7f. Collaborative Governance for Sustainable Development
Track Chairs:
Diana Trujillo. Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia. ditrujil@uniandes.edu.co
Goals and objectives of the track
Debates about governance for sustainable development move between two different and opposed levels of analysis, local and global. On one side, advocates of "global governance" arrangements to manage sustainable development affairs have received some support. However, critics point to the difficulties of this type of arrangement to forge the required global identities for these mechanisms to function. Critiques also mention difficulties to overcome obstacles to collective action in global arrangements; and the absence of enforcing mechanisms, often grounded in governments bounded to the limits of the nation state.
On the other side, more locally grounded arrangements, labeled "collaborative governance arrangements," offer concrete strategies to advance sustainable development objectives. Collaborative governance arrangements are usually defined as collaborative processes (as opposed to adversarial and contractual approaches) for public policy decision-making and management, where different stakeholders from public, private and social sectors engage to tackle complex, wicked problems (Ansell & Gash, 2008; Emerson et al, 2011).
Empirical research on collaborative governance has shown positive effects in issues associated with sustainable development. Studies offer evidence in areas as varied as: poverty, inclusion, education, health, community development, water conservation, basins and natural resources management. Also, empirical research has shown positive effects of these arrangements regarding procedural justice, inclusiveness, and deliberation over substantive values.
The central research question posed by this track is: to what extent are collaborative governance arrangements an effective mechanism to govern sustainable development affairs?
Other related questions include:
- Under what conditions are collaborative governance arrangements effective to manage sustainable development goals?
- What are the requirements regarding local and regional levels of governance that facilitate or hinder the effectiveness of collaborative governance arrangements?
- What role can bottom-up initiatives for public participation play in collaborative governance arrangements?
- How can locally grounded collaborative governance arrangements interact with global governance arrangements?
We invite to this track empirical and theoretical works that contribute to understand how geographically grounded experiences of collaborative governance can contribute to better governance for sustainable development.
You may submit your abstract by visiting the Ex Ordo abstract submission system (you will be required to setup an account first): http://isdrs2017.exordo.com
Diana Trujillo is Instructor at the School of Management at the Universidad de Los Andes. She completed her Ph.D. in Public Administration at New York University. Her research areas include management of complex issues, cross-sector collaborations, collaborative governance arrangements, social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Currently her work is focused on understanding the links between value creation and impact evaluation in cross-sector collaborations. She contributed to: Socially Inclusive Business in Latin America (2010), Effective Management of Social Enterprise (2006), and Social Partnering In Latin America: Lessons Drawn from Collaborations of Businesses and Civil Society Organizations (2004), published by Harvard University. She has authored a dozen of case studies, most of them published by Harvard Business Publishing.
