Stewardship for Disaster and Emergency Management: A Complex Adaptative System Governance Framework
Loading...
Files
Size: 803.9 KB, File format: Adobe PDF
Date
Authors
Miller, Todd
Le De, Loic
Hore, Katherine
Supervisor
Item type
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract
Disaster and emergency management (DEM) systems are increasingly characterized by distributed authority, multi-agency interdependence, and complex hazard environments. While prior research has reframed DEM as a complex adaptive system, less attention has been given to how coherence, adaptive coordination, and legitimacy are sustained across decentralized networks where no single actor holds complete mandate or authority. This study examines system stewardship as a meta-governance function capable of addressing this gap. Drawing on constructivist networked grounded theory, the study analyzes 38 semistructured interviews with 40 practitioners across Aotearoa New Zealand’s DEM system. The analysis revealed four themes: governing a distributed system; enabling coordination through trust and inclusive participation; sharing information and sustaining learning; and sustaining capability over time. The study integrates these findings into a three-pillar framework of system stewardship comprising relational, informational, and institutional dimensions, each representing a distinct but interdependent set of enabling conditions for adaptive coordination. The study argues that sustaining DEM performance requires moving beyond episodic leadership during events toward the deliberate sustaining of these enabling conditions across the system as a whole. In doing so, it contributes a complexity-informed governance framework applicable to DEM systems operating under conditions of decentralization, uncertainty, and compound risk.
Description
Keywords
37 Earth Sciences, 3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, 1801 Law, 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience, Adaptive coordination, Complex adaptive systems, Disaster and emergency management, Governance, Meta-governance, System stewardship
Source
International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, ISSN: 2095-0055 (Print); 2192-6395 (Online), Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 1-14. doi: 10.1007/s13753-026-00762-6
Publisher's version
Rights statement
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Permanent link
Collections
Endorsement
Review
Supplemented By
Referenced By
Creative Commons license
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Creative Commons Attribution License