Managing Complex Networks: Strategies for the Public Sector

Although the concept of policy networks is now well-established in the field, most research has to content itself with description and analysis of their contribution to policy failure. This book goes further. It accepts policy networks as a fundamental characteristic of modern societies and presents an overview of the strategies for the management of these networks, as well as illustrating the various strategies for intervention.

Table of Contents:
Foreword - R A W Rhodes Introduction - W J M Kickert, E-H Klijn and J F M Koppenjan A Management Perspective on Policy Networks PART ONE: POLICY NETWORKS AND NETWORK MANAGEMENT: A STATE OF THE ART Policy Networks - E-H Klijn An Overview Public Management and Network Management - W J M Kickert and J F M Koppenjan An Overview PART TWO: NETWORK DYNAMICS AND MANAGEMENT The Dynamics of Closedness in Networks - L Schaap and M J W van Twist Managing Perceptions in Networks - C J A M Termeer and J F M Koppenjan Strategies and Games in Networks - E-H Klijn and G R Teisman Analyzing and Managing Dynamic Processes in Complex Networks Instruments for Network Management - J A de Bruijn and E F ten Heuvelhof Managing Implementation Processes in Complex Networks - L J O′Toole Jr, K I Hanf and P L Hupe Normative Notes - J A de Bruijn and A B Ringeling Perspectives on Networks PART THREE: CONCLUSION: STRATEGIES FOR NETWORK MANAGEMENT Managing Networks in the Public Sector - W J M Kickert, E-H Klijn and J F M Koppenjan Findings and Reflections

About the Author :
Walter Kickert is Professor of Public Administration at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Erik-Hans Klijn is a Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. His research interests and publications focus on policy networks, housing policy and public private partnerships. Joop Koppenjan is a lecturer at the Faculty of Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management at the Technical University of Delft. His publications focus on policy processes, governance of policy projects and network management. CONTRIBUTORS JA de Bruijn Technical University of Delft K I Hanf Erasmus University E H ten Heuvelhof Technical University of Delft P L Hupe Erasmus University L J O′Toole jr. University of Georgia (USA) A B Ringeling Catholic University of Nijmegen L Schaap Erasmus University C J A M Termeer Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Den Haag G R Teisman Erasmus University M J W van Twist Technical University Delft

Review :
`Today some of the most interesting advances in network management theory and its applications to the public sector find their origins in Europe. This text [is] well worth the attention of serious policy and public administration scholars... and graduate students′ - Professor Richard Stillman II, Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver `Networks or subsytems are the unit of analysis to which we must turn our attention if progress is to continue in the social sciences and applied fields. This volume points the way′ - Professor Gary L Wamsley, Center for Public Administration and Policy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University