Admission requirements
MPA students of the PML track can register for this course.
Description
The specialization course Collaborative Governance teaches you how public organizations collaborate with actors inside and outside the public sector. Societal problems increasingly cut across national, sectoral, organizational and professional boundaries. Solving such problems requires that different actors work together and jointly utilize their diverse resources, experiences and expertise. The result is a variety of collaborations within and across sectors. While such efforts can result in innovative solutions, collaborative governance is challenging because different actors typically have conflicting goals, values and interests.
This course builds on the core theoretical principles and historical development of collaborative governance and explores different collaborative governance practices. The course addresses the unique role of public organizations when managing collaborations with e.g., private and nonprofit organizations. Throughout the course students will familiarize themselves with different types of collaborative governance (e.g., (regional) intergovernmental authorities, cross-sector partnerships, deliberative forums, participatory planning, stakeholder advisory groups). The course materials comprise of theoretical and empirical research, combined with case studies.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, students are able to
Describe different collaborative governance practices and explain political and cultural circumstances that make collaborative governance an important tool.
Identify and showcase how collaborative governance practices fit into the regular policymaking and program implementation processes.
Critically evaluate the relevance and historical development of collaborative governance research in the public sector;
Provide a critical reflection on the promises and challenges of collaboration and collaborative governance practices in the public sector;
Understand the scientific literature and transfer insights to practical cases of collaborative governance in the public sector.
Timetable
On the right side of the programme front page of the e-Prospectus you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Weekly classes (14 hours), individual paper (40 hours), self study (86 hours).
Assessment method
Individual assignment (100%). Students will be permitted to retake the assignment if an insufficient grade has been obtained using the first attempt.
Partial grades are only valid in the current academic year; partial grades will not remain valid after the exam and the resit of the course.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
Register yourself via MyStudymap for each course, workgroup and exam (not all courses have workgroups and/or exams).
Do so on time, before the start of the course; some courses and workgroups have limited spaces. You can view your personal schedule in MyTimetable after logging in.
Registration for this course is possible from Wednesday 16 July 2025 13.00h
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in MyStudymap you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
More information on registration via MyStudymap can be found on this page.
Please note: guest-/contract-/exchange students do not register via MyStudymap but via uSis. Registration via uSis is possible from Thursday 17 July 2025.
Contact
Dr. M.C.G. Sievert m.c.g.sievert@fgga.leidenuniv.nl