Collaboration as a solution to wicked public policy problems: the example of regional environmental and natural resources policy in Australia (2009-2011)

By examining the nature and effectiveness of Australia s first major experiments with collaborative governance arrangements, in regional environmental management, the project will develop a new framework to analyse complex or wicked policy problems. It examines the complex requirements, advantages and limitations of collaborative policy development, program implementation and performance evaluation in a multi-stakeholder setting. It analyses the perspectives of all stakeholders, shedding new light on how major policy initiatives are understood by participants. It offers innovation and significance by combining insights and explanations at all key levels in the system of governance relationships and community engagement.