The Adaptive Capacity to Act Together: Network Mechanisms and Living-Lab Governance
Silvia Fierăscu | West University of Timişoara (Romania)
25/09/2026 12:00
Sala Descubre/Online Teams. Edificio 8E. Acceso J - 4ª Planta | Universitat Politècnica de València. 46022
Abstract
How do governance arrangements translate into a capacity for collective action? In this presentation I examine the reciprocal relationship between governance mechanisms and the networks through which actors exchange knowledge, exercise influence and mobilise resources.
The discussion draws on three cases I will present: a city-wide cultural collaboration evolution and its legacy planning, a regional governance design challenge in regenerative agriculture and bioeconomy, and a whole-of-society crisis coordination and resource mobilization platform.
The central concern is how existing networks condition governance interventions, how interventions reconfigure relationships, and under what conditions these changes strengthen learning, adaptation and coordinated action. I outline a comparative research agenda on the co-evolution of governance and networks, distinguishing changes in network structure from improvements in collective capacity. The aim is to identify the relational mechanisms through which governance operates and develop longitudinal evidence to inform its design and evaluation.
Bio
Silvia Fierăscu, PhD, is a lecturer in the Faculty of Governance and Communication Sciences at West University of Timișoara, and the founder and director of Social Fabrics Research Lab. Her work sits at the intersection of ecosystem intelligence, collaborative governance, living labs and evidence-informed public policy. Whether the setting is emergency response, culture-led urban transformation, organizational change, public innovation or democratic resilience, the aim is the same: to make complex systems easy to see, understand and act upon, so they can be governed more wisely and mobilized for public value.
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