COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE CAPABILITIES FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN LATIN AMERICA: THE CASES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN CHILE AND COLOMBIA

Abstract

This article explores the collaborative governance capabilities of local governments in Latin America for climate change adaptation, focusing on Chile and Colombia. Using a cross-case comparative design, the study examines over one hundred policy and academic documents to evaluate three capabilities: (1) engagement with non-State actors, (2) facilitative leadership, and (3) financial autonomy. The research combines the analytical framework of collaborative governance (Ansell & Gash, 2008) with Falleti’s (2005) sequential theory of decentralisation to assess how administrative and fiscal reforms shape local adaptive capacity. Results show that Chilean local governments display comparatively higher capabilities for facilitative leadership and engagement with non-State actors, while both countries exhibit limited financial capacity to sustain collaborative adaptation. These differences are explained by distinct decentralisation trajectories, where Chile’s administrative reforms enabled limited local autonomy and Colombia’s politically decentralised system remains fiscally central-ised. The study contributes to Public Administration theory by linking decentralisation pathways to specific collaborative governance capabilities and provides policy recommendations for strengthening subnational climate adaptation in Latin America.