Oral presentation: Thaïs Franken

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are vital actors in small-island governance, where limited state capacity, political proximity, and multi-level governance structures shape how public value is created and sustained. Yet, little empirical research has examined how CSOs in such contexts understand, produce, and operationalize public value in practice. This study investigates public value creation by social, health, and cultural CSOs in Aruba and Bonaire, two sub-national island jurisdictions within the Dutch Caribbean with contrasting constitutional formations and enabling environments. Building on a reframed Public Value Governance (PVG) model, this research conceptualizes public value creation through a two-layer approach.  

First, it draws on an adapted version of Moore's strategic triangle, analyzing three interconnected components: shared public value, adaptive operational capacity, and relational authorizing environments. Second, it examines the mechanisms through which CSOs navigate within this public value triangle: (i) community-based value framing, (ii) value-driven service delivery, and (iii) trust-based collaboration. The study employs an embedded comparative case study design across two islands and three sectors, utilizing in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews, document analysis, and contextual observations. Rigorous thematic coding using NVivo software will be used for the analysis. Findings aim to advance the theoretical understanding of CSO-driven public value creation in small island settings and to provide a relational, context-sensitive framework for assessing public value creation beyond state-centric mechanisms. The study contributes to Public Administration, Island Studies, civil society scholarship, while offering practical insights for governance innovation in micro-jurisdictions.