Ascertaining Intergovernmental Coordination Mechanisms

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

Title: Ascertaining Intergovernmental Coordination Mechanisms Abstract: Jurisdictional boundaries of governmental agencies often do not align with the geographic or social boundaries of the policy issues they are tasked with addressing. This spatial mismatch is especially common in relation to natural resources and the environment. Where it occurs, achievement of policy goals may require coordination across jurisdictions, which can lead to mutual benefits. Yet, governmental agencies may view coordination as costly or as leading to a loss of autonomy. This project will examine the choices of local governmental agencies as they respond to a State legislative mandate to coordinate in order to achieve groundwater sustainability. The project will investigate coordination decisions made by Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) as they coordinate plans under California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The project will employ a mixed-methods approach, including interviews, surveys, content analysis, and statistical modeling, to analyze differences in coordination mechanisms among various GSAs. To do so, the research will examine compatibility between groundwater sustainability plans submitted by GSAs which share a groundwater basin, as well as the fit of those plans with SGMA statutory definitions of groundwater sustainability at the basin-level. Though the research examines coordination over shared groundwater, findings will be applicable more broadly to the management of other shared natural resources and cross-border environmental issues. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.