Abstract

Collaborative governance is viewed as an important strategy for addressing environmental dilemmas, which are typically marked by complex interdependencies among social and environmental factors, uncertainty, and dynamism. Collaborative governance is valued in the context of these factors because it convenes diverse groups of stakeholders that can advise on different facets of environmental dilemmas, and generate policy solutions that reflect the voices and perspectives of these diverse stakeholders. But while diversity and inclusion form the conceptual basis of collaborative governance, there have been relatively few studies published to date that explicitly operationalize and test the effects of diversity within it. Even less attention has been given to examining how diversity works in combination with other aspects of collaboratives to shape collaboration outcomes, and how these dynamics might change over time. This paper helps address this limitation by examining the link between collaborative form (e.g., representation), process (i.e., facilitation and decision making dynamics), and function (e.g., collaborative purpose and outputs), specifically within collaboratives designed to engage in environmental policy design or implementation. This research also examines if and how links between collaborative form, process, and function evolve over the course of collaboration. The paper draws on cases from the Collaborative Governance Case Database.

Citation

Siddiki, S., G. Ambrose, and U. Brady. 2021. “Linking Form, Process, and Function of Environmental Collaboratives over Time.” 2021 APPAM Fall Research Conference.