@article{Chen2026, 
author = {Shaojun Chen and Jixing Xiu},
title = {“Umbrella-style co-governance”: Practice of the river chief system in urban grassroots river governance},
year = {2026},
journal = {Journal of Economics of Water Resources},
volume = {44},
number = {1},
pages = {33-39},
keywords = {“umbrella-style co-governance”, river chief system, urban grassroots river governance, social participation, collaborative governance},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.3880/j.issn.10039511.2026.01.004},
doi = {10.3880/j.issn.10039511.2026.01.004},
abstract = {As ecological civilization has been elevated to a national strategic goal, urban grassroots river governance faces the dual challenges of systemic transformation and capacity enhancement. This paper summarizes an innovative river governance model: “umbrella-style co-governance”, a collaborative mechanism combining government leadership with social participation. Through structural, procedural, and technological coordination, participants form a governance system characterized by collaboration and coordination, flattened information flow, and closed-loop problem resolution, thereby improving response speed, resource allocation efficiency, and public participation. The findings indicate that the “umbrella-style co-governance”can help construct a collaborative governance structure characterized by complementary functions and operational autonomy, significantly enhancing end-level river and lake governance efficiency and implementation capacity. Through institutionalized social embeddedness, “umbrella-style co-governance” model promotes sustained multi-actor participation and strengthens ecological, social, and institutional outcomes.}
}