Edinburgh Napier University

  This paper provides a theoretical overview of the field of governance with a special focus on the analytic perspectives concerning virtual research networks. We discuss network governance as translation of the classical socio-economic governance continuum of market and hierarchy into a hybrid model based on collaboration and trust, supported by explicit as well as implicit governance structures and processes. Furthermore we present some key results drawn from official OPAALS documents and from an ongoing online questionnaire study conducted in the OPAALS research community. The interpretation of these data gives an overview of the actual self-governance procedures and structures in an emerging research community. Furthermore, communication, interaction, and decision making structures are presented in the context of implicit and explicit rules that aim at building a transparent community based on collaboration.