Disaster and emergency management (DEM) systems are increasingly characterized by distributed authority, multi-agency interdependence, and complex hazard environments. While prior research has reframed DEM as a complex adaptive system, less attention has been given to how coherence, adaptive coordination, and legitimacy are sustained across decentralized networks where no single actor holds complete mandate or authority. This study examines system stewardship as a meta-governance function capable of addressing this gap. Drawing on constructivist networked grounded theory, the study analyzes 38 semistructured interviews with 40 practitioners across Aotearoa New Zealand’s DEM system. The analysis revealed four themes: governing a distributed system; enabling coordination through trust and inclusive participation; sharing information and sustaining learning; and sustaining capability over time. The study integrates these findings into a three-pillar framework of system stewardship comprising relational, informational, and institutional dimensions, each representing a distinct but interdependent set of enabling conditions for adaptive coordination. The study argues that sustaining DEM performance requires moving beyond episodic leadership during events toward the deliberate sustaining of these enabling conditions across the system as a whole. In doing so, it contributes a complexity-informed governance framework applicable to DEM systems operating under conditions of decentralization, uncertainty, and compound risk.
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Auckland University of Technology
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