Assessing trust and trustworthiness of state and NGOs in forest and environmental policy networks

Abstract

Trust is a power element that leads up to informal hierarchy in networks. Trustworthiness is a subjective impression that can first lead to effective public relations but not necessarily to power development. Organisations should distinguish between these two to avoid false assessment of power. Findings show factors for developing trust are: giving important general information, employing a multidisciplinary team, having low internal concentration of power in a network with many unexplored contacts and low level of committed relations. This article is based on power theory and theory of organized interests. Data was collected throughout twelve networks in eight European countries.