Overview

With cross-pollination of the public administration and policy implementation literatures, Madeleine Wright McNamara and John Charles Morris present the Multiorganizational Interaction Model as a framework to explore the use of cooperation, coordination, and collaboration between 15 federal/state agencies, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations working together to restore coastal habitats and replenish aquatic resources on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Content analysis of data collected through interviews and organizational documents allows comparisons to be made regarding the distribution of data across the continuum of interaction. The presence of policy mandates intending to prescribe relationships coupled with strong perceptions of collaboration, create opportunity to explore mandated and voluntary collaboration. Themes regarding mapping relationships within the multiorganizational arrangement, movement on the continuum, and implementation through mid-level personnel are discussed. The combination of theory development and testing provides readers with a theoretical framework through which to think about interorganizational interactions, and a case study to illustrate the ways in which these complex relationships manifest themselves in practice. Multiorganizational Arrangements for Watershed Protection will be essential for scholars, students, and policy makers.

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9780367610029

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Reviews

Multiorganizational Arrangements for Watershed Protection signals a major advance in policy implementation research. The authors introduce a model of multi-organization interaction that operationalizes elements from current interorganizational and policy implementation literatures, and relies on these elements to distinguish different types of interaction. Their case study of the Virginia Seaside Heritage Program demonstrates the promise of this model for advancing understanding of multi-organizational arrangements and their importance for policy implementation. Christine Reed, Professor Emeritus, School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha The study of policy implementation has long struggled with generational divides over the top-down/bottom-up approaches to the implementation process. Despite calls to move beyond this fundamental debate, the literature has been slow to catch-up. By examining collective action as a continuum of interactions within the implementation process, McNamara and Morris offer a more encompassing explanation of policy implementation that will unquestionably be of interest to scholars, students, and those interested in better understanding the challenges of the implementation process. Martin Mayer, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke This book is a well-crafted exploration of the important topic of multiorganizational arrangements. It succinctly lays out the problems and issues with traditional approaches to multiorganizational implementation and further introduces the Multiorganizational Interaction Model, a theoretical lens, to resolve problems with earlier approaches. The use of a detailed case study adds to our understanding of the new model and demonstrates how the model helps explain interactions between organizations. The development of the Multiorganizational Interaction Model and how it applies to a public policy setting is a significant contribution to the literature. The book is very well-referenced and is the first study to acknowledge that multiorganizational policy implementation occurs in part through informal relationships. William M. Leavitt, Associate Professor Emeritus of Public Service, Old Dominion University

Multiorganizational Arrangements for Watershed Protection signals a major advance in policy implementation research. The authors introduce a model of multi-organization interaction that operationalizes elements from current interorganizational and policy implementation literatures, and relies on these elements to distinguish different types of interaction. Their case study of the Virginia Seaside Heritage Program demonstrates the promise of this model for advancing understanding of multi-organizational arrangements and their importance for policy implementation. Christine Reed, Professor Emeritus, School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha The study of policy implementation has long struggled with generational divides over the top-down/bottom-up approaches to the implementation process. Despite calls to move beyond this fundamental debate, the literature has been slow to catch-up. By examining collective action as a continuum of interactions within the implementation process, McNamara and Morris offer a more encompassing explanation of policy implementation that will unquestionably be of interest to scholars, students, and those interested in better understanding the challenges of the implementation process. Martin Mayer, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke This book is a well-crafted exploration of the important topic of multiorganizational arrangements. It succinctly lays out the problems and issues with traditional approaches to multiorganizational implementation and further introduces the Multiorganizational Interaction Model, a theoretical lens, to resolve problems with earlier approaches. The use of a detailed case study adds to our understanding of the new model and demonstrates how the model helps explain interactions between organizations. The development of the Multiorganizational Interaction Model and how it applies to a public policy setting is a significant contribution to the literature. The book is very well-referenced and is the first study to acknowledge that multiorganizational policy implementation occurs in part through informal relationships. William M. Leavitt, Associate Professor Emeritus of Public Service, Old Dominion University

Author Information

Madeleine Wright McNamara is an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Public Service at Old Dominion University. She served previously as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Orleans and as the Waterways Management Coordinator for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Eighth District in New Orleans. Her research interests include collaboration, public policy, and interorganizational theory. Her work appears in journals such as Public Works Management & Policy, the International Journal of Public Administration, Policy & Politics, and the Journal for Nonprofit Management, among others. In addition, she authored chapters in Speaking Green with a Southern Accent: Environmental Management and Innovation in the South (2010), and Advancing Collaboration Theory: Models, Typologies, and Evidence (2016; Routledge). John Charles Morris is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University. He has studied collaboration, public-private partnerships, and state comparative policy for more than twenty-five years, and has published widely in public administration and public policy. Dr. Morris has a significant number of publications. He is the co-editor of Speaking Green with a Southern Accent: Environmental Management and Innovation in the South (2010), and True Green: Executive Effectiveness in the US Environmental Protection Agency (2012). Dr. Morris is also the co-editor of Building the Local Economy: Cases in Economic Development, published by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia, in 2008, and is the co-editor of a three-volume series (2012) on prison privatization, titled Prison Privatization: The Many Facets of a Controversial Industry. His most recent co-authored books include The Case for Grassroots Collaboration: Social Capital and Ecosystem Restoration at the Local Level (2013); Advancing Collaboration Theory: Models, Typologies, and Evidence (2016; Routledge, co-edited with Katrina Miller-Stevens); State Implementation of the Affordable Care Act: Choices and Decisions (2019, Routledge); and Organizational Motivation for Collaboration: Theory and Evidence (forthcoming 2019, with Luisa Diaz-Kope). In addition, he has published more than sixty-five articles in refereed journals, and nearly forty book chapters, reports, and other publications.

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