ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND NETWORKED PUBLICS:

CASE STUDIES OF WATER SUSTAINABILITY

RAHUL MITRA, PH.D.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

RATIONALE

• ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS NEED TO CONSIDER BOTH LOCAL AND

GLOBAL PUBLICS, NOTING HOW THEY ARE CLOSELY INTERCONNECTED

(BRUMMANS ET AL., 2008; COOREN, 2001; GANESH & ZOLLER, 2014; MITRA, 2013; MUNSHII

& KURIAN, 2015)

• WATER, ESPECIALLY, IS A KEY ISSUE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS

• RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW DO ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS ENGAGE

THEIR NETWORKED LOCAL/GLOBAL PUBLICS AROUND WATER STEWARDSHIP?

• METHOD: COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY APPROACH (“AQUA” AND “WATERNET”)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

• NETWORKED PUBLICS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY THE SPACE CONSTRUCTED

THROUGH NETWORKED TECHNOLOGIES, AND THE IMAGINED COLLECTIVE

THAT EMERGES AS A RESULT OF INTERSECTING PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGIES, AND

PRACTICE (BAYM ET AL., 2012; BOYD, 2011; BOYD & ELLISON, 2007; CASTELLS, 2010; DIANI,

1992; FRASER, 1990; MITRA & GAJJALA, 2010; PARKS, 2011; WARNER, 2002)

• NETWORK PERSPECTIVE TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZING (COOPER & SHUMATE,

2012; GANESH ET AL., 2005; O’CONNOR & SHUMATE, 2014; SHUMATE & O’CONNOR, 2010;

STOHL & STOHL, 2005; VAAST, 2004)

• COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICES OF ENGAGEMENT FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY

(DRUSCHKE, 2013; HOPKE, 2016; MITRA, 2017; MITRA & BUZZANELL, 2015; SPRAIN ET AL.,

2014; SUN ET AL., 2015)

METHOD

• MULTI-CASE STUDY APPROACH TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST

ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES IN REAL LIFE (STAKE, 2000; 2006)

• PRAGMATIC ITERATIVE METHOD TO COLLECT AND ANALYZE DATA (AMIS & SILK,

2008; LINDLOF & TAYLOR, 2011; TRACY, 2013)

• CASE 1: “AQUA” BASED ON PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS OF STAKEHOLDER

MEETINGS, AND ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT TEXTS (~120 PAGES)

• CASE 2: “WATERNET” BASED ON IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (10), TEXTUAL

ANALYSIS, PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AT MAJOR EVENTS (~150 PAGES)

FINDINGS: CASE STUDY 1 “AQUA”

• GLOBALLY NETWORKED DELIBERATION

• GRASSROOTS OUTREACH AND COLLABORATION

• DIALOGIC COMMUNICATION – CENTERING LOCAL PLACE

• CONTESTING SPATIAL CONCEPTS

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES FROM “AQUA”

• “WATER IS A SHARED RESOURCE” THAT REQUIRES “DIALOGUE WITH LOCAL

NEIGHBORS”

• INSTEAD OF “PROMOTERS… TRYING TO ENCOURAGE UPTAKE OF THE

STANDARD,” ALTERNATIVE TERMS LIKE “CHAMPIONS” TO FOREGROUND NON-

FINANCIAL STAKE

• RE-NAME “AREAS OF INFLUENCE” (U.N. GLOBAL COMPACT) TO “SPHERES OF

INFLUENCE” THAT RECOGNIZED BOTH HYDROLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL

IMPACTS

FINDINGS: CASE STUDY 2 “WATERNET”

• GRASSROOTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• GLOCAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• PLACE-BASED BRANDING

• CONNECTOR ACROSS NETWORKS

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES FROM “WATERNET”

“WE SAT DOWN FOR HALF-AN-HOUR, 45 MINUTES, AND AARON TOLD HER THE STORY

OF THE INCEPTION OF WATERNET AND HOW WE KIND OF UNCOVERED THIS WATER

CLUSTER THAT’S ALWAYS SORT OF EXISTED HERE, BUT NOBODY REALLY KNEW ABOUT

IT – THEN DISCOVERED THAT, YES, IT COULD BE A BIG ECONOMIC DRIVER, AND THERE’S

LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIPS AND USING THAT SORT OF POOL OF

KNOWLEDGE TO HELP EVERYONE SUCCEED. AND AS I WAS WATCHING THE SITUATION

UNFOLD, I COULD SEE THIS GAL JUST STARTING TO GET REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT, AND

HER WHOLE FACE KIND OF CHANGED, AND SHE’S NODDING ALONG WITH WHAT

AARON IS SAYING AND REALLY KIND OF – TAKING THE BAIT ISN’T REALLY WHAT I

WANT TO SAY [LAUGHTER] BUT –”

- COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES FROM “WATERNET”

WE WILL CONTINUE WITH GREAT PRIDE TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE

ARE FROM [HOME CITY], AND EVEN WHEN WE START PUTTING OUR THINGS

OUT THERE – OUR LOGO, AS AN EXAMPLE – IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT LOOKS LIKE A

WAVE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT LOOKS LIKE AN [X], AND WE THOUGHT

EARLY ON WHAT HAPPENS IF WE EXPAND AND GROW BEYOND THE SEVEN

COUNTIES… DO WE SIMPLY FLIP THAT AROUND AND TAKE ON A [X] FOR

SOMETHING [ELSE] LIKE THAT?... NO WE NEED TO KEEP THAT JUST AS IT IS, AND

IT REALLY IS THAT TIE BACK TO OUR HEADQUARTERS AND OUR BASE BEING

HERE IN [HOME CITY], AND THAT’S IMPORTANT TO US.

- PRESIDENT

DISCUSSION

• NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY AS BOTH LOCAL AND GLOBAL FOR DIVERSE

STAKEHOLDERS, AND ARTICULATE THEIR CONCERNS DESPITE POTENTIAL

CONTRADICTIONS

• RECOGNIZE MULTIPLEX TIES AMONG STAKEHOLDERS; FILL STRUCTURAL HOLES

TO MOBILIZE ACTION

• DESPITE PARTICIPATORY DISCOURSES AND BUILDING GRASSROOTS

CONNECTIONS, THEY PLAY UP NEOLIBERAL AGENDAS OF BUSINESS GROWTH

AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, REVEALING A TENSIONAL INTERPLAY AMONG

NETWORKED PUBLICS