Date of Award
5-12-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Public Administration
Advisor(s)
Tina Nabatchi
Keywords
Adaptation;Collaborative Governance;Deliberation;Diversity Equity and Inclusion;Empowerment;Performance Management
Subject Categories
Public Administration | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
This dissertation consists of three essays that examine how the performance of collaborative governance may affect the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in public administration. Using a variety of quantitative research methods, I systematically examine the actions (Chapter 2), outcomes (Chapter 3), and adaptations (Chapter 4) of multiple collaborative arrangements. The dissertation begins with an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) that lays the theoretical foundations for the three essays (Chapters 2 through 4) and concludes with the final chapter (Chapter 5) that summarizes the joint contributions and implications of the dissertation. The first essay (Chapter 2) explores how deliberation affects distributive justice for minority view participants in decisions made through collaborative governance. It also examines whether quality or quantity of deliberation can be an effective tool for minority view participants to overcome power imbalances that stem from a low level of procedural justice in the representation of the minority view participants. I use Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), a computational experiment method, and build theoretical propositions based on the simulation results. The findings shed light on how design (e.g., representation) and process (e.g., quality and quantity of deliberation) may shape the performance (e.g., minority view empowerment) of collaboration. They also demonstrate the need for more attention to viewpoint representation beyond demographic representation and to the role of justice in collaborative governance. The second essay (Chapter 3) empirically examines whether, how, when, and for whom collaborative governance achieves socially equitable outcomes. Using a difference-in-differences design and data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the largest health survey in the world, I analyze how well Oregon counties that adopted collaborative governance bridge racial disparities in healthcare access compared to other non-adopting Oregon counties. The results show that collaborative governance may decrease racial and ethnic disparities in financial barriers to visiting a doctor after three years of implementation. Also, collaborative governance does not always distribute more benefits to more disadvantaged subgroups. This essay points to the importance of designing and carrying out empowering processes, sustaining long-term collaborations, and serving the most vulnerable populations to meet health equity goals through collaborative governance. The third essay (Chapter 4) investigates whether and how collaborative actions adapt to their outcomes by altering various characteristics of the succeeding actions. Analyzing 25 years of panel datasets collected from the Oregon Watershed Restoration Inventory and 160 water quality monitoring stations in Oregon, I examine whether watersheds with higher levels of Oregon Watershed Quality Index (OWQI) attract greater support for future voluntary collaborative efforts. The findings indicate that the number, participants, activities, total costs, and in-kind resources of collaborative projects in watersheds grow with higher Oregon Watershed Quality Index (OWQI) levels but at a decreasing rate after reaching a certain point. This essay has theoretical and practical implications for the robustness, resilience, and efficiency of collaborative performance and explores potential roles that government agencies can play in supporting collaborative arrangements more equitably.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Kim, Jiho, "Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Collaborative Governance" (2024). Dissertations - ALL. 1937.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1937
