Research Applications Laboratory, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, USA
Stephanie Pincetl: University of California, Los Angeles, Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, La Kretz Hall, Suite 300, 619 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

Environment and Planning C, 2014, vol. 32, issue 1, 20-38

Abstract: Regional collaborative institutions are seen as tools for improving collaboration and for reducing the inefficiency of fragmented management and planning. However, recent research has shown that the ability of new regional institutions to achieve these aims is contingent upon their relationship to the existing institutional landscape. This paper uses network analyses of six newly created Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) subregions in southern California to examine how their introduction intersects existing water management systems and whether the patterns of interaction in water planning have changed as a result. The results further our understanding of collaborative governance and regionalism by showing that the ability of regional institutions to facilitate new interactions can vary widely across a given institutional landscape. Further, while IRWM has helped to strengthen the water management network in southern California, it has not replaced existing watershed planning efforts. Interviews with water managers reveal there is support for IRWM but it is still too early to evaluate its effectiveness. Further research should explore the drivers and consequences of heterogeneity in IRWM and whether the incentives for participation are sufficient.

Keywords: collaborative institutions; regional governance; integrated regional water management; network analysis; southern California (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/c1210 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirc:v:32:y:2014:i:1:p:20-38

DOI: 10.1068/c1210

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Environment and Planning C
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().