Collaborative Governance in Program Implementation: The Development of E-Relocation Notification in the Swiss Canton of Zurich

ABSTRACT

Complex political programs often require for its implementation the participation of a wide range of administrative, private-for-profit and civil society entities which work together in different constellations and hierarchies as well as different areas of expertise and professions that focus on different social, economic, or technical aspects. This study proposes a conceptual model of collaborative governance that tests the various governance characteristics proposed in the literature. The assessment of the development of the e-government application “e-notification” in Switzerland suggests that the success of the program implementation depends on the organizational capacities as well as the shared understanding of program objectives. Administration and leadership mainly affect the intensity and fairness of interaction between the organizations, which then promotes a shared understanding of program objectives. As a result, securing enough resources and structuring the interaction within the collaboration process are the most important managerial activity in program implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaboration
• collaborative governance
• e-government
• program implementation
• network interaction

Acknowledgments

Previous versions of this study were presented at XXII Annual Conference of the International Research Society of Public Management (IRSPM) 2018, 11th - 13th April 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland. The study also benefitted from discussions at the e-government advisory board of the Canton of Zurich. We gratefully acknowledge insightful comments by Peppino Giarritta, Erik Hans Klijn, Christopher Koliba, Mary-Lee Rhodes, Alexander Mertes, Martina Flick, and all other participants of these events. Danielle Adams did an excellent job in language editing.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canton of Zurich.