Collaborative Governance for a Clean, Smart, and Resilient Society: Insights into Policy and Practice

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Collaborative governance has increasingly emerged as a central concept in public administration and policy, providing a framework for understanding how public and private stakeholders engage in collective forums to address complex, cross-sectoral challenges. As the pursuit of a clean and sustainable society involves intertwined environmental, economic, social, and technical issues, it demands this kind of collaborative approach. This panel highlights the crucial role of collaborative governance in driving progress toward a clean, smart, and resilient future.

Titled Collaborative Governance for a Clean, Smart, and Resilient Society, this panel examines how various factors—including collaborative platforms, lead organizations, resource availability, collaborative activities, rule structures, social capital, and risk aversion—shape collaboration efforts in the contexts of clean energy transitions, clean cities program, climate resilience, and smart city initiatives. The panel aligns closely with the APPAM conference theme, Forging Collaborations for Transformative and Resilient Policy Solutions, by exploring both the impacts of collaboration and the mechanisms that enable it.

Paper 1 investigates how the type of lead organization influences the trajectory of collaboration, and how collaborative platforms and local partnerships support interconnected activities in the Clean Cities program. Paper 2 analyzes how collaborative governance fosters proactive stakeholder engagement in smart city initiatives, focusing on mechanisms that go beyond formal participation to achieve broader and deeper involvement. Paper 3 explores how rule structures shape participation in community solar programs and affect the distribution of benefits between participants and non-participants. Paper 4 employs behavioral experiments and agent-based models to examine how social capital and risk aversion influence inter-jurisdictional financial collaboration in climate resilience efforts.

Together, these papers offer valuable empirical and theoretical insights into the conditions that enable effective collaborative governance across diverse sustainability contexts. By illuminating the institutional, behavioral, and structural factors that shape collaboration outcomes, the panel contributes to a deeper understanding of how to design and support inclusive, adaptive, and impactful governance arrangements for a clean, smart, and resilient future.

Policy Area

• Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance

Chair

• Catherine Chen, Hamilton College

Discussants

• Brian Y. An, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Elizabeth Baldwin, University of Arizona

Organizer

• Xue Gao, Florida State University

Individual Presentations

• Building Outward: Collaborative Platforms and the Expansion of Local Collaboration - Presenting Author: Heewon Lee, University of Georgia

• Revalidating the Mechanisms of Reciprocity in Collaborative Networks - Presenting Author: Yixin Liu, Baruch College (City University of New York)

• David Meets Goliath: Examining the Causes of Grassroots Collaborative Networks in Water Regulation - Presenting Author: Xi Chen, Northern Arizona University

• Embracing circular economy: Sustainability leadership practices for organization transformation - Presenting Author: Tojo Thatchenkery, George Mason University