Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Cross-sector collaborative networks are frequently used to address large-scale public problems such as reducing health disparities, improving education outcomes, revitalizing cities, or managing natural resources. Inherent in these cross-sector collaborative networks is the role of the citizen. Although the importance of citizen participation is often acknowledged, there is little empirical evidence explaining the observable effect of involving citizens in such networks. This mixed-methods study explores the question: How does citizen participation in cross-sector collaborative networks affect network process outcomes?

This study analyzes cross-sector collaborative networks. Specific networks were selected for this study based on their focus in one of America’s 10 least-healthy states, as determined by America’s Health Rankings in 2018. These states include Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The study sample includes networks that were recorded from 2010 through 2017 by communities using the PARTNER Tool, which was created by the Center on Network Science at the University of Colorado Denver to make network analysis accessible to practitioners. The sample Includes 62 formal, goal-oriented, inter-organizational networks with some citizen participants; 40% (n=25) of the networks in the sample involve citizens to some extent. Communities self-select to use the PARTNER Tool, which enables networks to map and measure the connections among participants (Varda 2011). Common ways these networks reported seeking to affect public policy include: advocating for policies that would improve the quality of health services; increasing public awareness of policy issues; increasing knowledge and resource sharing among cross-sector organizations; and garnering community support for public policy issues.

The data used in this study were derived from two primary sources: 1) survey data collected by communities using the PARTNER Tool, and 2) website/document review of the networks with an online presence. The network is the unit of analysis in this study. Quantitative data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression, OLS regression, and analysis of variance to test four hypotheses. Qualitative data were analyzed using classical content analysis and constant comparative analysis to expand the interpretation of quantitative results; illustrate, enhance, and clarify quantitative findings with qualitative findings; and add ‘real life’ examples to quantitative results.

Results of this study offer insight into the association between citizen participation and planning processes, trust among network members, perceptions of network success, and overall connectivity within the network. Preliminary findings show that citizen participation in cross-sector collaborative networks is not significantly associated with increased levels of trust within networks or perceptions of network success but is associated with significantly higher levels of connectivity among network participants.

This analysis advances knowledge of the relative importance of having citizens participate in collaborative networks, and which network process outcomes can most benefit from citizen participation. Improving network process outcomes will theoretically enhance a network’s ability to achieve the policy outcomes they seek. This improved empirical understanding of how citizen participation contributes to collaborative network process outcomes can inform network leaders’, policy makers’, and service providers’ strategic decisions when working to influence the policy process through cross-sector collaborative networks.