about the project

Through a systematic investigation of collaborative governance, this research project develops a model that provides support for the design of the regional cooperation processes that must precede re-examination of the environmental conditions for the Swedish hydropower plants. The project takes its departure and positions itself in a research debate on collaborative processes and collaborative governance, and mainly uses Emerson & Nabatchi's analytical framework to structure and understand central areas of inquiry. Through interviews, site visits, participant observations and surveys, the project gathers unique knowledge about success factors in the collaboration processes around hydropower that have already begun. Together with the previous literature and knowledge from other areas of administration, empirical evidence is analyzed based on the project's theoretical position. The project's results are communicated through research articles, blog posts, updates on the project's website, and through a final report where the focus is on concrete guidance for what can promote regional cooperation in the specific issue of environmental testing for hydropower. The project group brings competences from different subject disciplines within social sciences such as social anthropology, human ecology, political science and public administration.