“The beginning is the most important part of any work,” wrote Plato in The Republic. This wisdom holds true for partnerships between governments and private entities, shows a new meta-analysis of studies on collaborative governance. The researchers find that cross-sector initiatives work best when partners start out with equal amounts of resources, comparable incentives to participate, and a previous history of cooperation. These starting conditions then foster the trust that is necessary for partners to work together over the long haul.
“Starting conditions aren’t always considered as seriously as they should be, but they sure pack a predictive punch,” says Alison Gash, a graduate student in the department of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, and a study coauthor. “If you don’t develop the trust, shared understandings, and incentives early on, when the time comes to implement, it’s an utter nightmare,” she says, reflecting upon her own experiences brokering cross-sector collaborations.
For their review, Gash and her coauthor first compiled 137 case studies on collaborative governance, which they defined as public-private partnerships that aim to implement public policy or manage public programs or assets through democratic processes. They then examined under which conditions the partners actually collaborated.
When partners have unequal resources, the researchers find, the stronger actors can manipulate the collaboration for their own ends. In addition, when partners lack incentives, they have no reason to stick around for the duration of the project. And when partners have a history of conflict, their rancor gets in the way of the project’s progress.
“People tend to view collaborative governance as a cure for all the ills of centralized government,” notes Gash. And indeed, she too believes in the power of participatory governance. “But you need to make sure that all the pieces are there to make it work.”
Chris Ansell and Alison Gash, “Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice,” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18, 2008.
Read more stories by Alana Conner.