Policy With versus Policy On: Collaborative Decision-Making and Equity

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

In an era marked by climate disruption, pandemic shocks, and democratic erosion, the need for inclusive, just, and sustainable decision-making has never been more urgent. Collaborative decision-making with the public is one tool to improve policymaking, lending legitimacy to decisions (Habermas, 1992; Michels & De Graaf, 2010) and including those most impacted (Bryson et al., 2014). Further, public participation in government planning processes is recognized as crucial to just and effective policymaking (Fung, 2006). However, not enough is known about the relationship between citizens engaging in collaborative decision-making with governments and equity. 

This panel explores the power and promise of collaborative decision-making processes in crafting transformative and resilient public policy. We examine processes that do “policy on” communities, particularly those historically marginalized, versus those making “policy with” them, emphasizing co-production, shared governance, and equity-driven engagement strategies. We explore collaborative processes across diverse policy domains, including housing, public health, and disaster response. We bring empirical and theoretical insight into how partnerships between public agencies, community-based organizations, and grassroots actors are forged, negotiated, and maintained. Our work also explores the result of collaborative decision-making and the damage that can occur when some voices are excluded. Collectively, the panel investigates whether these collaborations succeed in producing more equitable outcomes. 

We highlight how participatory and community-engaged policymaking contributes to long-term policy durability and legitimacy, particularly when such efforts empower systemically excluded populations. We also discuss how exclusion can further erode trust and perpetuate inequities. Finally, we confront the dangerous dynamics that can undermine collaborative efforts, including systematic exclusion, discrimination, and tokenism.

Each paper in the panel contributes a different policy focus, methodological tools, and theoretical framework, but all explore the relationship between collaborative decision-making and equity. The first paper examines the impacts of “policy on” versus “policy with” neighborhoods of color in local housing policy, using spatial and temporal descriptive analyses of Marion County, Indiana. The second paper uses data analysis to explore whether different collaborative decision-making techniques used by local public health agencies successfully address health equity issues impacting Black community members. The final papers use the Maui wildfires to explore the importance of collaboration and cultural considerations, leveraging a qualitative case study and interviews.

Examining the impacts of exclusion, inclusion, different participation techniques, and collaborative decision-making strategies, we provide insights for future research, local leaders, and those leading policymaking. Leveraging the expertise of a King County government leader, our discussion will provide valuable insight into the research's applicability to local government practitioners, including the county where the conference takes place. We will offer insights into effective institutional design for inclusion, strategies for power-sharing, and metrics for evaluating the quality and impact of collaborative processes. 

Policy Area

• Politics, Media, and the Policy Process

Secondary Policy Area

• Social Equity and Race

Chair

• Dorothy M. Daley, University of Kansas

Discussants

• Ratna B Dougherty, University of South Florida

• Michael Jacobson, King County

Organizer

• Margaret Swenson, University of Wyoming

Individual Presentations

• Policy Over People: Tax Lien Sales and the Hidden Tools of Displacement in Black Communities - Presenting Author: Noelle Broughton, University of Kansas

• Collaborative Processes and Equity: Exploring Local Collaboration as a Tool to Address Health Disparities - Presenting Author: Margaret Swenson, University of Wyoming

• Collaborating in Crisis: FEMA’s Adaptive Strategies in the 2023 Maui Wildfires - Presenting Author: Christa L Remington, University of South Florida; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Kaila Witkowski, Florida Atlantic University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Lauren Azevedo, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ratna B Dougherty, University of South Florida

• Critical theory and cultural ecology: A framework for understanding culture in community crisis response - Presenting Author: Lauren Azevedo, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ratna B Dougherty, University of South Florida; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Kaila Witkowski, Florida Atlantic University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Christa L Remington, University of South Florida