Trust-building and leadership in multi-stakeholder forums: lessons from Indonesia

A.R Tamara,A.M Larson,N.M Heise Vigil,N Liswanti,S Arwida,J.P Sarmiento Barletti

doi:10.1505/146554821833466068

Abstract

Multi-stakeholder forums (MSFs) are coordination spaces that enable discussions, negotiations, and joint planning between different kinds of actors. Proponents of MSFs claim that bringing different actors to the same table may help solve complex problems. Nevertheless, an MSF's process and outcomes are affected by its leadership and whether participants are able to trust each other. This paper examines the influence of trust and leadership in three MSFs addressing land and resource use in three subnational jurisdictions in Indonesia. The comparative analysis of semi-structured and Q-methodology interviews carried out with MSF participants and non-participants demonstrates the following. First, that the presence of conflicting interests of different stakeholders can hinder trust-building and cooperation. Understanding the historical relationships between stakeholders, including any positive informal relationships, is necessary to build a better strategy to handle antagonism and improve collaboration. Second, different challenges within MSFs require different kinds of leadership. A shared leadership may work in an MSF with participants with a history of positive relationships. A charismatic leader is preferable in MSFs with conflicts of interest or where participants are yet to trust each other.

Highlights

IntroductionMulti-stakeholder forums (MSFs) can be defined as “purposefully organized interactive processes that bring together stakeholders to participate in dialogue, decision-making and/or implementation regarding actions seeking to address a problem they hold in common or to achieve a goal for their common benefit” (Sarmiento Barletti et al 2020:2)
Participatory governance in forest management has been proposed as a method of practice to address inequalities by including actors from underrepresented groups in decisionmaking processeses (Bastos-Lima et al 2017, Sayer et al 2013)
This paper examines the influence of trust and leadership in three Multi-stakeholder forums (MSFs) addressing land and resource use in three subnational jurisdictions in Indonesia

Summary

Introduction

MSFs can be defined as “purposefully organized interactive processes that bring together stakeholders to participate in dialogue, decision-making and/or implementation regarding actions seeking to address a problem they hold in common or to achieve a goal for their common benefit” (Sarmiento Barletti et al 2020:2). They have gained popularity especially as a participatory method to enable negotiation between historically underrepresented actors, such as indigenous peoples and local communities, and more powerful actors such as corporations, NGOs and government agencies (Edmunds and Wollenberg 2002). MSFs may allow for knowledge transfer and pave the way to solve challenges that participants hold in common (Rondinelli and London 2003, Selsky and Parker 2005)

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Discussion

Conclusion