Virtual Policy Networks in Forestry and Climate Change in the U.S. and Canada: Government Nodality, Internationalization and Actor Complexity

Abstract

AbstractThe Internet and the Web have changed policy formulation processes. The Web has increased the potential for governments to use information to manage the policy process and direct policy outcomes. It is argued that understanding the macro impacts of web‐based information and measuring the performances of online public sector information activities is vital to improving governments' web‐based capacity. This paper examines government nodality, internationalization, and actor composition in nine virtual policy networks to explore similarities and differences in online policy activities across different regions. The nine networks analyzed are issue specific, focused on forestry and climate change in four western Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia) and in five western U.S. states (Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, and Colorado). Discussion is focused on how specific contexts around governing priorities, political responses and issue‐specific policy problems shape the nature of virtual web‐based information networks.