Capacities of Networks? Exploring Synergies Across Policy and Governance Capacity, and Network Performance and Effectiveness

The notion of ‘capacity’ is widely used in academic and policy literatures. Extensive literature examines ‘policy capacity’ where capacity is discussed largely through a state-centric lens, and tied to particular functions such as policymaking or problem-solving (Lodge and Wegrich 2014; Wu et al. 2015). More recently, scholars have begun to reframe capacity as ‘governance capacity’, extending the concept to non-state actors (Daugbjerg et al., 2017; van Popering-Verkerk et al. 2022). Both literatures emphasise coordination for effective policymaking, implementation, and service delivery, yet differ in assumptions, units of analysis, and vocabulary. Capacity research foregrounds individual, organisational, and systemic competencies; network scholarship prioritises relational structures, collaborative dynamics, and cross level interactions. Although capacity frameworks increasingly recognise networked coordination and collaboration, integrating network insights into conceptualising and measuring local/regional capacity remains under-explored. This is a particularly pertinent issue for local government and governance, especially where engagement with networks is inevitable due to limited autonomy and resources in local government (Eskersley, 2017). This paper addresses this gap through a scoping review to elucidate similarities and differences in the conceptualisations of ‘policy capacity’ and ‘governance capacity’ from capacity literature, and ‘network performance’ and ‘network effectiveness’ from the governance networks literature. Scoping reviews have recently gained prominence in public policy and administration as a means for mapping broad, heterogeneous fields of inquiry (Belrhiti et al. 2024; Moysan and Ródenas-Rigla, 2024). The review focuses on how each literature defines key constructs, identifies causal mechanisms, and operationalises evaluative criteria. Using a transparent search strategy and screening process consistent with established scoping review frameworks (e.g., PRISMA ScR), the study extracts and synthesises qualitative data using computational text analysis (NLP), and thematic analysis. These methods are well suited to identifying similarities and differences in emphasis, and recurring concepts and latent relationships across diverse bodies of scholarship. The findings are expected to highlight opportunities for conceptual and methodological advancements to study local and regional capacity. By doing so, the paper contributes to the existing literature by bringing together largely separate strands of research to better understand, analyse and measure capacity. Belrhiti et al. (2024). Unravelling collaborative governance dynamics within healthcare networks: a scoping review. Health Policy and Planning, 39(4), 412-428. Daugbjerg et al. (2017). Interest groups and policy capacity: Modes of engagement, policy goods and networks. In Policy capacity and governance: Assessing governmental competences and capabilities in theory and practice (pp. 243-261). Springer. Eckersley (2017). A new framework for understanding subnational policy-making and local choice. Policy Studies, 38(1), 76-90. Lodge and Wegrich (Eds.). (2014). The problem-solving capacity of the modern state: Governance challenges and administrative capacities. Oxford University Press. Moysan and Ródenas-Rigla (2024). The Participatory Processes in Public Policy-Making: A Scoping Review. Societies, 14(12), 244. Van Popering-Verkerk et al. (2022). A framework for governance capacity: A broad perspective on steering efforts in society. Administration & Society, 54(9), 1767-1794. Wu et al. (2015). Policy capacity: A conceptual framework for understanding policy competences and capabilities. Policy and society, 34(3-4), 165-171.