Policy Consensus E-News — December 2008

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In this issue:

National Cancer Collaborative Honors Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner

Governor Ruth Ann Minner

PCI Board of Directors Co-Chair, Governor Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, was recognized as Exemplary Elected State Official by C-Change, a national multi-sector collaborative that works to eliminate cancer as a major public health problem. 

Former President George Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, Co-Chairs of C-Change, presented Governor Minner with the award at C-Change’s Annual Meeting in College Station, Texas, this month.  Governor Minner also took part in a panel at the meeting.  Under Governor Minner’s leadership, the Delaware Cancer Consortium, a collaboration of representatives from medical communities, practitioners, legislators, the division of public health and cancer patients themselves, has successfully created and implemented a plan to reduce the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Delaware.

C-Change, which is made up of 130 leaders from government, business, and non-profit sectors, leverages leadership and expertise as a forum and catalyst for identifying issues and major challenges facing the cancer community and for initiating collaborative actions to complement the efforts of individual C-Change Members. 

PCI has recently produced a web video with Governor Minner on her role in bringing together representatives from all sectors to address Delaware’s cancer and mortality rates, the highest in the nation.  Governor Minner emphasized the importance of working with non-profit and private sector groups, such as the American Cancer Society and Dupont Hospital.

As for her role in creating the Consortium, the Governor said she recognized her need to hear from others in finding a solution. “As leaders,” she said, “We’re sometimes expected to know everything, but I realized how much better results you get if you bring a group together, give them a duty, point them in the right direction and give them the help they need.” 

“I appreciate that people in the state really want to be involved.  We’ve been able to stretch beyond anything I imagined,” Governor Minner said.

Read PCI’s case study of the Delaware Cancer Consortium and the Council of State Government’s 2005 article "Attacking Cancer", which profiles Governor Minner’s work.

Watch PCI’s web video on the Delaware Cancer Consortium here.

University Network for Collaborative Governance Fall Meeting

UNCG Fall Meeting 2008

The University Network for Collaborative Governance held its Fall Meeting this past month in Austin, Texas at the University of Texas School of Law's Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution.  Over thirty representatives from 24 university centers and programs participated in the meeting.  Currently, 29 different centers and programs have joined the new Network.  UNCG’s meetings allow members to connect with new and old colleagues and to exchange ideas and lessons learned about programs and projects. This meeting featured a series of small group sessions on topics that allowed members the opportunity for small, focused discussions on key issues. In addition, members had the opportunity to hear from elected and university leaders, and explore potential for new projects, research, and activities.

Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, former Chair of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), welcomed the Network to Texas. She shared the story of how her experience participating in a community project helped her think about her role as a state legislator. It led her to see the powerful role elected officials can employ in bringing various sectors together to solve a community problem. 

Former Washington State University President Lane Rawlins, now Director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a joint program of the University of Washington and Washington State, made the opening address. He described how the Ruckelshaus Center began and how they have reached out to top leaders from all sectors in Washington. They have built relationships with the Governor and legislators that have led to numerous projects. They have also developed an advisory committee made up of these leaders which has enhanced the Center’s visibility and credibility.

Susan Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, joined with Jim Murley, former Secretary of Florida’s Department of Community Affairs and current Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University, to provide their perspectives on how university programs can build relationships and provide capacity to state leaders. Nancy Thomas, Director of The Democracy Imperative (TDI) and Senior Fellow at Everyday Democracy, described these organizations and the role they are playing in advancing deliberative democracy within higher education institutions. 

The Network also began looking at developing a set of principles and standards to guide their work. Jill Purdy, from the University of Washington’s Milgard School of Business, and Elaine Hallmark, Director of Portland State University’s Oregon Consensus, led a discussion on developing practice standards and accountability measures for collaborative governance processes. 

The Network plans to hold its next conference in the Fall of 2009 in North Carolina.

New Members:

The Network welcomes its newest members: the Public Issues Collaboration Initiative, part of the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University in Nebraska, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Center at the University of Oregon.

Upcoming Conferences of Interest:

UNCG is looking into hosting small events at some or all of these conferences

  1. ACR Environment & Public Policy Section Conference, co-sponsored by the University of Denver – June 11-13, 2009, Denver, CO
  2. The Democracy Imperative National Conference – July 9-11, 2009, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
  3. Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference – October 7-10, 2009 Atlanta, GA

Climate Change and Collaborative Governance

Nasa Earth Image

The impacts of climate change are already affecting us.  In North  America, we are experiencing declines in forest health and catastrophic fires; changes in planting zones and crop ranges; shifts in routes and timing of migratory species; expanding ranges of pest and vector born disease species; drought, increased flooding, and severe weather events. This changing environmental landscape is beginning to change where we live and how we plan.

Climate change poses challenges too big for just one country or one state or one community to solve. And yet “think global, act local” has never been more true.  Only by working together - individuals and communities, corporate citizens, and all levels of government - can we deal with the complexity of global warming. We don’t have all the answers yet; there are many different ways to reduce global warming and adapt to changing climate conditions. What we do know is that we need to work on many fronts simultaneously, learning and adapting as we go. International agreements, national policy, state and local action will all be necessary in order to transform the way we produce, consume and conserve energy.  And we will likely need the full array of policy tools to get us there, including mandates, standards, market incentives, and voluntary action.

The climate change challenge will require people pulling together to make tough decisions and lasting commitments to change across public, private and civic sectors.  That means not just returning to principles of good government but advancing to include principles of collaborative governance as well - accessibility, transparency, accountability, inclusion, self-determination, and shared purpose. Collaborative governance opens up the work of public decision making and service to engage citizens, stakeholders and interest groups, experts and laypeople, corporate and government managers.

Collaborative governance is already at work on climate change generating:

Collaborative governance builds cooperation across political boundaries, public and private sectors, and diverse interests that might otherwise divide us.  Cooperation generates trust and willingness to share ideas, expertise, and resources.  Jointly owned climate solutions are more likely to bear fruit and reduce our carbon footprints, year after year after year.

Collaborative governance does not happen without strong leadership.  In fact, it helps leaders make smart decisions gleaned from the wisdom of people they serve and represent.  Flexible approaches, innovative ideas, and workable solutions are generated by people when they can engage and collaborate on shared challenges.  After all, they will be the ones, in their households and at work, who will be making the changes we need to make. 

 Recently, the University Network for Collaborative Governance, initiated by PCI, has started a new effort to connect those working on the special synergy between climate change and collaborative governance. It envisions an informal alliance among researchers, practitioners, managers and community, private and civic sector partners where experience, research, tools and resources can be shared.  An inventory of collaborative governance models for climate change initiatives is already underway. Research demonstrating the effectiveness of collaborative governance approaches in mitigating and adapting to climate change is being explored.

Submitted by Kirk Emerson, University of Arizona

For further information on this informal alliance for collaborative governance and climate change, contact Peter Murchie, PCI's Climate and Clean Energy Program Manager.

New Publication: Big Ideas in Collaborative Public Management

Big Ideas in Collaborative Public Management

We want to share a new book we think will be useful to those in or interested in public management, Big Ideas in Collaborative Public Management, edited by Lisa Blomgren Bingham (Indiana University Bloomington’s Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute) and Rosemary O’Leary (Syracuse University’s Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts).

The book provides a variety of big picture perspectives on collaborative public management in fourteen chapters written by experts in the field.  The contributors address tough issues such as legitimacy building in networks, and discuss ways to engage citizens in collaboration. They examine the design of collaborative networks and the outcomes of collaboration. Detailed introductory and concluding chapters by the respected editors summarize and critique the chapters, and frame them as a reflection of the state of collaborative public management today.

PCI’s Senior Advisor Chris Carlson contributed with a chapter on “Frameshifting: Lateral Thinking for Collaborative Public Management,” co-written with Bingham and O’Leary.

Order the book on Amazon or through the publisher, M.E. Sharpe. 

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