Analysis of the dynamic of organizational cohesion for establishing collaborative governance of watershed, case area: Sarayan District, South Khorasan

Watershed collaborative governance is a holistic approach for attracting individual and communal involvement of active institutions and stakeholders of a specific arena, in line with ultimate objectives of both the institution and user and constant improvement at all dimensions. Present study was carried out in Sarayan district of South Khorasan Province within Se Ghale Watershed and analyzed the effectiveness of holistic projects through quantifying measures taken for establishing collaborative governance of watershed. Analysis based on the results of holistic projects reveals new horizons for future projects in other watershed areas. Macro-level indicators of stakeholders’ network were measured through social network analysis method before and after implementation of a collaborative project in South Khorasan Province. A positive trend was found out following project implementation. Macro-level indicators including the level of density (54.1 prior project implementation and 74.2 post project implementation), reciprocity (48.8 before and 67.32 after project implementation), centralization of out-group and in-group ties, average geodesic distance (1.37 pre-project and 1.25 post-project implementation) reinforce cross-sectoral links and pave the way for less centralized decision-making. This is a proof in favor of applying network analysis and cross-sectoral approach in operationalizing policies of sustainable natural resources management. What’s more, this new approach will be rather useful for administrators and planners and it will reinforce organizational cohesion of policy-making network.