A Multi-Layered Collaborative Marine Governance Model: Evaluating Change and Innovation of Marine Governance Arrangements

Abstract

Marine ecosystems are facing substantial stress due to global challenges that have escalated in magnitude and impact. The European Green Deal (EGD) can act as a driver of change and innovation in marine governance. There are multiple enabling and constraining conditions to orchestrate change and innovation, as it requires coordination of multiple governance levels and across different economic sectors. Drawing on established theory and concepts, this paper introduces a Multi-layered Collaborative Marine Governance (MLCMG) Model to evaluate change and innovation of marine governance arrangements. The MLCMG model integrates multiple components: (1) marine governance arrangements (comprising actors/coalitions, rules of the game, resources, and discourses); (2) the institutional setting and structural conditions affecting collaborative processes; (3) collaborative dynamics (comprising principled engagement, shared motivation, and capacity for joint action); (4) governance capabilities of state and non-state actors to attain societal goals; and it considers the role of e-governance to lever institutional arrangements, collaborative dynamics, and governance capabilities. Process performance refers to the ways that change and innovation came about, centering the decision-making abilities and social learning potential of the public and private actors active in marine governance arrangements. Productivity performance focuses on the cumulative results of change and innovation, namely outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Using the EGD vision as a normative reference point against which governance performance can be assessed, the model offers a framework that supports studies of governance change, innovation, and performance.