Public sector and private sector executive leadership forming a cross-sector collaboration: A case study

The global environmental and economic development challenges have increased in complexity and impact leaders in the public sector and private sector on a local and national level. Cross-sector collaboration (CSC) was proposed as an appropriate way to respond to challenges that were too complex for a single organization or single sector to respond to effectively. CSC has been used to respond to such challenges as economic development. The study of CSC was multifaceted, and data were collected from expert interviews, corroborative local-level documents to support or dispute interview statements, and five reports from communities or organizations across the United States. The study focused on the collaborative efforts of public sector executives crossing sector boundaries to work with private sector executives to influence economic development concerns and respond to the current global environmental crisis. The data collected suggested that CSC was used to effectively respond to complex challenges that were too complex for a single organization or sector to respond to alone. The data also suggested that CSCs offer an advantage or collaborative advantage to organizations that choose to use collaboration to respond to challenges. Additionally, the data suggested CSC was used to respond to societal issues and create value for stakeholders. The study also indicated that although CSC was effectively used to respond to complex challenges, a process was followed to increase the possibility of success. CSC offers benefits, but attaining the benefits was neither easy nor guaranteed.