The Collaborative Agenda

Abstract

Collaboration is now central to the way in which public policy is made, managed and delivered throughout the world. It is a way of working with others on a joint project where there is a shared interest in positive outcomes. The pre-existing and rigid boundaries between public and private sectors, different tiers of government and voluntary and community agencies are becoming more permeable as actors reach across these organisational divides and explore new ways of developing and delivering public purposes. The most familiar form of collaborative arrangement is the multi-organisational partnership, a formal expression of shared commitment to act in the common interest. Globally, partnership is the new language of public governance — whether through the use of private capital to fund infrastructure projects, the engagement of community organisations in economic development or the integration of state health and social care services.