The influence of collaboration on social and official trust in water policy decision-making

This study investigated the problem of the contentious nature of water conflicts in Colorado. To reduce the number, length, and severity of disputes, the State of Colorado passed, in 2005, the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act (2006). The Act created roundtables within each of the eight river basins of Colorado and one within the heavily populated Denver metropolitan area. This quantitative analysis attempted to examine if the collaborative process increased the degree of official and social trust between the stakeholders of two of the nine roundtables, the Denver Metropolitan and the South Platte. The study employed the survey instrument of Focht and Trachtenberg (2005) and utilized their definitions of collaboration and trust. The unit of analysis was the roundtable member. The paired design measured the degree of social and official trust when the respondents first joined the roundtable and the level of social and official trust when responding to the survey. The researcher engaged in a convenience sample approach. Of the 32 voting and non-voting members of the Denver Metropolitan roundtable and the 53 voting and non-voting members of the South Platte roundtable, 45 members participated in the 30-question survey that constituted the data for the analysis. The findings of the study consistently suggested that collaboration influenced official and social trust, among federal and state officials representing official trust and among environmentalists, conservationists, industry executives, and not-for profit groups representing social trust.