Collaborative and Inclusive Governance

Governance appears to be a variable and at times vague concept, yet it pervades every part of human endeavour whether constitutional, cultural, economic, political and social with respect to citizenship in it various manifestations.

At its simplest, governance can be defined as the attribution of public status to a variety of actors, agencies and communities who act as trustees on behalf of their constituencies in the development and implementation of public policy and its global reach. Governance stands in relation to government in that the latter is the formal exercise of legitimate power in order to provide the means by which society functions and is sustained, underwritten by juridical processes, protocols and codes. Consequently, the public status attributed to governance tends to be dynamic, given its often-informal nature and interaction with the formal activities of government.

The complex relationship between governance and government then creates the spaces in which collaborative and inclusive forms may be created and are sustained. In an era in which the capacities, capabilities and reach of government appears limited in dealing with “wicked problems”, associated with inequality, austerity and collaborative and conclusive governance may be able to contribute to their attempts at resolution.

Furthermore, collaborative and inclusive governance acts as a potential agency in promoting engaged citizenship. This Stream thus cross-cuts a number of lines of multi-disciplinary academic and intellectual enquiry within the Citizenship and Governance Strategic Research Area (SRA), the objective of which are:

The strengths of the Stream are built upon the capacities and capabilities; expertise, reputation and commitment of its member and the international academic, policy and practitioners networks they are central to. Their published outputs and research projects are sustained through the multi-disciplinary academic and intellectual formation. Their work crosscuts the other Streams with which they engage co-operatively and collaboratively for maximum impact through their knowledge exchange and external engagement with external stakeholder