Teaching Tool: A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance
What Professors Are Saying About A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance
The Guide is an excellent sourcebook on the basics of collaborative governance. Chapters provide straightforward how-tos on the collaborative process. Terms and concepts are well presented and defined and cases provide excellent examples of how to put collaborative governance into practice. I highly recommend it as an introductory text for classroom use.
Nancy Roberts, Professor of Defense Analysis, Naval University
In today’s networked world it is difficult to accomplish anything in the public sector without collaboration and partnerships. Collaborative governance is an important emerging field of study, so new and rapidly developing that there are presently few instructional materials available. A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance is an excellent auxiliary textbook for graduate or undergraduate courses related to public dispute resolution, intergovernmental relations, networked governance, and related subjects. Rich with case studies and checklists, this concise and accessible guide clearly explains and demonstrates collaborative approaches to resolving public issues.
Ruth Craw, Director, Center for Public Collaboration, Institute of Government, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Chris Carlson’s A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance demystifies collaboration, identifying key elements, presenting essential steps in a clear and concise manner, and illustrating both with well-chosen vignettes of actual cases. Students in both graduate and undergraduate courses will find the guide highly readable and immensely helpful in describing how and why collaborative decision making processes can and should be undertaken. In short, A Practical Guide fills the gap between the theory of democratic governance and on-the-ground action. It is a “must add” to university courses in a wide range of fields concerned about public decision making and action, including public administration, public policy, natural resources management, urban planning and community development.
Connie Ozawa, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, College of Urban and Public Affairs, Portland State University
The Practical Guide is an excellent opening or closing text for students in planning, public administration, public policy, community development and other fields where collaboration is central to the course content. It deftly organizes the key concepts of collaborative governance such that other books and exercises can offer depth for each chapter. The case studies offer nice, short illustrations, and the references help teachers and students to build out from a core understanding of the practicalities of collaborative governance. I highly recommend this fine resource.
John Stephens, Professor of Public Administration and Government, School of Government, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill