2025 CDS Annual Conference

Description: Polycentric governance systems characterize processes of collective learning, in which myriad policy actors work together to acquire, translate, and disseminate knowledge. This framework is used to explain the dissemination and application of knowledge in  an example from practice, the “6 Regions, One Nebraska” initiative, led by Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development, Nebraska’s Office of the Governor, and the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, to demonstrate how polycentric governance applies to regional collaboration initiatives and explains the transmission of knowledge within communities. 

Relation to Theme: Launched in the summer of 2024, the “6 Regions, One Nebraska” initiative was branded as a “new approach” to economic development with special emphasis on being community-driven, action-oriented, and partnership-driven – a place-based collaboration as per the theme of the conference. The initiative was organized according to Nebraska’s six community college regions and involved government, education, and industry leaders from each region in order to leverage local knowledge in brainstorming dynamic and transformative opportunities for economic and regional development across the state. The Center for Public Affairs Research, at the University of Nebraska Omaha, provided data analysis at each regional meeting to share pertinent trends on the region’s demographics, education, workforce, housing, and childcare needs, as well as post-event evaluation. Drawing on participant observation and post-event surveys from the regional meetings, findings suggest that, while regional stakeholders cite the importance of having access to regional data, rarely do they use data to make evidence-based decisions about the potential of economic development in their regions. This research builds on recent findings about c learning in poly-centric system. Overall, this research suggests that while polycentric governance systems may be touted as a framework for collective learning, polycentric systems may fall short when it comes to supporting evidence-based decisions in practice.