Constructed collaboration: facilitating innovative exchange when networks are thin or divided

Abstract

Collaboration among stakeholders can help develop innovative responses to public policy and management problems. In some cases, collaboration arises organically within broad networks of stakeholders with sufficient trust to share expertise and support mutually developed innovations. However, networks may not include all relevant stakeholders and stakeholders within networks may have conflicting interests that prevent organic collaboration. In these cases, public managers and policy designers may be able to construct institutional arrangements creating arenas that facilitate the sharing of expertise and support for innovations. These institutional arrangements, which vary in terms of the degree to which stakeholders are involved in the development of the content of policies, must overcome the problems of engaging stakeholders so that they contribute expertise and at least acquiesce in policy decisions. Ironically, on-going incremental decision making may be valuable in creating an opportunity for major innovations by building trust among stakeholders that normally occurs organically in networks. The continuous distribution initiative, an innovative change in U.S. organ allocation policy, illustrates the potential for constructed collaboration to secure stakeholder engagement in complex policy design.

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