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Collaborative capacity and strategies in area-based initiatives

Sullivan, Helen; Barnes, Marian; Matka, Elizabeth

Authors

Helen Sullivan

Marian Barnes

Elizabeth Matka



Abstract

Despite considerable evaluator investment in examining partnership activity in UK public policy initiatives, little attention has been paid to the role of strategy in supporting the generation and harnessing of the resources necessary to collaborate effectively. This paper focuses on one of the first New Labour initiatives - Health Action Zones (HAZ) - and draws on national evaluation findings to delineate local strategies, assess their application in practice and reflect on their contribution to collaborative action. The paper argues that even within nationally constrained policy initiatives there is sufficient flexibility for local actors to select strategies to steer collaborative effort, but these strategies are informed by their operating context and are liable to change in response to experience and changes in context. In addition, the evaluation findings suggest that effective strategies are those which harness collaborative capacity across a range of dimensions. The paper concludes by identifying implications for theory, policy and evaluation. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2006.

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jun 1, 2006
Journal Public Administration
Print ISSN 0033-3298
Electronic ISSN 1467-9299
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Volume 84
Issue 2
Pages 289-310
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2006.00003.x
Keywords collaborative capacity, area based initiatives
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1042713
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2006.00003.x


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