Dr. Kent Portney presented a paper he coauthored with ISTPP Assistant Research Scientist Dr. Bryce Hannibal and ISTPP Fellow Dr. Robert Greer at the annual conference of the Western Political Science Association. The purpose of this research was to see whether governance of food/agriculture, water, and energy are fragmented and what management or public policy theories could be applied to explain potential benefits from breaking down barriers of communication among food, energy, and water decision makers.
The data for the study came from a multi-modal survey administered to 232 executives at water governance agencies in the San Antonio region of Texas. The survey sought to understand the general roles and responsibilities of agency staff as well as the level of interaction between water governance executives and decision makers in the energy or agriculture sectors.
The results of their analysis suggest there is minimal communication across various stakeholders that manage food, water, and energy resources. They also find that there is little cooperation in the overall governance of food, energy, and water. Greer, Hannibal, and Portney conclude that much needs to be done in public policy and management to support greater resource management cooperation, such as improving communications among governance agencies and supporting repeated interactions among resource decision makers.
Portney, Kent E. 2019. “The Role of Communication in Managing Complex Water-Energy-Food Governance Systems.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Western Political Science Association, San Diego, CA, April 18-20. Paper coauthored with Robert A. Greer and Bryce Hannibal.
