Call for Proposals

The Consortium on Collaborative Governance (CCG) invites proposals from faculty and doctoral students at its partner institutions for papers to be presented at a research mini-conference to be held April 10-12, 2008 at The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Travel expenses for faculty and doctoral students who present papers will be subsidized by the CCG partner institutions.

The CCG is focused on building an understanding of how public problems are being solved by groups and organizations working together, often across public, nonprofit, and private sectors. It is a partnership among three universities: the School of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Arizona, the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, and the School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD) at the University of Southern California. Click here for more details about the CCG.

Public management has been undergoing key transformations as governments around the world have chosen to solve public problems and deliver public services through collaborative and contractual arrangements with business organizations, nonprofits, community groups, and other government organizations. As a result of these transformations, public affairs programs worldwide have been trying to revise and update their curricula in order to prepare their graduates to be leaders in a work environment that places less of an emphasis on hierarchical management, but more on negotiation, collaboration, contractual relations, and civic engagement. In an effort to build and promote an understanding of this phenomenon, the CCG is sponsoring a small conference consisting of scholars who are doing work in the area, drawn from all three universities.

The CCG encourages both doctoral students and faculty to submit brief proposals for the conference. The range of topics is expected to be wide, although all proposals and subsequent papers should have collaborative governance as a theme. While preference is for empirical research, well-crafted theoretical contributions are also welcome. A small number of pedagogical submissions will also be considered. Proposals for empirical research will be evaluated based on the significance and quality of the research question, contribution to extant theory, research design, methods, data, and findings. Proposals for conceptual papers are expected to be strongly grounded in existing theory and research, while proposing new and innovative thinking on issues related to collaborative governance. While completed research is welcome, work-in-progress is also acceptable, given the idea-building nature of the conference. The conference will be small (about 20-25 attendees) and each paper will be discussed in-depth, providing excellent feedback to participants.

All paper proposals should be no more than one page, single-spaced, and should include the following information:

• (1) Author(s) name, title, and institutional affiliation;
• (2) Paper title; and
• (3) Research proposal, including relevant literature, research questions/hypotheses, research design and methods, findings (if available and if applicable), and contribution.

A person may submit no more than two proposals (this count includes single-authored and co-authored papers). Proposals should be submitted to Keith Provan at the University of Arizona as either a PDF or Word attachment no later than Monday, October, 1, 2007. Notifications of proposal acceptance or denial will be sent by November 15, 2007. Full papers are due by March 17, 2008. Travel details will be posted on the CCG website.

Any questions regarding the conference or proposal submission should be directed to one of the three members of the program committee listed below. Authors are encouraged to consult with program committee members from their university as they develop their proposal.

We look forward to receiving your proposal!

Best regards,

Keith Provan, University of Arizona
Stephen Page, University of Washington
Shui-Yan Tang, University of Southern California

Click here for a printable/PDF version.