Tag Archives: 09 Nation building and development

Network governance problem

Tips

• Clearly identify how decisions are made when consensus cannot be reached.
• Encourage wide support for and the legitimacy of the decision-making process.
• Have rules for ‘majority consensus’ and confidentiality to improve implementation.

• Make sure it is someone’s role in the network to seek new opportunities.
• Arrange informal social and cultural activities.
• Meet with other groups, communities and organisations to exchange contacts and ideas.

• Make sure that the roles and responsibilities of the different parts of your network are clearly defined and understood.
• Make sure that the accountability of network participants and processes is clear and agreed to by everyone.

• Do an internal audit to work out if you have the people with the right skills for the partnership activities.
• You may need to recruit or connect to people with new skills, contacts and relationships.
• Share knowledge and plans between existing members by regular open communication.
• Make partnerships with parties who have a good reputation for strong governance and creative solutions.

• Build trust across your networks—for example, by sharing resources, or by making joint decisions on issues that concern you all.
• Encourage more open, accurate and easy exchange of information across the network.

• Analyse the different concerns and issues of each stakeholder and how they are influencing your governance processes and outcomes.
• Decide what parts of your agenda or goals are non-negotiable, and which you want to collaborate with others on.

Networks can foster constructive solutions

• They help you develop ideas—on the basis that two heads are better than one.
• They share knowledge and best practice.

Networks are flexible and responsive

• They adapt how they work to suit the issue at hand or to accommodate future potential.

Networks create close relationships and ties, shared priorities and goals

• They encourage better accountability to members of the network.

Networks can be a source of information and support

• They facilitate sharing and discussion of issues of common interest, such as new laws and regulations, technological developments and best practices.

Decisions reached by networks can be more legitimate and easier to implement

• They will represent a consensus of views of a broad group of people.
• They might take longer but are likely to be more sustainable and widely supported.

Networks can link the national and regional to the local level

• They bring different players together—communities, regional and national agencies, governments and organisations.
• They are important for small remote groups and organisations.

Networks encourage the exchange of knowledge and build new skills

• They can make new skills and resources more accessible—via outside experts, shared knowledge, staff exchanges and secondments, and mentoring.

Networks can benefit from economies of scale

• They can share costs and scarce resources, assets and capacities.
• They facilitate wider agreements and partnership.

Networks improve your reputation

• Locally, in other cities or even overseas.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander extended families and their linked households
• Clan, native title and land-ownership groups
• Skin and kinship groups
• Ceremonial relationships and responsibilities
• Trade, language and sacred-knowledge networks
• Peer groups and hierarchies of leaders (both male and female)
• The residents of interrelated outstations, urban neighbourhoods, rural fringe camps and pastoral stations
• ‘whole of community’ governing collaborations
• Federations of dispersed communities
• Regional assemblies
• ‘families’ of incorporated organisations
• Organisational alliances, peak bodies and representative associations.