Building Collaborative Governance in Times of Uncertainty: Pracademic Lessons from the Basque Gipuzkoa Province

This book explores public authorities' attempts to put society at the core of public policies through collaborative governance, providing a case study from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa in Spain. It discusses challenges and lessons learned in implementing collaborative governance reforms across various policies, including health, employment, and education.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 266 pages
Publication date: 17 March 2023
Publisher: Leuven University Press

Democratic societies are facing a significant challenge in finding new ways to engage citizens in politics. This book explores the efforts of public authorities to prioritize society in public policies through collaborative governance. It provides a comprehensive account of a major case study in the provincial council of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain), involving 150 projects, over 900 organizations, and 50,000 participants and beneficiaries. The lessons learned from this case are drawn from the interaction between 50 practitioners involved in the day-to-day practice of the project and scholars from various countries. The book addresses key challenges faced by collaborative governance reforms worldwide, including structures, institutionalization, relationships, leadership, accountability, innovation, experimentation, communication, intangible resources, trust, and assessment of outcomes, particularly in terms of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Issues of democracy arise from the comprehensive list of policies covered in the case, including health, employment, elderly care, energy, cybersecurity, electromobility, artificial intelligence, immigration, education, social equity, and culture. This book is designed for students, professionals, and scholars interested in promoting the study and practice of democracy. It is freely available as an ebook at OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library.

Contributors to the book include Luis F. Aguilar (National Researcher Emeritus, Mexico), Stephen Ansolabehere (Harvard University), Ander Arzelus (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Unai Andueza (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Ainhoa Arrona (Deusto Foundation), Xabier Barandiaran (Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa), Carmine Bianchi (University of Palermo), Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven), and Ander Caballero (Harvard University).

Weight: 415g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462703674