So what is involved in approaching something wickedly complex and involves many stakeholders with deeply held differing perspectives? Check out this presentation and consider whether the time is right to do something quite different. It might seem risky, but in our experience it is the least risky approach you could take.

1. Twyfords
Collaborative Governance Pathway
1st August, 2014
A new way for leaders and the ‘community of interest’ to
do business together on complex planning processes and
“wicked problems”

2. Typical ‘Complex’ Scenarios
• No agreement on the scope of the plan
• Lots of uncertainty, disagreement around the data
• No clear solution
• Many perspectives and ways to look at the issues
• Political leaders are very anxious
• ‘Competing futures’
• Values and ethical considerations important
• No clear path forward

3. “No one entity alone – no individual government (local,
state, or national), corporation, or NGO – can address
the sustainability issues we face. No one has sufficient
resources. No one has sufficient understanding. And no
one has sufficient credibility and authority to connect the
larger networks of people and organisations that real
change must engage.”
Peter Senge – The Necessary Revolution

4. Collaboration moves beyond shared agreements to
become a process of shared creation – the groups should
create an understanding that didn’t exist previously and
couldn’t be arrived at individually.
Something is new that wasn’t there before, including
transformation among the collaborators.
Zorich, Diane, Günter Waibel, and Ricky Erway: 2008. ‘Beyond the Silos of the LAMs: Collaboration
Among Libraries, Archives and Museums (PDF)’

5. "In these adaptive cases (ie complex
situations), reaching an effective solution
required learning by the stakeholders involved
in the problem, who must then change their
own behaviour in order to create a solution."
Collective Impact- Stanford Social Innovation Review
John Kania & Mark Kramer, 2011

6. … deciding what can be influenced by the
community and what can’t
… determining the scope of the collaboration
collectively
… assessing risks that certain interest groups
pose to our plan
… identifying who has an interest in this plan
so we can invite their contribution
… providing reasonable opportunities for
people to provide feedback or input
… co-designing how we will work with the
‘community of interest’ on this challenge
… trying to obtain feedback on the merit of
various options we are considering
… co-creating possible solutions together
… considering feedback provided by the
community & possibly making changes
… deliberating over possible solutions taking
into account agreed criteria

7. Catherine Howe, @curiousc,
via Twitter, 31st July, 2014
Complex multidisciplinary
working
Unlock collective wisdom
Develop shared values
No one person has the truth
We will all have to walk away from
the arrogance of professional
knowledge and embrace humility
in trying to shape a constantly
changing reality
Collaboration

8. Reverse logic
Stakeholders support implementation
8
Stakeholders co-develop the strategy or plan
Stakeholders agree how they will work together
Stakeholders co-define what they want to achieve
Sponsors believes collaboration is the way to go
Stakeholders understand each other’s perspectives

9. Collaborative Governance

12. Practical tools for
the process
• A decision-maker
commitment
statement
• A Complexitometer
• Appreciative
stakeholder mapping
tool
• Dilemma definition
tool
• Governance
arrangements
• Collaboration design
template
• Processes for
dialogue and
deliberation
Implementation
template with
roles and
responsibilities

13. Iterative nature of Collaborative Governance
Commitment to Collaboration
Co-
define
Co-
design
Co-
create
Co-
deliver
13

14. “Leaders do not need to know all the
answers. They do need to ask the right
questions!”
Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie 1996
‘The Work of Leadership’
Implications for leaders