Co-managing public research in Australian fisheries through convergence–divergence processes Domenico Dentoni a,n , Laurens Klerkx b a Management Studies Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands b Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands article info Article history: Received 9 February 2015 Received in revised form 4 July 2015 Accepted 5 July 2015 Keywords: Participatory research Co-management Ecosystem-based approach Convergence Divergence Innovation Australia abstract The participation of the industry in public research has been found essential to stimulate innovation in fisheries, but the actual design and implementation of co-management of fisheries research is still a critical and open topic. Based on the evidence of 35 project cases in Australian fisheries, this paper analyses a convergence–divergence process to support participatory research. The analysis first entails a description of the levels of stakeholders involved and the resources allocated at each step of the research process. This leads to a discussion on the impacts of the research process at different stages depending on how different sections of the industry (constituencies) were engaged. The results show that allocating time, resources and opportunities for industry representatives to engage with their constituencies is a crucial divergence phase of research processes that complements multi-stakeholder deliberations in convergence phases. Consequently, this paper contributes to the debate on research co-management processes by discussing the role of iterative knowledge sharing among stakeholders at multiple levels (e.g. fishers, processing industry, fishery associations and policymakers) in fisheries systems. & 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction There is now ample evidence that public research is more likely to support innovations that create economic, environmental or social value when private stakeholders are involved in the co- management of research processes [38,56]. Public research usually refers to government-funded research, although private research institutes may also undertake it with public support [15,23], and industry players and relevant associations may also share research costs [41]. In a business setting in the fisheries sector, innovations concern the adoption of new technologies and processes to opti- mize production processes (e.g. novel fishing techniques, product processing techniques, aquaculture systems), new products for customers (e.g. seafood products with novel nutritional properties or preparations) and new business models (e.g. novel marketing arrangements, procurement channels and revenue streams). Co- management occurs when stakeholders involved in the research process participate in the knowledge-sharing (e.g. giving input in the set-up and execution of research) and the decision-making process (e.g. priority setting) [26,29]. Taking a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach to research helps resolve cultural issues that constrain communication among stakeholders [27,35], enhancing the contribution of research to policy formulation and innovation [43,50,56]. The shift to co-management of public research connects with the ecosystem-based approach to governing fisheries. According to many, public institutions – such as national and international agencies regulating the exploitation of marine resources and the activities of those who exploit them – co-manage fisheries more effectively when they take into account that these are embedded in complex ecological, social and political ecosystems from global to local level [33,36]. Therefore, institutions succeed in supporting innovation in fisheries [43] when they connect knowledge sharing and decision making to multiple levels of stakeholders, from glo- bal to local (e.g. fishery and industry associations and their con- stituencies, environmental organizations and their participants), and vice versa [3,19] – thus allowing different types of stakeholder knowledge to shape innovation (e.g. [34, , 37, , 47]). Large projects that follow an ecosystem-based approach and implement a co- management approach to research include, for example, the GAP2 project in the European context [1]. Despite the wide agreement that stimulating innovation in fisheries requires co-management of public research in connection with an ecosystem-based approach, challenges remain in the actual design and implementation of participatory research: engaging re- search project participants and their stakeholders at the appropriate time; creating consensus and trust among multiple stakeholders' Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol Marine Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.07.001 0308-597X/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: domenico.dentoni@wur.nl (D. Dentoni), laurens.klerkx@wur.nl (L. Klerkx). Marine Policy 60 (2015) 259–271