Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Collaborative forms of governance and decision making reduce costs (operation, information, and transaction) in dealing with collective action issues. The costs that cities face in implementing policies may shape who they ultimately decide to partner with. The choice in partner may be impacted by the specific policy that a city wants to implement or be motivated by the lack of a specific resource.  The underlying decision could be based on who they have partnered with on previous issues or on the availability of a potential partner. Collaborative partners may bring particular expertise that may change the policy being implemented by the city. The process of cultivating, developing, and selecting a partner has yet to be examined in the context of local policy decisions. By examining a broad range of policy options, we can explore the direct relationship of collaborative partner type in implementing specific policies. It may be that some collaborative partners are better suited for dealing with a specific type of resource deficiency. This paper therefore seeks to add context to the relationship between collaboration and policy design, which is potentially simultaneously decided.

This relationship is examined in a number of different ways using data from two time points. First, a multivariate multiple regression model is used which takes into consideration the correlations between the two dependent variables of interest: policy and collaboration. A second approach examines the two regressions separately, and a third examines the impact that collaborative partners have on policy decisions. The final analysis will reverse the effect and examine the impact that policy decisions have on collaborative partner choices. Using multiple methods to analyze this data will help to ensure that the relationships are thoroughly explored. This paper provides a beginning step to dissecting the question ‘which came first the policy or the collaborative partner’.