Collaborative governance on big health problems in developing countries

Abstract

openaccessgovernment.org/article/collaborative-governance-on-big-health-problems-in-developing-countries/174477/ Collaborative governance research may help tackle big health problems in developing countries, says Michael P. Ryan. Here, he explains how Some public administration researchers propose that collaborative governance may help tackle big global health problems in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS in Africa. Collaborative governance of a public-nonprofit-private, or cross-sector network in public administration and organization studies means 'a governing arrangement where one or more public agencies directly engage non-state stakeholders in a collective decision-making process that is formal, consensus-oriented, and deliberate and that aims to make or implement public policy or manage public programs or assets.' Public-nonprofit-private collaborative governance in public administration and organization studies involves 'the processes and structures of public policy decision-making and management that engage people constructively across the boundaries of public agencies, levels of government, and/or the public, private, and civic spheres to carry out a public purpose that could not otherwise be accomplished.' What can collaborative governance achieve in addressing health problems in developing countries? Collaborative governance, if properly designed and implemented, can help leaders clarify problems, identify known solutions, experiment with potential solutions, organize cooperative structures and processes, reconcile values, forge decision-making consensus, prioritize resource allocations, integrate diverse organization capabilities and individual skills, legitimate procedures and distributive outcomes, manage stakeholders, agree on outcome preferences, and achieve better outcomes. Nobody says collaborative governance is easy to achieve. Yet, health needs in Africa call for cooperative action, and collaborative governance shows promise as an organizational means. My field research study of HIV/AIDS action in Uganda contributes insights regarding collaborative governance in an institution context under-explored in public administration and organization studies, the developing non-democracy. Ugandans were one of the first in Africa to take action against HIV/AIDS, and they achieved and maintained considerable success over the decades of the HIV/AIDS era. Ugandan public executives developed a participatory model for collaborative governance to achieve network coordination and control. Ugandan public executives established a committee structure and process by establishing the Uganda AIDS Committee. The AIDS Committee structure enabled a participatory process of regular, trust-creating dialogue and joint decision-making among the international donor representatives and the state ministers who would (1) (2) (3)