28. Informal shadow networks

Theories about informal shadow networks draw on chaos theory to describe the ‘nonlinearity’ of networks and their impact on the policy process. This provides a slightly different perspective on networks than the management literature. Analyses of informal or shadow networks suggest that nonlinearity – e.g. the spontaneous relations formed between people, the irregular sharing of information, the informal learning processes, the ‘unofficial’ policy interpretations – is precisely what makes networks such valuable sites for innovation. The policy ideas that emerge through shadow networks may after a time become institutionalised and may even become ‘official policy’, and will then in turn be challenged by new ideas that are circulating informally. This constant interaction between stable institutional elements and unstable informal networks is considered vital in current literature on organisational change and policy innovation.
How to achieve legitimacy (‘downward’ links):

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