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Symbolic image - Poyab bridge under construction, Fribourg, Switzerland (Photo: Markus Thoenen, iStock)

Researchers as bridge builders in water policy

June 7, 2021 | Kaspar Meuli

From flood protection and drinking water supply to the revitalisation of water bodies and hydropower production – water policy in Switzerland takes place in a wide variety of sectors. However, the exchange of information between politically divided players is often difficult. Science plays an important role as a bridge builder between the camps.

Researchers have qualities that most of them are not even aware of. They can play the role of diplomats or, as political scientist Mario Angst says: “They are bridge builders between organisations that do not share the same interests, such as energy companies and conservation organisations.”

Bridging political divides

Mario Angst is a post-doctoral researcher at Eawag and has investigated which types of organisations in Swiss water policy are particularly suited to passing on information across political camps. The results of this study, for which around 400 players involved in water policy and its implementation in the broadest sense were interviewed, were recently published in the journal “Governance”. Mario Angst has studied the functioning of Swiss water policy together with Laurence Brandenberger from the Chair of System Design at the ETH Zurich.

He summarises the findings as follows: “We can show that scientific organisations are much better able to take on the role as bridge builders than other players.” Sharing information could be an “aspect of the activity” of scientific organisations such as Eawag. His recommendation: researchers should think more about whether and how exactly they would like to fill this role.

Cross-sector events promote networking

The study “Information exchange in governance networks — Who brokers across political divides?” shows that the flow of information among water policy players generally works well. Where the flow of information falters, however, is between players who represent different political positions. The fact that technical information such as hydrological modelling or new findings on the occurrence of species is not shared, is usually not ill-intentioned, according to Mario Angst, but can be explained by a lack of contacts across political divides. As banal as it sounds, as an agricultural advisor and as a fish ecologist, you usually operate among your peers. That is why, according to another finding, forums such as events organised by Water Agenda 21 or the Swiss Water Pollution Control Association (VSA) are important for a better exchange of information.
 

Cover picture: Markus Thoenen, iStock

Original publication

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      title => protected'Information exchange in governance networks - who brokers across political d
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      description => protected'The exchange of information among organizations is the lifeblood of governan
         ce networks. It is a necessary condition for successful governance. Politica
         l divides between organizations often impede information exchange. We ask wh
         ich organizations are most likely to broker information across political div
         ides. We consider survey (<em>n</em> = 312) evidence of technical informatio
         n exchange in Swiss water governance. Bayesian exponential random graph mode
         ling results show that scientific organizations play crucial roles for cross
         ‐divide brokerage. To a lesser extent, this also holds for higher‐level 
         governmental agencies. Participation in policy forums is associated with a h
         igher likelihood of brokering across political divides. There is however no 
         clear benefit to participating in more than two or three forums. We conclude
          that an active role played by scientific organizations is the most promisin
         g avenue to increase information flow across political divides. Beyond this,
          we suggest setting up carefully constructed exchange forums and selectively
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Information exchange in governance networks - who brokers across political divides?

The exchange of information among organizations is the lifeblood of governance networks. It is a necessary condition for successful governance. Political divides between organizations often impede information exchange. We ask which organizations are most likely to broker information across political divides. We consider survey (n = 312) evidence of technical information exchange in Swiss water governance. Bayesian exponential random graph modeling results show that scientific organizations play crucial roles for cross‐divide brokerage. To a lesser extent, this also holds for higher‐level governmental agencies. Participation in policy forums is associated with a higher likelihood of brokering across political divides. There is however no clear benefit to participating in more than two or three forums. We conclude that an active role played by scientific organizations is the most promising avenue to increase information flow across political divides. Beyond this, we suggest setting up carefully constructed exchange forums and selectively engaging moderate members of subgroups.
Brandenberger, L.; Angst, M. (2022) Information exchange in governance networks - who brokers across political divides?, Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions, 35(2), 585-608, doi:10.1111/gove.12601, Institutional Repository

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