Collaborative Governance

'Collaborative governance' gives all parties with a stake in a public problem a say in how to resolve it.

1 minute read

December 23, 2004, 5:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"What if, as a citizen, you were invited to a meeting and found yourself, not in an impersonal hearing room but at a conference table where work gets done. Imagine around this table some citizens, some representatives from industry, union people, farmers, environmental groups, and others affected by what happens along the coastline. Imagine the state official who called you together says that, instead of the government creating a plan that only some could live with, it is instead up to you. As a group you're to hammer out a solution. That's collaborative governance, and it feels much different from simply 'listening to the public.' "

Thanks to Laura Kranz

Thursday, December 23, 2004 in The Christian Science Monitor

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