Care-based leadership in a core-periphery network: a South African case study in collaborative watershed governance

Considering increasing water insecurities related to climate change, there is a growing need for effective collaboration across core-periphery boundaries to restore and regenerate watershed vitality. It has been demonstrated that collaborative watershed governance is effective when there is a core group engaging in boundary acting, fostering interpersonal relationships, exchanging information, and sharing activities amongst stakeholders across a social network. To better understand how the core supports and collaborates with peripheral actors, we analyzed a case study of the uMzimvubu Catchment Partnership (UCP), located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Through qualitative and social network analysis, we identify relational links as participation in quarterly meetings, self-described close connections, and shared projects or activities. Members collaborate in this voluntary network based upon perceptions of the derived benefits, shared vision, and leadership style. The characteristics of care-based leadership expressed by a core group enhance the collaborative interactions across the social network by nurturing relationality from the core to the periphery.