Who Joins a Forum—And Who Does Not?—Evaluating Drivers of Forum Participation in Polycentric Governance Systems

In polycentric governance systems, decisions that influence a given policy issue are often made across series of forums: venues where actors meet to resolve collective action problems. Here, we examine who does and not participate in forums, the factors driving participation. We analyze forum participation patterns 307 involved Swiss water governance, could forums. find majority do any Results from Bayesian multilevel logistic regression model show especially those concerned with broader range issues have more organizational resources at their disposal likely participate. To lesser extent, this also holds for organizations represent beliefs consistent median system. A belief increased cross-sectoral coordination is needed promote effective discernible impact on These results question integrative characteristics attributed forums generally.