Publication

Mundane dynamics: Understanding collaborative governance approaches to ‘big’ problems through studying ‘small’ practices

Are collaborative governance approaches the most effective means of addressing wicked problems? This question has sparked considerable debate among scholars. In this article, Lianne Visser contributes to the understanding of why collaborative governance is a challenging response to wicked problems.

Author: Yvonne La Grouw, Oemar van der Woerd, Lianne Visser and Wieke Blijleven
Date: 15 April 2024
Links: Read the full article here

Collaborative approaches to governance, policymaking, and administration are believed to provide means of adequately handling wicked problems. Simultaneously, many scholars have acknowledged the difficulty of collaboration in practice. To understand how we can respond to ‘big’ problems through collaborative governance approaches, the authors suggest that we also need to look at the ‘small’, routine dynamics of collaborative—actor-positioning—processes. In this article, they propose to pay more attention to studying these dynamics of collaborative governance. This highlights the roles and interactions of governance actors in particular contexts. This approach aids in comprehending the development of collaborative processes, meeting the growing demand for such insights.

Building on the four doctoral projects of the authors, rooted in interpretive and practice approaches in policy and administrative studies, this study demonstrates the relevance of illuminating the mundane dynamics of collaborative governance.