The Politics of Collaborative Public Management: A Primer - Hardcover

by Robert Agranoff (Author), Aleksey Kolpakov (Author)

Although one often thinks of collaborative management and related group problem-solving as different interests coming together in "peaceful harmony," nothing could be further from reality. Collaboration in real-world action requires steering and negotiation in virtually every situation, with a considerable process that precedes agreement. This progression is, in effect, a "mini" political and managerial process we have come to know as collaborative politics and its management. This volume explores the process and operations of collaboration and collaborative politics, from routine transactions-or "small p" politics-to the significant issue forces, or "big P" politics. Collaboration is defined here as the process of facilitating and operating in multiorganizational arrangements for addressing problems and producing solutions through the contributions of several organizations and individuals. Throughout the book, readers are gradually exposed to analysis of key findings in collaborative politics from the long research tradition in policy and political science.

This book adapts a series of stories to highlight some of the dynamics of collaborative politics from a range of jurisdictions. It further analyzes the efficacy of storytelling as a learning tool and contributor to practice in different contexts. With collaborative politics often associated with negotiations among administrative actors, authors Drs. Robert Agranoff and Aleksey Kolpakov demonstrate how interorganizational/interagency collaboration operates and is managed, as well as how it has been modified or adjusted in its fundamental core concepts of bureaucratic organization and hierarchy. The Politics of Collaborative Public Management is designed as a core text for undergraduate and graduate classes on collaborative management and governance.

Author Biography

Robert Agranoff was Professor Emeritus in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Bloomington, USA, and Catedr疸ico, Government and Public Administration Program, Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset, Madrid, Spain. He published several books on collaborative management and intergovernmental relations, including Network Theory in the Public Sector (Routledge, 2014).

Aleksey Kolpakov is Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at Florida Atlantic University, USA. He is the author of two books and numerous technical and program evaluation reports for federal, state, and international agencies.