Journal Article

IDS Bulletin 38.6

Big Governance Research: Institutional Constraints, the Validity Gap and BIM

Published on 1 December 2007

The pressing questions about governance today require research on a scale, and of a complexity, that the existing institutional environment for research has great difficulty supporting. This article identifies some of the current institutional constraints on
governance research, and examines a set of institutional innovations that enable a form of ‘big governance research’ that begins to meet the information and knowledge requirements of
contemporary governance questions.

It presents the organisation and methodology of the multi-country study ‘Modes of Service Delivery, Collective Action and Social Accountability in Brazil, India, and Mexico’ (henceforth BIM, for Brazil, India and Mexico). We argue that the organisational and funding model that BIM has created permits the type of interdisciplinary, process-oriented, and multi-country or multi-region research needed to answer governance questions of international concern.

Related Content

IDS Bulletin 38.6

Cite this publication

Houtzager, P., P. and Acharya, A. (2007) Big Governance Research: Institutional Constraints, the Validity Gap and BIM. IDS Bulletin 38(6): 27-37

Authors

Peter P. Houtzager

Research Fellow

Arnab Acharya

Publication details

journal
IDS Bulletin, volume 38, issue 6
doi
10.1111/j.1759-5436.2007.tb00416.x
language
English

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