The Modern Guide identifies five core characteristics of contemporary networks and translates these into ten key pieces of guidance for researchers and practitioners. Arguing that a knowledge–practice gap has emerged due to the lack of contact between network practitioners and researchers, contributors chart a more collaborative future for the field. They identify how research can be effectively translated and implemented to shape the future of social networks. This Modern Guide highlights the key dimensions of today’s networks, advancing knowledge of how networks operate and how they will function in the future. It showcases the diversity of these networks through extensive case studies, examining experiments in network structure, governance, management, leadership, and evaluation. Combining academic perspectives with practice-based insights, it pushes disciplinary boundaries and provides unique insights into researching and participating in social networks. Providing a state-of-the-art overview of modern networks, it will prove invaluable to academics and researchers in organisation studies, public administration and management, and social networks. It will also be a useful resource for practitioners seeking guidance on how to adapt to the rapid evolution of networks.

This insightful Handbook presents readers with a comprehensive range of original research within the field of Collaborative Public Management (CPM). As a central area of study and practice in public administration, the Handbook explores the most important questions facing collaboration and provides future research directions and new areas of study. Featuring expert contributions from a diverse range of scholars, this Handbook showcases the emergence of collaborative governance research and charts connections among the multiple arenas of CPM; including public/private partnerships, emergency management and climate change management. Chapters cover the fundamental practices and limitations of CPM as well as future possibilities. Reflecting on leading theories and research, the Handbook argues that CPM is both an evolving field, as well as a varied and maturing one that is worthy of continued exploration. The Handbook will be a valuable resource to scholars and graduate students in subjects such as public administration and public policy, who are interested in examining current research and approaches within the field. The examination of collaborative initiatives will also be beneficial to administrative leaders in public services who want to understand how to lead and manage more dynamic arrangements.

What do public administrators and policy analysts have in common? Their work is undertaken within networks formed when different organizations align to accomplish a policy function. This second edition of Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy offers a conceptual framework for describing governance networks and provides a theoretical and empirical foundation in their construction. Based on research and real-life experience, the book highlights the interplay between public actors and policy tools, details the skills and functions of public administrators in the context of networked relationships, and identifies the reforms and trends in governing that lead to governance networks. This practical text makes complex concepts accessible, so that readers can engage in them, apply them, and deepen their understanding of the dynamics unfolding around them. This second edition includes: A dedicated chapter on "complexity friendly" meso-level theories to examine core questions facing governance network analysis. New applications drawn from the authors' own work in watershed governance, transportation planning, food systems development, electric energy distribution, the regulation of energy, and response and recovery from natural disasters, as well as from unique computational modeling of governance networks. Instructor and student support materials, including PowerPoint (R) presentations and writable case study templates, may be found on an accompanying eResource page. Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy, 2e is an indispensable core text for graduate and postgraduate courses on governance and collaboration in schools of Public Administration/Management and Public Policy.