Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Studies on stakeholder trust in natural resources management participatory processes have revealed the importance of trust for successful processes. At the same time forest managers, participatory process facilitators and researchers have found public distrust increasing in natural resources management agencies in the United States and Denmark.
Analysis of stakeholder trust in this study of the collaborative process at Bridger-Teton National Forest (USA) revealed seven key trust-related issues: transparency, outside influences on the process, uncertainty of process outcomes, agency consistency, experiences with agency staff, perceived value differences, and distrust of the federal government. The study finds trust building and management with and among stakeholders should aim toward developing low calculus-based trust and low identification-based trust, while affecting routine-based distrust is largely beyond managers’ and facilitators’ capacity to influence. Cultural differences between Denmark and the United States suggest some trust issues identified in the study may be less important in the Danish context. Higher public trust in government in Denmark may, for example, render issues related to distrust of the federal government found in the case study less relevant in Denmark.
The study also revealed differences between the results from the two methodological tools used in the study: the Progress Triangle and the Trust Analytical Framework. The Progress Triangle analysis provided an overview of the trust issues at BTNF and was a relatively easy tool to use. The Trust Analytical Framework results revealed a more nuanced understanding of trust issues in the case, however this tool also requires more substantial knowledge about trust theories to utilize than needed for using the Progress Triangle.