More Like this

1. Communities and Brokers: How the Transnational Advocacy Network Simultaneously Provides Social Power and Exacerbates Global Inequalities

   https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqab037  

   Cheng, Huimin; Wang, Ye; Ma, Ping; Murdie, Amanda (May 2021, International Studies Quarterly)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) are the most common example of networks in international relations. Despite their familiarity, we know little about how advocacy networks of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are structured. Drawing on the cross-disciplinary concepts of emergent communities and distinct brokerage roles, we argue that the network may reinforce power disparities and inequalities at the very same time that it provides social power. TANs are similar to emergent communities of practice, with some organizations acting as various types of brokers within and between communities. Preexisting resources are more likely to lead global North organizations to occupy brokerage roles that provide additional agenda-setting and resource-allocating power. We build a dataset of the 3,903 NGOs connected through 1.3 million ties occurring through meetings and conferences for NGOs put on or coordinated by the United Nations. Using community detection methods, we identify four distinct communities in the overall NGO network, with differences in distributions of brokerage roles across communities. Examining the communities, brokerage role distributions, and preexisting power disparities can help us better understand the divergent findings in previous literature and conceptualize TANs. 

   more » « less
2. Decolonizing Relationships: Moving from an Empowerment to Agency Mindset in International Engineering Interventions

   Lawson-Bulten, EJ; Mingee, J; LaSalle, C; Witmer, AP (August 2025, Engineering Education for Sustainable Development 2025 Proceedings)

   na (Ed.)

   Given the complexity of global poverty and climate change, it reasons that engineering education has focused on “Engineers as Changemakers,” seeking to inspire engineers to tackle the world’s wicked problems. However, in practice, the desire for engineers to see themselves as changemakers eclipses the autonomy of local communities, especially in international interventions. By focusing on empowerment, engineers unintentionally reinforce themselves as the power and knowledge holders. Inspired from works by Robert Chambers and Paulo Freire, we propose a new mindset for engineering education that shifts the focus from engineers as changemakers to engineers as facilitators and consultants. In this framework, the local community is viewed as the changemaker, affirming them as the primary acting agent of their lives. We illustrate the impact of this mindset shift in practice through the analysis of two technological case studies, both of which follow non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to make long-lasting change with community members. Although the explicitly stated intentions of both groups are very similar, the NGO in one of the cases seeks to affirm the agency of community partners, referring to them as experts and drivers of the project. Meanwhile, the NGO in the other case utilizes language of empowerment, referring to themselves as the educators and providers of sustainable practices and technology. The impact of these mindsets is illustrated through qualitative data regarding stakeholder relationships and the community’s response to each project. Through these case studies, we see that liberative and collaborative technical interventions require a reimagining of the relationship between the engineer and community. As engineering educators, we are responsible for challenging the 

   more » « less
3. Sustainable Connectivity in a Community Repository

   https://doi.org/10.1162/dint_a_00252  

   Habermann, Ted (April 2024, Data Intelligence)

   Abstract Persistent identifiers for research objects, researchers, organizations, and funders are the key to creating unambiguous and persistent connections across the global research infrastructure (GRI). Many repositories are implementing mechanisms to collect and integrate these identifiers into their submission and record curation processes. This bodes well for a well-connected future, but metadata for existing resources submitted in the past are missing these identifiers, thus missing the connections required for inclusion in the connected infrastructure. Re-curation of these metadata is required to make these connections. This paper introduces the global research infrastructure and demonstrates how repositories, and their user communities, can contribute to and benefit from connections to the global research infrastructure. The Dryad Data Repository has existed since 2008 and has successfully re-curated the repository metadata several times, adding identifiers for research organizations, funders, and researchers. Understanding and quantifying these successes depends on measuring repository and identifier connectivity. Metrics are described and applied to the entire repository here. Identifiers (Digital Object Identifiers, DOIs) for papers connected to datasets in Dryad have long been a critical part of the Dryad metadata creation and curation processes. Since 2019, the portion of datasets with connected papers has decreased from 100% to less than 40%. This decrease has significant ramifications for the re-curation efforts described above as connected papers have been an important source of metadata. In addition, missing connections to papers make understanding and re-using datasets more difficult. Connections between datasets and papers can be difficult to make because of time lags between submission and publication, lack of clear mechanisms for citing datasets and other research objects from papers, changing focus of researchers, and other obstacles. The Dryad community of members, i.e. users, research institutions, publishers, and funders have vested interests in identifying these connections and critical roles in the curation and re-curation efforts. Their engagement will be critical in building on the successes Dryad has already achieved and ensuring sustainable connectivity in the future. 

   more » « less
4. Decentralization and Corruption in Public Service Delivery: Local Institutional Arrangements That Can Help Reduce Governance Risks

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muad022  

   Zarychta, Alan; Benedum, Michelle_E; Sanchez, Emily; Andersson, Krister_P (September 2023, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory)

   Abstract Decentralization reform has both advantages and risks. Bringing service delivery “closer to the people” can improve information flows and strengthen accountability, but it may also leave systems vulnerable to elite capture and corruption by municipal government officials. While past research has acknowledged the possibility of corruption under decentralization, relatively little work has connected those risks to features of these reforms or specific local institutional arrangements. To explore the conditions that can help mitigate the risks of corruption under decentralization, we study the case of health sector reform in Honduras where municipal governments, associations, and NGOs each serve as intermediary-managing organizations under a common decentralized health service delivery model. We argue that three types of institutional arrangements reflecting local accountability practices serve as checks on the authority granted through decentralization and can help guard against corruption: external supervision, civil society engagement, and public participation. Empirically, we draw on data from more than 600 street-level bureaucrats, valuable but under-utilized informants about municipal corruption, across a matched sample of 65 municipalities with contrasting forms of administration. We find that reported corruption is highest under decentralization led by municipal governments, as compared to association- or NGO-led varieties. Both external supervision and civil society engagement help attenuate the positive association between decentralization and corruption, but public participation does not. Overall, this research highlights the importance of considering reform features and local conditions when designing policies to help manage risks and support effective social sector decentralization. 

   more » « less
5. Place‐based civic science—collective environmental action and solidarity for eco‐resilience

   https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12537  

   Gallay, Erin; Furlan_Brighente, Miriam; Flanagan, Constance; Lowenstein, Ethan (December 2021, Child and Adolescent Mental Health)

   BackgroundEducating children and young people (CYP) from marginalized communities about environmental crises poses a unique dilemma as educators strive to prepare them to deal with the climate crisis without compounding the stressors and fear of an unlivable future many already face. We explored how place‐based civic science (PBCS) can provide opportunities to engage youth in environmental understanding and action through teamwork in which youth feel that they belong to a group larger than themselves and gain a sense of hope from working with others toward shared goals. We argue that combining PCBS pedagogies of collective action and collaborative learning spaces can help to buffer against distress as CYP grapple with global environmental crises. MethodsWe drew from qualitative responses (student reflections and public presentations) of 486 6–12th graders (majority students of color) on what they learned from participating in PBCS projects. Projects involved egalitarian partnerships between adults from environmental organizations, teachers and student teams studying and acting together to mitigate problems and presenting their efforts in public venues. ResultsStudents’ qualitative responses revealed an identification with their team and its goal forged through the work, respect for their voice, belief in their capacity and confidence to take collective action and even enjoyment of working together to address community concerns. ConclusionsPBCS through collective learning/action in student teams and nonhierarchical intergenerational partnerships, and connections that CYP forge with organizations in the broader community, can help to build CYP’s agency and efficacy while addressing “emotionally heavy” issues such as climate change. 

   more » « less