Relational public administration: a synthesis and heuristic classification of relational approaches

Interest in the relational dimensions of public administration is growing. However,
the significance of relationality has not been understood, nor has the diversity of
relational approaches been synthesized into a coherent research agenda. Relational
public administration developed from the decline of rational policy models and the
advent of network governance. We draw on relational sociology to formulate
a relational perspective of larger scope, integrating relational process ontology,
practice theory, social network analyses, and interpretive policy analysis. A heuristic
framework classifies relational public administration research in four types:
Connected Actors, Co-Creation Networks, Interactive Performance, and Dynamic
Systems.