Local Governance Networks in Face of Institutional Instability: Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience

The paper is premised on two hypotheses: that institutions are volatile, and that networks are a source of stability. Because institutions are deeply embedded in local service and governance networks, institutional instability... [ view full abstract ]

The paper is premised on two hypotheses: that institutions are volatile, and that networks are a source of stability. Because institutions are deeply embedded in local service and governance networks, institutional instability can be disruptive. The objective of this paper is to document the processes that contribute to network fragility and resilience in the face of institutional disruption. Following discussions of the interpenetration of institutions and networks, and the concept of resilience, we report the results of a secondary analysis of qualitative data pertaining to three local service networks and three governance networks in Quebec, Canada, with attention to network partners’ sense-making and strategic responses to major institutional reforms in 2015. The results highlight the existence of a variable resilience trajectory, contingent on the reciprocal relation between structural and cultural effects on networks. The reciprocity is constructed through sense-making and strategy. A provisional analytical framework for further research is proposed. The paper contributes to thinking about the dynamic relation between institutions and networks, a salient problem in the context of new public governance.