How effective and democratic are governance networks?

In search of relevant evaluation criteria and metagovernance techniques

Abstract

The increasingly consolidated governance research has shown that governance networks play an important role in public governance processes and that networks between public and private actors are today regarded as an effective and legitimate management tool. However there is considerable uncertainty among governance scholars about the implictions of governance networks for the effecitiveness and democratic quality of public governance proceses. This uncertainty is related to uncertainties about how to measure and evaluate their effects. The article provides some criteria for empirical analysis of specific governance networks’ effectiveness and democratic quality. These criteria can be used to detect variations in the effects of different types of governance networks as well as they provide information about specific networks’ behaviour that can form the basis for the organisation of focused effeciency and democracy promoting metagovernance strategies.