| In this dissertation, a case study research design was used to track the change from three centralized, governmental organizations to one integrated, decentralized organization in Costa Rica from the mid-1980s--2000. The Servicio de Parques Nacionales (Park Service), the Direccion General Forestal (Forest Service), and the Direccion General de Vida Silvestre (Wildlife Service), the agencies responsible for protected areas, forestry, and wildlife respectively, were reinvented to create a new agency, Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas (SINAC). SINAC became responsible for sustainable regional biodiversity management. SINAC's new management responsibilities included nature conservation, natural resource use, the maintenance of environmental services as well as implementation authority ranging from policy-making and strategic planning to on-the-ground implementation of planning and management actions. The results of the research are presented in two manuscripts and a manual. These results encompass four areas. First, the role of the environment of SINAC, and its evolving strategies, social structures, and culture in the transformation process are presented. Second, the role of philosophical principles guiding SINAC's transformation (1) democratization, (2) deconcentration (redistribution of human, equipment, financial, and client servicing resources to the regional administrative unit level) and (3) decentralization (redistribution of authority and responsibility) are examined in relation to understanding SINAC's transition. Third, the barriers and facilitators of the transformation process are described. Fourth, the lessons learned from the organizational change process are presented. Findings are organized, interpreted and reported using David Osborne and Peter Plastrik's five strategies for transforming governmental organizations. This Reinventing Government Model served as a useful framework for understanding the barriers and facilitators of organizational change identified in this study, and for placing the lessons learned in the context of the practice of organization development. The final component of this research effort is a practical manual on how to reinvent governmental natural resource agencies. It is based on the findings of the case study and draws on previous work and research dealing with reinvention. |
