Cross-sector collaboration takes many forms and works at a variety of scales in multiple policy domains. When issue complexity requires ongoing engagement of interdependent stakeholders in one or more sectors, systems of cross-boundary cooperation are needed to integrate across institutional structures, design and manage participation of diverse actors, and enable joint action and the creation of public value. These open and dynamic collaborative systems have been referred to as collaborative governance regimes. CGRs are systems of public governance where autonomous organizations work together over time to achieve some collective public purpose; they are specifically defined as “a particular mode of, or system for, public decision making in which cross-boundary collaboration represents the prevailing pattern of behavior and activity.” Collaborative governance regimes occur at a variety of scales (local, subnational, national, cross-national, and global) and across different policy domains, from environmental to public health, emergency management, and public education.
This chapter offers a review of research on CGRs and some implications for practice. Following an illustration of the integrative framework for Collaborative Governance Regimes that encompasses CGRs (their system context, formation, collaboration dynamics, and actions), the chapter offers an analysis of CGR research published by a range of social scientists since 2012. Finally, key findings are highlighted, and the chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of this research for practice.