From The Intersector Project’s “Research to Practice” series, this article looks closely at scholarly research and highlights key facts, actionable takeaways, and additional resources practitioners can turn to for related guidance.

Although the practice of cross-sector collaboration appears to be increasing as a means to address complex social challenges, it’s difficult to demonstrate the benefits of a collaborative approach in comparison to a single-sector approach, as there are many complicated variables that influence the the success or failure of collaborative initiatives. In “Designing Collaborative Governance Decision-Making in Search of a ‘Collaborative Advantage’” published in Public Management Review, Carey Doberstein hones in on this dilemma by investigating collective decision making around homelessness program policy in Vancouver and asking, “Are the policy outputs from collaborative governance substantively different than that which would have been produced from more traditional bureaucratic policymaking?”