Beyond Coordination: Tackling complex social problems through an infrastructural practice

Department: Accounting and Management Control

Speaker: Professor Marian GATZWEILER (University of Edinburgh)

Room: Ramanantsoa, building V

Zoom link: https://hec-fr.zoom.us/j/93893567539 

Abstract:

Tackling complex social problems requires contributions from actors across diverse fields with
distinct expertise and resources. However, direct collaboration between actors from separate fields can be
challenging, and efforts frequently fall short of objectives. This suggests a need to explore alternatives
that enable actors from different fields to find synergies in their work without engaging in formal
collaboration. To investigate this possibility, we analyzed data collected during a six-year qualitative
study of actors from the fields of humanitarian aid and international development as they worked to
address persistent global displacement. These fields have a longstanding history of separation, with
different jurisdictional mandates, values, and temporal orientations. Our findings show that cash-based
assistance serves as a bridging practice that enables actors from both fields to provide support to displaced
populations without needing to directly collaborate or reconcile their differences. This bridging practice
enables actors from separate fields to find synergies in their work through three key activities: connecting,
layering, and customizing. We contribute to field theory and social innovation research by exploring
alternatives to collaboration and developing a model of how actors from separate fields can find synergies
in their activities through shared bridging practices. Importantly, we show how bridging practices provide
not only the structure required to organize efforts globally, but also the flexibility to experiment and
customize responses to local contexts.