Collaborative governance under power asymmetry: co-opted agility in NGO resource mobilisation during the 2021 Henan flood

Purpose This study introduces the concept of co-opted agility to explain how non-state organisations maintain operational speed within state-dominated emergency governance systems. Focusing on a government-affiliated foundation responding to the 2021 Henan floods in China, the study examines how power asymmetry shapes collaborative governance in centralised disaster regimes. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative case study of a government-affiliated foundation with a specialised relief unit and pre-positioned supplies. The evidence includes 11 semi-structured interviews with 10 people: 5 foundation staff members, 3 representatives of peer organisations and 2 sector experts. One participant was interviewed during both the acute response and the recovery period. Internal documents and media reports provided additional context. The analysis used the material through iterative coding informed by the Gioia methodology. Findings The analysis shows how the foundation remained quick without becoming independent of the state. Its internal procedures buffered operational decisions from external pressure. Established ties with logistics providers and peer organisations allowed staff to mobilise before formal coordination was fully in place, although this created duplication and coordination costs. Learning was uneven. Staff adjusted operations rapidly, but political and administrative constraints discouraged changes to the assumptions governing the organisation's relationship with the state. Originality/value The concept of co-opted agility explains a form of collaboration that is easily missed by models built around relatively equal partners. It shows how an NGO can preserve room for rapid action while accepting the state's authority to set the terms of participation. This mechanism-based account can support comparison of state-NGO relations across centralised emergency systems and inform coordination arrangements that make use of NGO speed without absorbing it into slower administrative routines.