Collaborative governance: The role of university centers, institutes, and programs

• Published date: 01 October 2021
• Author: Michael A. Kern,L. Steven Smutko
• Date: 01 October 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21314

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Collaborative governance: The role of university

centers, institutes, and programs

Michael A. Kern

1,2,3

| L. Steven Smutko

4

1

Washington State University Extension,

Pullman, Washington, USA

2

Evans School of Public Policy and

Governance, University of Washington,

Seattle, Washington, USA

3

William D. Ruckelshaus Center, Seattle,

Washington, USA

4

Haub School of Environment and

Natural Resources, Ruckelshaus Institute,

University of Wyoming, Laramie,

Wyoming, USA

Correspondence

Michael A. Kern, William D. Ruckelshaus

Center, Washington State University

Extension, 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2900

Seattle, WA 98164, USA.

Email: m.kern@wsu.edu

Funding information

Eldon and Beverly Spicer Endowment;

Ruckelshaus Center Endowment Fund

Abstract

For almost four decades, universities have played a signif-

icant role in developing the field of collaborative gover-

nance in the United States, including the establishment

of centers that contribute to teaching and training,

research and scholarship, and practice. In this article, we

describe the evolution of university-based collaborative

governance in the United States, summarize results and

key findings from a survey of centers, identify a typology

of centers, describe how these centers have adapted to fit

the states and regions where they operate, present two

centers as examples, and make observations about the

future of collaborative governance at universities.

KEYWORDS

collaborative governance, conflict resolution, public policy,

universities

1|INTRODUCTION

For almost four decades, universities have played a significant role in the development of the

field of collaborative governance in the United States. Through teaching, scholarship and prac-

tice, universities have contributed to the definition, theoretical underpinnings, and formulation

of the discipline, both as a field of study and a professional practice. This contribution has

remained largely undocumented in the literature and this paper fills that gap. In this article, we

document the evolution of university-based collaborative governance in the United States, dem-

onstrate how university programs have shaped the broader conversation about collaborative

governance and its role in public policy making and implementation, describe the current state

of 29 programs, institutes and centers (hereinafter referred to as centers), provide a more

detailed description of two of them, and contemplate the future of university-based collabora-

tive governance in the United States.

Received: 24 January 2021 Revised: 3 June 2021 Accepted: 11 July 2021

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21314

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2021;39:29–50. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 29

2|COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE

The term “collaborative governance”is being applied more frequently in public administration,

political science, and other fields, in the United States and elsewhere, to refer to a wide range of

approaches to public policy making that focus on reaching across public, private, and civic

boundaries. Over the last decade or so, the term has been defined more specifically to apply to

multiparty, consensus-seeking processes, often facilitated or mediated by a third party, that are

intended to resolve particular public policy challenges. Such definitional clarity distinguishes

this type of collaborative governance from other types of collaboration such as partnerships,

coalitions, and networks (Agranoff, 2006; Bidwell & Ryan, 2006; Himmelman, 2001; Leach

et al., 2002; Minow, 2003; Moote et al., 1997; Poocharoen & Ting, 2015; Roussos &

Fawcett, 2000).

In 2005, Bingham et al. pointed to “a rich diversity of processes that use negotiation, media-

tion, facilitation, citizen and stakeholder engagement, deliberation, collaboration, and

consensus-building,”and described these processes as “the new governance”(L. B. Bingham

et al., 2005, p. 552). In 2008, Ansell and Gash defined collaborative governance as, “A governing

arrangement where one or more public agencies directly engage non-state stakeholders in a col-

lective decision-making process that is formal, consensus-oriented, and deliberative and that

aims to make or implement public policy or manage public programs or assets”(Ansell &

Gash, 2008, p. 2).

In 2012, Emerson et al. defined collaborative governance more broadly, as “[t]he processes

and structures of public policy decision making and management that engage people construc-

tively across the boundaries of public agencies, levels of government, and/or the public, private

and civic spheres in order to carry out a public purpose that could not otherwise be accom-

plished”(Emerson et al., 2012, p. 2). In 2015, they built a conceptual framework around that

definition, describing “collaborative governance regimes”in which parties engage in this type

of governance (Emerson & Nabatchi, 2015, p. 18).

In 2018, the University Network for Collaborative Governance (UNCG) added to the Ansell

and Gash, and Emerson and Nabatchi definitions the ideas that participants engage in collabo-

rative governance to “enhance their communities and shape sustainable public policy

decisions,”as well as to “leverage the unique attributes and resources of (the public, private,

and civic sectors) for the greatest impact”(UNCG, 2018, p. 2).

Collectively, these definitions describe how collaborative governance differs from more gen-

eral types of collaboration in the public policy sector. This decade-plus of defining and refining

is also helping to formalize, explore, and put into context over four decades of facilitation, medi-

ation, and conflict resolution by collaborative governance practitioners from private, non-

governmental, governmental, and academic settings (Avruch & Nan, 2013; G. Bingham, 1986;

Cormick et al., 1996; Hall & Kern, 2017; O'Leary & Raines, 2001; Podziba, 2012; Purdy, 2000;

Wondolleck & Yaffee, 2000).

3|THE EVOLUTION OF UNIVERSITY-BASED

COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE

University researchers and scholars have played a key role in the development of the field of

collaborative governance through the development of a rich body of literature that defines

many of the key concepts, principles, and practices in use today. With roots in mid-20th century

30 KERN AND SMUTKO