Introductory Note:
The Polycentricity Network is designed to be an open, worldwide collaboration and association among academicians and researchers interested in polycentric governance. Those interests may be in developing the theory and practice of polycentric governance.
We at the Network base our understanding of polycentric governance on the seminal paper by Ostrom, Warren and Tiebout, 1961, which understands polycentricity approach as a complex form of governance with multiple centers of semi-autonomous decision-making. The work done by scholars at the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University can be seen as a steppingstone towards understanding polycentric governance. Further, we look at polycentric governance as a lens that help us underscore the potential for “effective cooperation, conflict resolution, fruitful competition and shared learning among multiple autonomous decision centers interacting with each other”, to quote Bryan Bruns (2019), across varied sectors and persistent and emerging issues.
The initial work on polycentric governance by Ostrom’s and their colleagues though focused around the issues of metropolitan and water governance has grown to include emerging issues such as climate change, marine governance, biodiversity conservation, financial relations, demand and supply management in the energy sector and others. The Polycentricity Network aims to build on this and expand it into various empirical, theoretical and methodological directions.
We intend to bring in individuals from varied disciplinary and professional background to share and find information enabling the creation of a forum for furthering the ideas and practices within polycentric governance.
