Editorial: Science or alchemy in collaborative public service? Challenges and future directions for the management and organization of joined-up government

Designing the collaboration and its operational framework

“…• The respective contributions of the parties-including funding, information exchange and practical operational supports. • The governance framework that will guide the collaboration-for example, a steering group, a governance group or some other form of oversight (Alam et al 2014;Wilson et al 2016).…”

Demystifying the Role of the Steward

“…These challenges have been primarily fueled by JUG system barriers. The JUG literature identifies several key barriers such as, complexity of inter-agency collaboration [4], lack of Information Technology (IT) support [39], and misalignment of objectives between agencies [7]. In an evidence-based review of what works in JUG, it was found that there is a critical need for strong leaders at strategic, managerial, and local levels to make JUG successful [5].…”

“…The negotiating skill presented a strong connection to the facilitator of knowledge sharing and creation role of the gatekeeper. This role required the gatekeeper to perform negotiation style tasks, gaining input from different parts of organisations and stakeholders too [39]. This was seen in through the necessity of stewards understanding what resources, human or monetary, were negotiable and what was not.…”

“…Stewards in this context, as they are defined above, clearly differ from the role of a business owner, or manager, through these ideas of fulfilling collectivistic priorities, taking into account interests of diverse stakeholder groups, as opposed to fulfilling or satisfying personal goals [6]; [11]; [27]. This study aims to develop a better understanding of the role of the steward in digital government practice, relating to the delivery of digital services in JUG [37]; [39].…”

Sustainable development in cities: collaborating to improve urban climate resilience and develop the business case for adaptation

“…In addition, they may have conflicting interests and goals (Davies, 2009) or might be characterised by contrasting patterns of behaviour and managerial approaches (Kavanagh and Richards, 2001). Therefore, actors may not fully appreciate the roles of other agencies in contributing towards desired outcomes, or how to engage with them to develop a common understanding of shared problems (Wilson et al, 2016). Despite these difficulties, however, municipal governments have taken a leading role in climate adaptation in most developed countries.…”