A Framework for Governance Capacity: A Broad Perspective on Steering Efforts in Society

• Author: Jitske van Popering-Verkerk,Astrid Molenveld,Michael Duijn,Corniel van Leeuwen,Arwin van Buuren
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997211069932
• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997211069932

Administration & Society

2022, Vol. 54(9) 1767 –1794

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997211069932

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Article

A Framework for

Governance Capacity:

A Broad Perspective

on Steering Efforts in

Society

Jitske van Popering-Verkerk1,

Astrid Molenveld2, Michael Duijn1,2,

Corniel van Leeuwen1, and Arwin van Buuren2

Abstract

In the network society, the capacity to deal with societal issues is spread

among interacting actors in governance networks. Knowledge about

this capacity, often called “governance capacity,” is still fragmented and

quite incoherent. The aim of this study is therefore to gain an integrated

understanding of governance capacity. To do this, we conducted a literature

review and organized focus groups. This resulted in the selection of five

elements of governance capacity: (1) collective action, (2) coordination, (3)

resilience, (4) learning, and (5) resources. We used these elements to form

the first contours of a governance capacity framework.

Keywords

governance, governance capacity, framework

1GovernEUR, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

2Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The

Netherlands

Corresponding Author:

Jitske van Popering-Verkerk, GovernEUR, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738,

Room T17-23, Rotterdam 3000 DR, The Netherlands.

Email: vanpopering@erbs.eur.nl

1069932AAS0010.1177/00953997211069932Administration & Societyvan Popering-Verkerk et al.

research-article2022

1768 Administration & Society 54(9)

The Need for an Integrated Understanding of

Governance Capacity

In today’s network society, the capacity to deal with societal issues and to

realize public value is no longer limited to public authorities. It is spread

among many different actors and is influenced by their interactions and by

the context in which they operate. This collective capacity, often called gov-

ernance capacity, is the focus of this paper. Governance capacity becomes

visible when there is a quest for “concerted agency,” and actors have to col-

laborate to deal with a certain societal challenge, for example: when munici-

palities want to ensure public service delivery in urban neighborhoods

together with community-based initiatives and local welfare providers; or

when farmers want to improve fresh water supply by constructing new canals

in cooperation with water management authorities; or when innovative start-

ups try to cocreate sustainable energy solutions. In all three examples, the

realization of these ambitions depends upon collaboration between mutually

dependent (public, private, and societal) actors who possess unique resources

necessary to realize the objectives.

Although the theoretical and empirical work on governance is increasing,

knowledge about what constitutes governance capacity is still fragmented and

quite incoherent. Most scholars focus on a specific part of governance capacity.

For instance, knowledge on “adaptive capacity” focusses on the capacities of

governance actors and networks to adapt to a changing environment (e.g.,

Gupta et al., 2010; Pahl-Wostl, 2009; Termeer et al., 2010). Taking a similar

nonintegrative approach, studies on “collaborative capacity” have emphasized

the capacity of actors to engage in processes of collaboration and deliberation,

to align their ambitions, and to come to joint action (e.g., Healey, 1998;

Imperial, 2005; Innes & Booher, 2003; Weber et al., 2007). Meanwhile, authors

on “policy capacity” have concentrated their research on the capacities needed

to prepare and implement policy in a multi actor-setting (e.g., Parsons, 2004;

Wu et al., 2015). Also in recent attempts to assess governance capacity, only

specific capacities are taken into account. Like a framework on the capacities

to know, want and enable action in water governance (Koop et al., 2017), and a

framework to analyze the combination of formal and interactional capacities

(Stoker, 2019). All these related capacities seem to be relevant for governance

capacity, but do not cover the concept fully.

A more comprehensive and integrative understanding of governance

capacity is lacking. This comprehensive understanding contributes to the

debate on and analyses of governance capacity by scholars, and could help

actors to reflect on and develop their governance capacity. The research ques-

tion of this study is, how can governance capacity be understood in