Untangling the web of stakeholders
Morgan Ross ·By: Morgan Ross
"All models are wrong, but some are useful." -George E. P. Box
In today's day and age, the term "social network" usually refers to social networking websites like Facebook or Twitter. However, in the realm of studying coupled human and natural systems, "social networks" mean something else entirely. Last week in our Environment and Society class Dr. Christina Prell joined us for a guest lecture on how Social Network Analysis can be used as a methodology to understand the dynamics of stakeholders involved in a project. In class we discussed the background of Social Network Analysis, common theories, methods, and tools within the discipline, as well as different ways to apply this approach. After diving into one of Prell's projects on Sustainable Uplands, we ended the class by breaking into groups to discuss our final projects.
The class started by going over the basics of Social Network Analysis, which can be defined as a methodology that identifies social relations and their structures and patterns in order to understand larger problems within a system. Since the methodology evolved over time within a variety of social and non-social disciplines, some of its theories mirror those of Sociology, Social Psychology, and Political Ecology.1 For example, the theory of Network Capital takes the ideas and concepts of Social Capital and emphasizes peoples' social relations and how such relations explain why some people just get by, but others get ahead. Although this concept stems from the field of Political Ecology, its application in Social Network Analysis broadens the scope of the theory.
Social Network Analysis is a modelling approach, which proves difficult in application. Data can be gathered through online surveys, face to face interviews, participant observation, qualitative interviews, and social media data.2 The analysis relies mainly on graphical theoretic concepts (Image 2) but can also test hypotheses through stochastic models and computer simulations. As the approach has grown and evolved, there has been a trend towards multi-level analyses, more complex networks, and larger scale studies (both geographically and on a time dimension.)3
Prell used her case study in the UK Uplands to go into detail about some of the challenges of Social Network Analysis, as well as how she was able to overcome them. Unsurprisingly, one of the greatest challenges of Social Network Analysis is communicating the results to the stakeholders. Prell explained how having an open discussion about what the data means is the key to conflict resolution. When the stakeholders think about themselves as a social system rather than as individuals, it is easy to communicate respectfully within the group. In her analysis of the stakeholders involved in the UK Uplands project, she was able to identify some individuals as isolates among the stakeholder group. In order to avoid potential conflict, the results were presented without personal details; however, stakeholders were able to self-identify based on the graphical data. Prell cited good facilitation as critical to successful communication of a Social Network Analysis, because when the stakeholders feel comfortable it is more likely that the isolates will be able to join the discussion and integrate to find consensus within the stakeholder group.
For our class' final project, we are tasked with creating proposals for the National Parks Service to help better understand the link between environmental and social systems in the National Capital Region. In the context of coupled human and natural systems, Social Network Analysis seems like an obvious approach to help understand the often-combative perspectives and relationships between stakeholders. When applied to the National Parks Service project, we can use ecosystem services as connections to potential problems in a network. The National Parks Service already studies many of the natural and cultural systems in the parks (National Resource Condition Assessment,) however, because of the large scale and scope of the National Parks Service, there are many groups with "skin in the game."
Social Network Analysis provides information about the stakeholder groups that would otherwise be overlooked. In order to effectively manage the parks, it is first important to understand the dynamics between the people who oversee the projects. Social Network Analysis would be an excellent addition to the efforts of the National Parks Service to identify the best management practices of the National Capital Region Parks. Dr. Christina Prell's guest lecture showed our class how stakeholders act as the foundation for any project, and how dealing with the relations between stakeholder groups can help identify and solve larger problems related to coupled human and natural systems.
References
1. Christina Prell (2012), A Brief History of Social Network Analysis. Social Network Analysis. London U.K.: SAGE.
2. Bodin et al. (2011), Social Networks and Natural Resource Management: Uncovering the Fabric of Environmental Governance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. Bodin et al. (2016) Theorizing benefits and constraints in collaborative environmental governance: a transdisciplinary social-ecological network approach for empirical investigations. Environment and Society, 21(1).
Next Post > Stakeholder workshop bring locals one step closer to a report card for the Tuul River Basin
Comments
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Shannon Hood 5 years ago
Great synopsis, Morgan. I found the SNA particularly interesting due to its ability to be utilized at multiple scales. Dr. Prell demonstrated its use in a small community, but also spoke to the ability for the approach to be applied at national and international levels. In this way, I see this approach as being highly useful in identifying commonalities among groups, and in identifying areas where communication and understanding may be lacking or strained.
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Natalie 5 years ago
Nice concise blog about SNA and class discussion. I really enjoyed Dr. Prell's discussion and how it may be applicable to my ongoing work. I have already started thinking about how to incorporate into my work and potentially my research. Also, great graphics!
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Alana Todd-Rodriguez 5 years ago
Good job summarizing social network analysis, especially in the context of the park project. SNA seems like a great framework for identifying stakeholders and the relationships among each other. I could see this as one of the beginning steps of the transdisciplinary approach to studying human and natural systems. I left class early, but your blog seems to highlight all of the key points I may have missed about the uplands project and the group meetings. It was a great read!
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Brian Scott 5 years ago
Great post. I love the graphics. You highlighted both the strengths and the challenges of this approach. Your comment "when stakeholders think of themselves as a social system" got me over the hump understanding this idea. If we can all think of ourselves not as individuals or members of a group, but as part of a larger social network - wouldn't that be great..
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Tan Zou 5 years ago
I think this is a nice review blog. Thank you, Morgan! I like the figures you chose. They are all good tools to help readers outside the class understand what we have learned. SNA is so useful that I think we can apply it not only to the study of the relationship between stakeholders but also the relationship between natural and cultural resources for our final project, since they are all connected.
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Matthew Wilfong 5 years ago
Really goods blog and really enjoyed the class last week. I thought that Dr. Prell's insight into the challenges faced by the SNA was very refreshing and interesting. I think SNA is an important tool in understanding any coupled human and natural system which you demonstrated well in the blog. Isn't it fitting that one of teh biggest challenges of SNA is "communicating results to the stakeholders" and this week we will be covering Integrated Assessments.
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Brendan Campbell 5 years ago
Good point Emily, I would be curious to see how social networks change before and after one of these assessments simply because there is facilitated interaction involved which very well could make a difference. Morgan, I like the quote you put up from George Pox. I hear that often and as someone who has to apply models for my research, I always have to be aware of potential error involved and that quote always floats in the back of my head as I do my research. Nevertheless, they are extremely helpful in understanding the underlying systems involved within a topic which, to go full-circle, shows why SNA is such a useful tool to understanding different stakeholder groups. You gain the ability to learn the drivers that influence the fate of some resources and can use that to improve management and restoration.
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Jessie Todd 5 years ago
I love the short introduction to this blog, how true it is that what social networking to the younger generation means something totally different than to other generations. All social media outlets have come into play within the last 20 years, so it is interesting to see really understand these new definitions, as well as their meaning within coupled human systems. I think you really packed all the information into this blog nicely. The upland case study was a nice way for readers to relate to this topic, even if they haven't learned this concept before.
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Emily Nastase 5 years ago
Discussions of the Uplands project made me curious about how social networks might shift over time. Like Morgan indicated above, networks may initially have isolates that could potentially integrate into the system as trust is formed among network members. I would be very interested to see a time series of networks throughout the duration of this project. My theory is that, with successful facilitation and relationship development during the project, the network would form more connections among individuals over time.
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Srishti Vishwakarma 5 years ago
"Social Network Analysis provides information about the stakeholder groups that would otherwise be overlooked." Indeed, social networks provides an important avenue to link the general society to the researchers or activists. Your blog summarised not only the importance of social networks but also its implication in the other domains.
I really liked your blog, Great job!!!