INSIDE COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS: TEN LESSONS FOR PUBLIC MANAGERS

AGRANOFF, ROBERT

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, n.º 6-Suplemento/2006, pág. 56 a 65

LESSON 1: THE NETWORK IS NOT THE ONLY VEHICLE OF COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT. LESSON 2: MANAGERS CONTINUE TO DO THE BULK OF THEIR WORK WITHIN THE HIERARCHY. LESSON 3: NETWORK INVOLVEMENT BRINGS SEVERAL ADVANTAGES THAT KEEP BUSY ADMINISTRATORS INVOLVED. LESSON 4: NETWORKS ARE DIFFERENT FROM ORGANIZATIONS BUT NOT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. LESSON 5: NOT ALL NETWORKS MAKE THE TYPES OF POLICY AND PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS ASCRIBED TO THEM IN THE LITERATURE. LESSON 6: COLLABORATIVE DECISIONS OR AGREEMENTS ARE THE PRODUCTS OF A PARTICULAR TYPE OF MUTUAL LEARNING AND ADJUSTMENT. LESSON 7: THE MOST DISTINCTIVE COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITY OF ALL OF THE NETWORKS PROVED TO BE THEIR WORK IN PUBLIC SECTOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT. LESSON 8: DESPITE THE COOPERATIVE SPIRIT AND AURA OF ACCOMMODATION IN COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS, NETWORKS ARE NOT WITHOUT CONFLICTS AND POWER ISSUES. LESSON 9: NETWORKS HAVE THEIR COLLABORATIVE COSTS, AS WELL AS THEIR BENEFITS. LESSON 10: NETWORKS ALTER THE BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE ONLY IN THE MOST MARGINAL WAYS: THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO BE REPLACING PUBLIC BUREAUCRACIES IN ANY WAY. CONCLUSION.