Investigating Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative: A Qualitative Case Study of a State-Managed Collaborative Platform

Collaboration is necessary to address complex, cross-jurisdictional natural resource problems. To better understand the benefits and drawbacks of innovative collaborative structures, this research examined the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI). WRI is a state-managed program in Utah that implements cross-boundary habitat restoration projects. Local, state, and federal government agencies as well as non-profit organizations convene on five regional teams to design and evaluate projects. Project partners are engaged at a local level while most program administration occurs at the state level. A case study of WRI was conducted, making use of interviews with 33 participants, document review, and field observations. Findings indicate that WRI is effective at implementing cross-boundary restoration projects as well as engaging a diverse set of stakeholders and fostering relationship building, learning, and knowledge sharing. However, participants indicated that project proposers tend to cooperate with one another when designing projects, rather than truly collaborate. Further, participants expressed concern regarding the concentration of decision-making authority at the state level as well as the program’s focus on implementing as many projects as possible regardless of project quality or the extent of collaboration on project development. This led participants to question the fairness of the program and its outcomes. Findings from this case study are assessed using the integrative framework for collaborative governance and typologies for interorganizational interaction. By examining the governance structure of WRI and participant experiences with the program, this study provides insight into how the structure of collaborative programs influences collaborative processes and outcomes. Findings underscore the challenge to collaboratives in achieving tangible outcomes while also ensuring a trustworthy and fair process that fosters genuine collaboration.