Unit 9 - Collaborative Governance and Governing Through Networks

Question 1

What is collaborative governance?

Answer 1

Emphasis is on sharing power and working together as partners and through networks
- done through networks that are rooted in trust and reciprocity and sustained over the long term, not hierarchies

Question 2

what are the two key aspects that underpin collaborative governance?

Answer 2

1) Partnerships

2) Networks

Question 3

What is the partnership aspect for collaborative governance?

Answer 3

• rejects tat there are firm lines drawn between government and society, Which includes charities, non-profit, and for-profit organization
• views these actors as growing more and more interdependent and blending together as partners
• emphasis is placed on building partnerships so the actors compliment and build upon the strengths of other partners
• meant to serve as an advisory group, instead share power to make decisions together about how to respond to public problems
• tension between collaborative governance and centralization of power
• has been more successful at the local level

Question 4

What is the concept of networks?

Answer 4

Governing can occur through three types of coordination of what might be referred to as guiding mechanisms

1) Hierarchy
2) Markets
3) Networks

Question 5

What is meant by network hierarchy?

Answer 5

Rooted in the power and authority of the public sector to centralize the coordination process in a top-down fashion

Question 6

what is meant by network markets?

Answer 6

Do not view coordination as resulting from power, but from the bargaining between buyers and sellers with currency as the medium for bargaining

Question 7

What is meant by networks

Answer 7

a. Similar to market are Also rooted in bargaining but unlike markets, there are no buyers, seller or currency
b. Networks involve continuous interaction among interdependent actors that work to developed shared values rules to make decisions about public problems and how to respond to them

Question 8

What are some issues characterized by network governance?

Answer 8

Homelessness, immigrant settlement, labour market, economic development, urban Aboriginal governance and even health care

Question 9

What did Michael Howlett discover?

Answer 9

a link between network structures and types of policy change

1) sectors with networks that are more open to new actors and ideas are more likely to produce change in policy goals and programs
2) second generation network studies are also characterized by an attempt to assess the performance of institutionalized governance network across normative criteria

Question 10

What are two key properties of governance networks that are related to its performance?

Answer 10

Institutionalization

Inclusiveness

Question 11

what is institutionalization?

Answer 11

• Captures not only its role in the policy process but also its meeting frequency and its level of integration with relevant decision-makers in the broader policy community

Question 12

what is inclusiveness?

Answer 12

• diverse actors and organization from both government and civil society

Question 13

Collaborative advantage?

Answer 13

• When advocates, mental health professional, and charitable organizations that work alongside government actors, bring something special (and positive) to the policy process, something that cannot be obtained via traditional hierarchical bureaucracies and thus constitute a collaborative advantage