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Progress through Process – Section 5

Looking Ahead: Concluding Thoughts on Collaborative Governance for Sustainable Development

Next In Canada today, sustainable development issues too often fall victim to adversarial and confrontational debate. Where there should be constructive ways forward, only mudslinging and distrust can be found. To move forward on the defining governance challenges of our time— biodiversity, climate change, clean energy, water management—all levels of government in Canada need to adopt a more collaborative approach to public policy. Two decades ago, a phrase like “collaborative governance” got little play in mainstream Canadian public policy discussions. Some dismissed it as too idealistic; others thought it conflicted with our tradition of parliamentary democracy; still others feared it was a radical—even subversive—notion. It is a mark of how much and how quickly things are changing that a group as diverse as ours was not only willing to seriously entertain the idea, but also for the most part to treat the need for more collaboration as a given. Those of us who planned the project were surprised by the willingness of the group to champion collaborative approaches. Why this change in outlook? Views vary. Some are spurred by the sense of urgency around climate change. Others worry about the polarized state of much public debate and are searching for ways to re-engage the players. Still others think new forces such as globalization and Internet technologies have made our society more interconnected—“networked”—and as a result are more willing to experiment with new processes and organizational forms. But if the arguments differ, they converge on a similar conclusion: Canadians need to experiment more with collaborative processes if progress is to be made on sustainable development. Collaboration is no longer viewed as an idealistic but impractical idea—it is seen as a real and necessary part of the mechanics of governance. Moreover, the willingness of several participants in our group to argue that organizations like the NRTEE and PPF should sometimes take the lead on such processes pushes this a step further. In this view, not only should stakeholders be more involved in defining and implementing solutions, sometimes they should also—rather than governments—should convene and lead the processes. This is a real change from the thinking of only two decades ago. In those days, the idea that governments would even consider sitting at the table as one stakeholder among others—albeit a critical one—would have seemed naive and impractical. Now it seems more plausible that others can foster collaborative processes that work with government, rather than simply wait for governments to take the lead. We treat this idea seriously, if cautiously. Like others, we are still feeling our way in this shifting environment. But as issues become more complex, positions more polarized and entrenched, and governments more defensive and cautious, perhaps it is time to try a different approach. Perhaps organizations like the NRTEE and PPF not only have an opportunity to convene collaborative processes, maybe they have a responsibility to do so. The PPF is forging ahead here, both in its efforts to explore and study collaborative processes and to work with governments and stakeholders to test new ideas. Its ongoing work in the field spans a wide range of areas, from sustainable development to healthy communities. The NRTEE is perhaps in a unique position with respect to these issues. Given its legislated mandate to work on issues at the nexus of the economy and the environment, and its status as a quasi-government organization, it can play a role in navigating these waters by convening collaborative processes around sustainable development issues. This report marks a beginning, rather than the end, of our two organizations’ work on collaborative governance for sustainable development. Weaving collaboration and engagement into the fabric of public policy will take time, but we believe it is necessary if Canadians are to achieve that optimistic vision of ecological, social and economic prosperity going hand in hand. We invite not only the participants from our project to join us as we move down this path, but also our other colleagues from across the public policy community, in governments, in business, in academia, in groups like our own. Working together, we can build a sustainable Canada.