Urbanisation as a Governability Issue

Is Collaborative Governance the Solution?

The 21^st century contemporary city situated largely in the developing world is replete with ‘wicked problems,’ understood as those that are difficult to define and delineate. By extension, these evade solutions. These range from the provision of, and access to basic services, urban crime and inner-city decay as well as larger disturbances associated with ecology, environment and climate change. Arguments that no single actor, be it private or public, has the capacity to tackle wicked problems unilaterally has led to wide-ranging collaborations between public, private and civil society actors. Referred to as collaborative governance models, these are premised on collective functioning of stakeholders – the state government being one amongst the many – in a process that relies on negotiation, interaction and deliberation. This panel explores various forms, benefits and challenges of collaborative governance and its potential to enhance governability – understood as the ability of the state to steer and manage cities including dealing with a large number of wicked problems.

The panel will discuss the following aspects, with a focus on the role of the state:

1. Understanding collaboration and its role in spurring innovation; why is it needed, how it can be forged, practiced and enhanced?

2. The key value of diverse partnerships to design processes for social projects and programs

3. The strategic importance, of increasing the capacity of people in the community to achieve sustainability and collaboration

4. The need for public participation and collaboration on larger issues of ecology and its intersections and emerging conflicts and contestations with various aspects/elements of the city, large infrastructure being a key one.