Empowerment in Collaborative Governance

The emergent collaborative governance approach in addressing complex public problems’ inclusive nature relative to cross-sector stakeholders, empowers. The opportunity for diverse representation and participation across sectors, including locales, people groups, gender, resources, and expertise, sanctions constructive contributions in meaningful ways with a personal touch. Including underserved and underrepresented target populations in the policy process, especially in implementing decision-making and attendant actions because of a collaborative governance approach, engenders authentic levels of empowerment with beneficial outcomes that transcend representative experiences at the collaborative forum. The empowerment grounded on the rudiments of the collaborative governance process, including fair use of protocols, stakeholders’ capacity building, transparency in agenda-related items coupled with some level of mutual respect and dignity, empower toward fulfilling the established mission with enhanced ownership and sustainability for societal benefits. While interpersonal dynamics within the collaborative forum could be frustrating, especially to initial weak link participants, intentional efforts by leaders and other stakeholders involved in collaborative governance could truncate such unhelpful occurrences to enable eventual collaborative success. This chapter highlights empowerment within the collaborative governance context, including elements, a real case based on health services experience, and a scenario case for problematizing and solution formulation as part of measures to promote conceptual and practical competencies for collective problem-solving.