UNCG Collaborative Capacity Guidance Work Group Meeting #3
Agenda Packet
January 20, 2012
2:00-4:00 p.m. EST
Agenda Packet Contents
Agenda Page/Work Group Members p. 1
Work Group Charge, pp. 2
Working Draft Outline pp. 3-5
2:00
2:05
2:10
2:15
2:25
2:40
3:30
3:50
4:00
Opening (Bob) and Introductions (All)
Review of Work Group Charge and Membership
Review of Meeting #1 & #2 Summary Results and Assignments
Review of 2012 Conference Panel Presentations and Planning
Review of Project Descriptions (using template)
Review Draft Set of Organizational Components for the WG Paper
Review of Literature Review Update
Assignments/Next Steps, Scheduling Next Meeting/Agenda Items
Adjourn
Call in instructions:
Dial 866-906-9888
Participant code – 6069426
Work Group Members
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Bob Jones, FSU, FCRC Consensus Center, Working Group Lead
Mary Lou Addor, NC State, Raleigh, Natural Resource Leadership Institute
Marci DuPraw, SRA & NOVA Southeastern University,
Kirk Emerson, Univ. of Arizona,
Bill Logue, U Mass Boston Office of Public Collaboration
Maria Placht, USACE, Institute for Water Resources, CPC
Charlie Pou, Advisor to Administrative Conference of U.S.
Shari Schaftlein, USDOT FHWA, Office of Project Development and Environmental Review
Laurel Singer, National Policy Consensus Center, PSU
John Stephens, UNC, Chapel Hill, Institute of Government, Public Dispute Resolution Program
Debra Whitall, Ph.D., Social Scientist, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region
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UNCG Collaborative Capacity Work Group Charge
September 22, 2011
Building on a session at the June, 2011 UNCG meeting in Portland, OR, a small group of UNCG
members agreed to explore whether and then how to usefully expand upon the UNCG Guide to
Collaborative Competencies report to provide collaborative capacity guidance for those working
within organizations in collaborative governance settings.
This should be explored in the context of the evolving understanding of collaborative governance,1
the UNCG Guide to Collaborative Competencies,2 and recent efforts in implementing collaborative
capacity assessments3
Initial Draft Study Questions to refine and explore include:
1. Definitional: What collaborative capacity? What is the relationship between collaborative
governance and collaborative capacity? What is the relationship between collaborative
competencies and collaborative capacity?
2. What are the benefits of developing collaborative capacities within agencies and
organizations and among agencies and organizations involved in collaboration?
3. What are the benefits to UNCG members of developing tools and skills to provide
collaborative organizational and agency assessments that can measure capacity and facilitate
processes and training to help build collaborative capacity?
4. What is the best way to conceptualize the organizational components of collaborative
capacity? Do we utilize the same component organization as the Guide to Collaborative
Competencies? What are other ways collaborative capacity has been conceptualized? E.g.
The SRA work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended the following
elements: Political leadership/authority and empowerment to use collaboration where
appropriate; Knowledge, skills, and abilities; Time and resources; Institutional procedures
that reward use of these strategies; and Organizational culture.
5. What are the range of collaborative capacity building strategies we should consider that
target the organizational components of collaborative capacity?
6. What do we know about and what guidance can we offer about which work best under
various circumstances?
“The (collaborative governance) framework specifies a set of nested dimensions that encompass a larger
system context, a collaborative governance regime, and its internal collaborative dynamics and actions that
can generate impacts and adaptations across the systems. The framework provides a broad conceptual map
for situating and exploring components of cross-boundary governance systems that range from policy or
program-based intergovernmental cooperation to place-based regional collaboration with nongovernmental stakeholders to public-private partnerships. The framework integrates knowledge about
individual incentives and barriers to collective action, collaborative social learning and conflict resolution
processes, and institutional arrangements for cross- boundary collaboration.” An Integrative Framework for
Collaborative Governance, by Kirk Emerson, Tina Nabatchi, Steve Balogh, Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory, First published online May 2, 2011
http://jpart.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/05/02/jopart.mur011.abstract
1
See, http://www.policyconsensus.org/uncg/collaborativecompetencies.html
See, The State of Collaboration in the Corps: A Field Perspective, Appendix B “Literature Review
on Components of Collaborative Capacity in the Water Resources, Planning and Management Area,
SRA, 2008
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UNCG Collaborative Capacity Work Group
WORKING DRAFT
January 12, 2012
NOTE: This is an initial rough working draft organized around the 6 assignment
areas discussed at the September 15 initial meeting of the Work Group. This current
draft has contributions from John Stephens and Bob Jones and is intended to
stimulate discussion and contributions from other Work Group members.
“Collaboration is becoming the 21st century’s governance tool of choice and necessity.”
-UNCG Guide to Collaborative
Competencies
1. DEFINITIONAL: WHAT COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY? WHAT IS THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE AND
COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY? WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
COLLABORATIVE COMPETENCIES AND COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY?
What is collaborative capacity?
Collaborative capacity is the ability of organizations to enter into, develop, and sustain
intra and inter-organizational systems in pursuit of collective and shared outcomes and
goals.4
What is the relationship between collaborative governance and collaborative
capacity?
Over the last two decades, a new strategy termed ‘‘collaborative governance’’ has developed.
Collaborative governance takes as its starting point the idea that working together creates
more lasting, effective solutions. "Governance" is the process by which public ends and
means are identified, agreed upon, and pursued. This is different than "government," which
relates to the specific jurisdiction in which authority is exercised. "Governance" is a broader
term and encompasses both formal and informal systems of relationships and networks for
decision-making and problem solving.5
This mode of governance focuses on public issues and brings multiple stakeholders from
different sectors together in common forum to engage in consensus-oriented solution
seeking, problem solving and decision-making:
A capacity for collaboration enhances the probability of mission completion and goal achievement
by leveraging dispersed and diverse networked resources. (Hansen & Nohria, 2004). Collaborative
capacity, as it relates to interagency collaboration, resonates in the work of a number of academics
and practitioners (e.g., Bardach, 1998; Huxham, 1996; Mowery, Oxley & Silverman, 1996; Seidman,
1970).
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“Collaborative governance is therefore a type of governance in which public and
private actors work collectively in distinctive ways, using particular processes, to
establish laws and rules for the provision of public goods… It is a governing
arrangement where one or more public agencies directly engage non-state
stakeholders in a collective decision-making process that is formal, consensusoriented, and deliberative and that aims to make or implement public policy or
manage public programs or assets.”6
It has been described as a concept that addresses the process of establishing, steering,
facilitating, operating, and monitoring cross-sector organizational arrangements to
address public policy problems that cannot be easily addressed by a single organization
or the public sector alone. These arrangements are often characterized by “joint efforts
with reciprocal expectations and voluntary participation among formally autonomous
entities, from two or more sectors —public, for profit, and nonprofits —in order to
leverage (build on) the unique attributes and resources of each.”7
What is the relationship between collaborative competencies and collaborative
capacity?
Collaborative competencies focus on the individual’s capacity for and mastery of
effective collaboration. Collaborative capacity focuses on the organization’s network
for support of collaborative efforts both within and beyond the organization. The
UNCG Guide to Collaborative Competencies was focused on guiding public managers
interested in improving their staff’s collaborative competence through continuing
education and training. A guide focusing on collaborative capacity would offer
managers and leaders guidance on how to address and facilitate political
leadership/authority and empowerment to use collaboration where appropriate,
investments of time and resources, the development of institutional procedures that
reward use of collaborative strategies and review and changes regarding organizational
culture and collaboration.
#2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING COLLABORATIVE
CAPACITIES WITHIN AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS AND AMONG
AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN COLLABORATION?
The benefits of developing collaborative capabilities within agencies and organizations
include: cost savings through the transfer of smart practices, better decision making as a
result of advice and information obtained from colleagues, enhanced capacity for collective
action by dispersed units, and innovation through the cross-pollination of ideas and
recombination of scarce resources. (Need citations for these benefits)
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Ansell and Gash JPART 18:543–571 2008
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Daniel Mazmanian & Shui-Yan Tang, USC
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#3 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO UNCG MEMBERS OF DEVELOPING
TOOLS AND SKILLS TO PROVIDE COLLABORATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL
AND AGENCY ASSESSMENTS THAT CAN MEASURE CAPACITY AND
FACILITATE PROCESSES AND TRAINING TO HELP BUILD
COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY?
John Stephens First Cut
A. Follow-on to Collaborative Competencies Guide
http://www.policyconsensus.org/uncg/collaborativecompetencies.html
B. Build integrated training-consultation assistance: moving from helping individuals build
competence and organizations learn from particular processes and envision/build
capacity to make particular projects go well
C. Develop an enhanced/additional service for UNCG members (i.e., assessing and
consulting/helping develop collaborative governance capacity)
D. Gain the collective wisdom of other UNCG members (and others, possibly) to develop
a practical tool
E. Measurement tools can provide ordinal/quantitative data to address questions about
“return on investment” or other input-output questions/needs for efficiency and
effectiveness of collaborative governance capacity
F. Importance of helping organizational cultures change and institutionalizing
collaborative governance. Look beyond any particular project, or training effort to the
broader needs and firmer foundations for longer-term success
G. A potential strategy to address budget cuts/constraints our clients face. Have to
consider various “non-money” ways to do the same work better (in
partnership/collaboration) and/or to re-think overall goals and design new work
processes. Builds from individual ability and motivation to change and use collaborative
competencies to organizational resilience where collaborative capacity is an essential
feature.
Bob’s additions:
 An opportunity to deepen Centers’ skills and collaborative capacity and provide
collaborative assessment and training services that help promote the UNCG mission
and develop organizational collaborative capacity.
 Provide a venue for applied and basic research on collaborative governance.
#5 WHAT ARE THE RANGE OF COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY BUILDING
STRATEGIES WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT TARGET THE
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENTS OF COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY?
#6 WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT AND WHAT GUIDANCE CAN WE OFFER
ABOUT WHICH WORK BEST UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES?
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