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Collaborative and Participatory Governance

Module description

This module will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills to address two important but challenging aspects of contemporary public policy and administration: (i) working across organisational and departmental boundaries; (ii) working with ‘publics’. You will be introduced to both the theory and practice of these topics, and learn about navigating and overcoming the challenges of collaborative and participatory governance through case studies, and a mixture of theoretically and empirically oriented research articles. This module will be beneficial if you have experience of working in the public or non-profit sector or if you wish to pursue a career in these sectors. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Tackling society’s most pressing problems often requires practitioners and public managers to work across, and in spite of, organisational boundaries. Moreover, finding solutions to these problems often involves working collaboratively with the communities and publics affected. The module aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of collaborative and participatory modes of governance in public policy and administration. You will be introduced to growing range of approaches and methods used by today’s practitioners seeking to work across organisational boundaries and with different societal groups and affected communities. You will learn to critically evaluate these methods, and develop an understanding of when different approaches might be most appropriate and relevant. You will gain a critical understanding of some core theoretical and conceptual frameworks relevant participatory and collaborative governance.

The module also has a practical focus, and integrates case studies and examples throughout, as well as developing skills in these areas (e.g. skills in managing public deliberation, skills in partnership working and navigating complex implementation structures). You will acquire these skills through discussions, simulations and role play vignettes where you have to navigate collaboration and participatory governance dilemmas. The 2 hour weekly ‘leminar’ format allows you to learn from both lecture style presentations and engage in interactive group work, with each week building on your accumulating knowledge to develop and deepen understanding of the course material.  

The forms of assessment include a traditional essay, as well as inquiry-based learning approaches, namely a SWOT analysis, and a group presentation related to a public participation case study.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a systematic and deep understanding of theoretical concepts associated with participatory and collaborative governance
• 2. Understand the challenges associated with cross organisational working and some of the proposed facilitators, both formal and informal
• 3. Describe a range of methods and approaches to public participation, and articulate their associated strengths, weaknesses, risks and challenges

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an ability to consider issues of ethical practice
• 5. Evaluate and integrate theory and practice in a wide range of situations

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Undertake SWOT analyses in relation to public management dilemmas
• 7. Orally present and defend arguments concisely and clearly
• 8. Articulate arguments clearly in written form, integrating theoretical constructs and research based insights
• 9. Work effectively as a group to plan a strategy

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics

Introduction

• Key theoretical concepts: collaborative governance, participatory governance/ democracy, deliberative democracy

Part A: Collaborative governance

• The context and rationale for collaborative working: ‘wicked’ and cross-cutting issues  
• Joined up government and collaboration: barriers and enablers
• Formal coordination tools: from joint protocols to joint budgets and holistic planning tools
• Informal approaches: the development of trust, encouraging boundary spanning activities and competencies
• Case studies of collaboration and non-collaboration: stories of success and failure

Part B: Participatory governance

• The spectrum of public participation in policy design and delivery, from consultation to co-production and user/ community led approaches
• Principles of effective participation; overcoming risks and challenges
• Introduction to a range of public participation and deliberation method and approaches, including participatory budgeting, community organising, and deliberative mini publics, e.g. citizens’ juries and citizens’ assemblies
• Case studies of participatory governance: which approach, when and why?

Part C: Participatory governance in practice

• Group presentations: applying participatory methods to case studies

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bianchi, C., Nasi, G. & Rivenbark, W.C. (2021) Implementing collaborative governance: models, experiences, and challenges, Public Management Review, 23:11, 1581-1589, DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2021.1878777
• Dacombe,R. & Parvin, P. (2021) Participatory Democracy in an Age of Inequality, Representation, 57:2, 145-157
• Elstub, S. ‘Deliberative & Participatory Democracy’ in Bachtiger et al. 2018. The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy.
• Eriksson, E., Andersson, T., Hellström, A., Gadolin, C. & Lifvergren, S. (2020) ‘Collaborative public management: coordinated value propositions among public service organizations’, Public Management Review, 22:6, 791-812.
• Fischer, F. 2012. ‘Participatory Governance: From Theory to Practice’. The Oxford Handbook of Governance.
• Greenwood, S., Singer, L., Willis, W. 2021. Collaborative Governance: Principles, Processes, and Practical Tools. London: Routledge.
• Huanming Wang & Bing Ran (2021) Network governance and collaborative governance: a thematic analysis on their similarities, differences, and entanglements, Public Management Review.
• Joshi, A. and Moore, M., 2004, Institutionalised co-production: Unorthodox public service delivery in challenging environments. Journal of Development Studies, 40(4), pp. 31–49.
• Sørensen, E., Torfing, J.. (2021) Accountable Government through Collaborative Governance?. Administrative Sciences 11:4, pages 127.
• Sorrentino, M. Sicilia, M. & Howlett, M. (2018) Understanding co-production as a new public governance tool, Policy and Society, 37:3, 277-293.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – Faculty to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
• Participedia
• Involve | people at the heart of decision-making | involve.org.uk
• Deliberative Democracy Resources — Grassroots To Global (grassroots2global.org)
• Participatory Democracy Resources — People Powered
• Participatory democracy — Communities Channel Scotland (communityscot.org.uk)

Key words search

Collaborative Governance, Public Participation, Deliberation, Public Policy, Public Administration