New development: Rallying together—The rationale for and structure of collaborative practice in England

Abstract

This article explores the increasing adoption of collaborative arrangements within local authorities and asks whether they signal a new era in public service delivery—one characterized by collaborative governance and power-sharing within communities. Using qualitative data from nine partnerships in England, the article documents observed rationales for and typologizes structures of collaborative practice, as well as captures the degree to which co-creation activities are observed within each site. Findings show many of these partnerships use the rhetoric of co- creation earnestly, but that rhetoric is occasionally misapplied when describing citizen self-help and community self-organization efforts.

Impact

This article provides a framework for public service policy-makers and managers to describe, compare, and analyse key dimensions of collaborative practice. It poses important questions for actors pursuing collaborative arrangements, in particular whether co-creative elements and mechanisms for ensuring democratic accountability are meaningfully integrated into ways of working.