Geospatial Public Participation Tool Adoption in U.S. Natural Resource Agencies

Government agencies increasingly adopt geospatial online participation tools (geo-OPTs) for public engagement. Yet, little is known about the enablers and constraints surrounding their adoption. We draw from organizational innovation theory to address this knowledge gap related to the adoption of geo-OPTs by U.S. natural resource agencies. We conduct 35 interviews with natural resources agencies and triangulate our findings with policy documents. We find that enablers and constraints interact in distinctive ways that support and hinder innovation of geo-OPTs. Organizational champions navigate enablers and constraints within organizations and their broader environment to propel tool adoption and overcome structural barriers to public engagement in natural resources decision-making. By doing so, geo-OPTs become a pathway for agencies to overcome structural barriers and a tool for advancing human dimensions of natural resource management. These findings provide lessons applicable to public participation activities across diverse governance scales and issue areas.