Collaborative Development of Narratives and Models for Steering Inter-Organizational Networks Philip C. Emmi, Craig B. Forster, Jim I. Mills, Tarla Rai Peterson, Jessica L. Durfee and Frank X. Lilly University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning 375 S. 1530 East, Room 235 AAC Phone: 1-801-581-4255 Fax: 1-801-581-8217
[email protected] Abstract The power to direct and manage change within metropolitan areas is increasingly dispersed among a loosely interconnected set of mostly local organizations, agencies and actors that form a special type of urban inter-organizational network. Increasingly, the quality of metropolitan regional governance depends upon IO network capacity to articulate systemically insightful urban development strategies, i.e., to exercise a capacity for network steering. We outline an IO network steering capacity-support process that combines collaborative learning, narrative storytelling, and system dynamics modeling with the goal of deepening insights into urban human/biophysical processes and securing greater resilience in metropolitan regional governance. Our process promotes comprehension of complex urban processes through stories about past trajectories and future growth scenarios that frame issues within collaborative learning workshops for deliberation by local opinion leaders. This initiative is part of a larger research study on greenhouse gas emissions in relation to human and biological activities within metropolitan areas. Keywords: Collaborative learning, narratives, system dynamics, steering inter- organizational networks Introduction As our conception of government and its capacity for societal guidance changes, so too, does our approach to planning and decision-making. Increasingly, we recognize that the power to guide and direct change is dispersed among a variety of loosely interconnected organizations, agencies and actors.