Research On The Operational Logic And Practical Path Of Collaborative Governance

The uncertainty of the changing era and the complexity of wicked problems make the public affairs governance beyond the scope of individual capacity.In this context,collaborative governance emerged,which brings multiple stakeholders together to engage in consensus-oriented decision-making and collaborative actions to solve wicked public issues with collaborative strength.As a new form of governance,collaborative governance emerged in a growing range of public arenas including environmental protection,public education,crisis management,and attracted attention of practitioners and professionals.The promotion of collaborative governance in practice has aroused academic response,but in contrast,theoretical research is far behind of practice,and even we can say that we still know little about collaborative governance.For example,how to clarify the meaning of collaborative governance in the jungle of similar concepts,how to accurately reveal its operationael logic to maximize its effectiveness in solving public issues,how about the operational modes and collaborative outcomes in different institutional contexts,how can collaborative governance be successful in institutional context of China?These questions are all worth discussing deeply,and this dissertation attempts to respond.As a new academic concept,collaborative governance enriches the theoretical genealogy.However,with the research achievements growing,its definition remains amorphous and its use inconsistent.Defining collaborative governance is a fundamental work whether from the perspective of governance practice,or from the perspective of academic research.By reviewing the practical development and theoretical origins.of collaborative governance from diachronic perspective,analyzing the definition of collaboration from aspects of semantics and theory,and comparing the similar terms such as cooperation and coordination,we define collaborative governance as a kind of institutional arrangement:In specific social conditions and institutional environment,multi-stakeholders(usually including public agencies,market sectors,social organizations,communities and individuals)come together to engage in consensus-oriented collective deliberation and develop interdependent and trustful relationships and take actions by following common rules in order to deal with public affairs that couldn't be accomplished by an individual actor,solve public issues and promote pubic value.It's better to understand collaborative governance from three interlinked perspectives,that are the institutional arrangement establishing the background constraints for the action mode of actors,the relationship structure standardizing the interactive mode of actors,the open decision-making process which multi-stakeholders participate in.The function and value of collaborative governance are embedded in the process of operation,which requires straightening out the operational logic of collaborative governance.The operational logic of collaborative governance refers to demonstrate the context,structure,and process,explain the components and variables which influence the success of collaborative governance,and predict the developmental trend and collaborative outcomes according to environmental changing,participant behaviors and other factors.Based on the framework of "structure--process--outcomes",this dissertation proposed an integrative framework as the operational logic model of collaborative governance,namely "system context--collaborative process--collaborative outcomes".System context is the realistic field of collaborative governance,among which political and policy context,power and resource structure,social and natural tradition,cooperation and conflict history together constitute the initial situation of collaborative governance,as well as collaborative motivation,leadership,external pressure,role of party and government are the drivers contributing to collaborative governance.Collaborative process is the core of collaborative governance,it is the interactive process where participants come together to deliberate,make decisions and act in order to achieve common purpose.Collaborative process begins with subject concentration,when all of the subjects are at the table,they can negotiate on public issues,collective actions and interest expectations,and make agreements with mutual trust,then formulate a solution to the problems and action rules,and finally turn to collaborative actions.Collaborative outcomes are the degree of achievement of the common goals and the impact on the system context.Assessing the performance of collaborative governance is significant,three performance orders(first-order effect,second-order effect,third-order effect)are addressed at three levels of analysis(public level,institutional level,individual level),creating a performance matrix of nine dimensions of collaborative outcomes.To ensure the effect of collaborative governance,it is necessary to strengthen the supervision and accountability by maintaining the balance between control and flexibility,clarifying the division of responsibilities,establishing accountability standards and innovating accountability pattern."Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth",the operational logic of collaborative governance needs to be tested in practice.Although collaborative governance is a transformative and innovative governance model for public issues,its operation depends on specific realistic field,key variables and various factors in the system context will produce more or less influence on its operation and outcomes.From this perspective,collaborative governance is special.Therefore,it is necessary to explore indigenized governance model by comparing the cases in different system contexts,researching the similarities and differences of operational laws,and summarizing the experience and problems.Through comparing CALFED Program in the United States and Yangtze River Delta Program in China,we found positive experiences in both cases that are worth learning,such as the positive role of government agencies,the flexible collaborative approach,the negotiation-oriented decision-making and the interactive information exchange mechanism.However,there are still some problems in China's practice of collaborative governance,such as the monopolistic role of government agencies,the vertical organizational structure,the closed decision-making process,and the limited public participation.Collaborative governance will never be easy to achieve and succeed.Practice has proved that it is not only subject to the external conditions in the system context,but also depends on internal factors such as institutional design.Therefore,exploring the practical path of collaborative governance needs to optimize internally and externally:On the one hand,adjusting the key variables in system context,to create suitable soil for the growth of collaborative governance.On the other hand,improving institutional design of collaborative governance,to enhance the adaptability of the system context.Considering the system context,the key factors in collaborative process,and experiences and lessons of the two practical cases,especially considering the applicability in institutional context of China,the practical path of collaborative governance can be promoted from subject,organization,culture and institution.In particular,in terms of subject path,clarifying the roles of subject in the collaborative regime,and promoting mutual positive interactions.In the aspect of organizational path,transforming the one-dimension vertical linear structure to interactive flat network structure,at the same time,reconstructing the interrelationship,turning the control-oriented relationship to the open,inclusive,equal,and deliberative relationship.In the aspect of cultural path,through cultivating public spirit,to stimulate the responsibility of concerning public affairs and to arouse the sense of participating in governance practice.At the same time,through the accumulation of social capital,to build social trust,reduce the transaction costs of collective actions,and maintain the stable partnership.In the aspect of institutional path,improving institutional design to provide strong guarantee for collaborative actions as well as strengthening the process management to ensure the institutional design can be effectively implemented.The rise both in the theoretical and practical fields has made collaborative governance became mainstream discourse in this era.But whether for China or the world,collaborative governance is still a new matter,also a complex project.Although there are too many gaps,and facing plenty of difficulties,we believe that collaborative governance will have a bright future.