cat ~/research/README.md

Research

One question runs through all of my research:

How do governance institutions adapt and sustain legitimacy under political, technological, and environmental uncertainty?

I pursue it across collaborative watershed management, energy transitions, data center growth, and the technologies reshaping public administration.

Google Scholar Publications
Line drawing of a terminal split into four panes: a river beside a roundtable of partners, an oil derrick next to houses and wind turbines, server racks drawing on power and water, and a hash chain, a dashboard, and a camera

tree -L 1 ~/research

Research focus

My research sits at the intersection of practice and policy, with four main areas of focus:

├── water/

Collaborative Water Governance

Examining how partnerships across watershed boundaries address water quality challenges and what helps them last.

├── energy/

Energy Policy & Justice

Studying regulatory enforcement patterns in energy extraction and community impacts, especially in vulnerable populations.

├── data-centers/

Data Centers & the Commons

Studying how communities respond to data center growth, from public opposition and siting conflicts to the strain on shared water, land, and power that local institutions are left to govern.

└── govtech/

Technology in Governance

Exploring real-time crime centers, blockchain applications for transparency, and how technology reshapes public administration.

grep -i "" publications.bib

Publications

21 of 21 entries

Peer-reviewed journal articles [9]

  1. 2026

    Fostering Equity, Engagement, Ethics, and Empathy in Public Service: A Narrative Vignette Study of City Managers

    Reill, Karen, and David P. Adams

    Public Integrity, May, 1–15 doi:10.1080/10999922.2026.2665006

  2. 2025

    Inspector-Level Bureaucracy: Drilling into Discretion in a State Natural Resource Agency

    Naher, Nurun, David P. Adams, Jonathan M. Fisk, Adam P. Mayer, John C. Morris, and Joseph A. Aistrup

    Environmental Policy and Governance, 36, 135–148 doi:10.1002/eet.70038

  3. 2025

    Exploring the Role of Multi-Agency Coordination in California's Climate Investment Program 2015–2024

    Arthur, Prince, David P. Adams, Jonathan M. Fisk, Matthew G. Jarvis, and Christopher A. Simon

    Public Organization Review, 25, 1861–1878 doi:10.1007/s11115-025-00958-2

  4. 2025

    The Code Is the Policy: Blockchain Governance and the Authoritarian Pursuit of Administrative Efficiency

    Adams, David P.

    Administrative Theory & Praxis, 48, 17–27 doi:10.1080/10841806.2025.2585729

  5. 2025

    Administrative Resilience Under Pressure: Environmental Governance and Institutional Adaptation

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, and Adam P. Mayer

    Administrative Theory & Praxis, 47, 289–295 doi:10.1080/10841806.2025.2537600

  6. 2025

    Does Disclosure Matter? Coupling Information to Performance in Texas

    McKnight, Steven P., David P. Adams, and Jonathan M. Fisk

    Policy Studies Journal, 54 doi:10.1111/psj.70064

  7. 2025

    Plugged In? Assessing the Distribution of Orphaned Wells

    Amin, Alisha, David P. Adams, Jonathan M. Fisk, and Adam P. Mayer

    Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 27, 496–509 doi:10.1080/1523908X.2025.2480289

  8. 2021

    Crude Contempt: Examining Local Pushback to Oil and Gas Development in California

    Mahafza, Zachary, Jonathan M. Fisk, and David P. Adams

    Politics & Policy, 49(2), 479–501 doi:10.1111/polp.12401

  9. 2019

    Affluence, Risk, and Community Engagement: The Case of Ascon and Huntington Beach

    Adams, David P., Meriem Doucette, and Justin Tucker

    California Journal of Politics and Policy, 11(3), 1–19

Books [1]

  1. May 2026

    Navigating Water Quality Outcomes in American Watersheds

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, and John Morris

    Cambridge University Press Book

Books under contract [2]

  1. —

    Governing Fossil Fuel Legacies: Policy Risk and Resistance

    Naher, Nurun, David P. Adams, Jonathan M. Fisk, and John C. Morris

    Under contract with Routledge Press Book

  2. —

    Big Challenges in Water Policy: The Changing Face of Federalism

    Fisk, Jonathan M., John C. Morris, David P. Adams, and Sean McKelvie

    Under contract with University of Utah Press Book

Other publications [3]

  1. 2026

    The Code Coup: Blockchain Bureaucracy and the Quiet War on Discretion

    Adams, David P.

    PA TIMES Online, American Society for Public Administration, February 6, 2026 Public scholarship

  2. 2019

    Ethics in Public Administration: Ethics, Corruption, and Public Policy

    Doucette, Meriem, and David P. Adams, eds.

    San Diego, CA: Cognella Edited textbook

  3. 2019

    Minnesota Environmental Policy

    Adams, David P.

    In Minnesota Government and Politics, edited by James B. Cottrill, Shawn E. Schooley, Steven C. Wagner, and Shoua S. Yang. Dubuque, IA: Great River Learning Publishers Textbook chapter

Accepted & forthcoming [1]

  1. in press

    Who Welcomes the Data Center? Infrastructure Siting, Community Capacity, and the Limits of NIMBY Politics

    Jarvis, Matthew G., David P. Adams, and Amir Dabirian

    IT Professional 28(4), September/October 2026 Forthcoming

Manuscripts under review [5]

  1. review

    Working Together? The Legitimacy Halo Effect and the Ethics of Collaborative Watershed Governance

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, John C. Morris, and Karen Reill

    Under review at Public Administration Review Under review

  2. review

    Public Opposition to Data Centers: A Narrative Policy Framework Analysis of Tucson's Project Blue

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, Kris Hartley, Farzana Zinnat, Jeremy Thomson, and Kiley Ryan

    Under review at Review of Policy Research Under review

  3. review

    Disclosure and Enforcement in Fossil Fuel Extraction: Regional Impacts of Texas's Oil and Gas Transparency Reform

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, Matthew G. Jarvis, and Steven McKnight

    Under review at Resources Policy Under review

  4. review

    Does Collaboration Deliver? Water Quality Outcomes in Watershed Governance

    Adams, David P., Jonathan M. Fisk, and John C. Morris

    Under review at Society & Natural Resources Under review

  5. review

    When the Mission Changes: The Divergent Effects of Reform in Oil and Gas Compliance

    Naher, Nurun, David P. Adams, Jonathan M. Fisk, Binita Mahato, and Alisha Amin

    Under review at Energy Policy Under review

man dadams.io — keyboard shortcuts
g h
go to home
g a
go to about
g r
go to research
g t
go to teaching
g v
go to cv
g c
go to contact
g b
go to blog
/
search publications (on research)
t
cycle color theme
g g
back to top
?
toggle this help
esc
close