Governing Complexity in Times of Turbulence

‘Unpredictability, uncertainty and rapidly, drastically changing governance problems – in short: turbulence – challenge public organizations. This important edited volume discusses how public organizations respond to turbulence, both within their environment and within the organizations themselves. The empirical chapters provide fascinating insights into reactions within different policy fields and illustrate key organizational responses, centered on design, agency power and resilience.’
– Klaus H. Goetz, University of Munich, Germany

‘The editors are to be congratulated for bringing together a unique selection of cross- and multi-disciplinary approaches describing and analysing the complexities of policy implementation across a wide range of sectors, fields and projects. The specific chapter examples and circumstances each reveal different dynamics. But the macro-lessons they provide, arising from real-life practicalities and challenges of cross-sectoral engagement, are especially noteworthy and vital for all of us interested in pursuing public engagement and delivering public value.’
­– Ellen Hazelkorn, BH Associates and Professor Emerita, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

‘Clear governance structures in a time of turbulence are essential to successfully navigating uncharted waters. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed strong and weak governance arrangements across the world. Honed by disaster experiences of cyclones, floods, bushfires over decades, Queensland, an Australian state, drew on a proven response framework, of clear governance arrangements and role clarity, with leaders invoking citizens to come along with them. Despite such well-established governance frameworks and strategies, the disruptive power of the pandemic still tested Queensland’s resolve. This publication demonstrates the value of understanding design, agency, and power to deliver resilience for current and future planning. This volume is an important addition for practitioners to examine and understand the governance of complexity, delivered in a systematic and considered way.’
– Andrew Curthoys, Cross River Rail, Queensland Government, Australia, Australasian BIM Advisory Board, Infrastructure CoLab and Asset Institute

‘The book could not have been published at a more appropriate time. Public sector organizations are facing enormous challenges in turbulent times, which means that there is need for change and adaptation. I am extremely impressed with how this book brings governing complexity to life. It is essential reading for public sector managers, professionals, students and researchers.’
– Jari Stenvall, Tampere University, Finland and member of the Independent Committee to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland

‘The COVID-19 crisis has served as a magnifying glass drawing our attention to the frequent emergence of crisis-induced turbulence and the need for public and private actors to engage in flexible adaptation and proactive innovation of governance solutions. This edited volume provides a timely and innovative theoretical perspective on this predicament and grounds this perspective in illuminating empirical analyses covering a lot of ground. It is bound to set the agenda for future governance research.’
– Jacob Torfing, Roskilde University, Denmark

Contributors: Elisa Bordin, Tomasz Braun, Dan Chamberlain, Deborah Che, Marzio Di Feo, Christine Flynn, Francesca Frigotto, Maria Laura Frigotto, Dominika Ewa Harasimiuk, Robyn Keast, Frans af Malmborg, Luigi Martino, David Noble, Rómulo Pinheiro, Amanda Scott, Katarzyna Sienkiewicz-Małyjurek, Martin Stangborli Time, Jarle Trondal, Jennifer Waterhouse, Geoff Woolcott

Contents:

Foreword xiii
Preface xvi

PART I SETTING THE STAGE
1 Governing complexity in times of turbulence 2
Jarle Trondal, Rómulo Pinheiro, Robyn Keast and David Noble
2 Complexity, resilience and public governance in times of
turbulence 13
Jarle Trondal, Rómulo Pinheiro, Robyn Keast and David Noble

PART II DESIGN
3 Transformative ideas, sturdy organizations: varieties of
artificial intelligence policy in the Nordics 32
Frans af Malmborg and Jarle Trondal
4 Public–private partnership (PPP) in the context of
European Union policy initiatives on critical infrastructure
protection (CIP) from cyber attacks 53
Marzio Di Feo and Luigi Martino
5 Policy innovation and organizational design: connecting
theory and practice 79
Jarle Trondal

PART III AGENCY
6 Project sustainability and complex environments: the role
of relationship networks and collaborative agency 101
Amanda Scott, Robyn Keast, Geoff Woolcott, Daniel
Chamberlain and Deborah Che
7 Governing complexity: the public organizations’ shift in
digital transformation 126
Dominika Ewa Harasimiuk and Tomasz Braun
8 The race to institutional change: the slow road to policy
change in sexuality education 145
Elisa Bordin and Rómulo Pinheiro

PART IV POWER
9 Power dynamics in multisector and multilevel
coordination: the case of antimicrobial resistance 169
Martin Stangborli Time
10 Into the fray: conflict resolution in on-line environments 191
Jennifer Waterhouse

PART V RESILIENCE
11 How collaboration antecedents affect the resilience of local
governance networks 216
Katarzyna Sienkiewicz-Małyjurek
12 Turbulence within and beyond resilience in public
organizations: a study of Italian opera theatres 238
Maria Laura Frigotto and Francesca Frigotto

PART VI EPILOGUE
13 Towards a research and policy agenda for governing complexity 260
Robyn Keast, Christine Flynn, David Noble, Jarle Trondal
and Rómulo Pinheiro

Index