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upon upfront in general terms and specified in the course of
the process. Each partner has to contribute to the overall result.
Network governance requires an attitudinal change of all partners
because it includes a new way of working. However, I have
learned that this change has the most drastic consequences for
governments, both locally and nationally. Although the trend
toward privatisation and liberalisation of markets is increasingly
questioned in most Western societies – the Netherlands included
– the division of labour between government, industry and society
is still rather fixed; governments formulate the general rules while
the market determines how to cope with them. However, when a
transformational change is needed, as in the case of the circular
economy, the government cannot just leave implementation to
the market. Firstly, this is because the mainstream market has too
many stakes in its current, mostly linear economy.
Secondly, the market cannot make the system change alone;
companies need partners, such as the government, researchers
and citizens. The government must act as one of the network
partners and cooperate while keeping equal footing with the
others. At the same time, the partners must rely on the systembuilding
activities performed by local or national governments in
the timespan planned. These activities are often tailor-made and
therefore do not constitute the standard repertoire of governmental
instruments.
It is crucial that all partners involved agree on an ambitious vision,
mission and targets of the circular initiative. They must be jointly
responsible for meeting these targets based on a shared sense of
urgency. This is a delicate process, as market actors will diverge
in interest and more established large companies will tend to
dominate the process. That is why a neutral transition broker is
crucial for guiding the process into the desirable direction. To act
as transition broker requires a specific skillset, as described in
chapter 6. This intermediary can be a free agent or someone from
an organisation (e.g. an Economic Board). But is it crucial that this
person be respected, trusted and seen as neutral for all partners