Getting Past Yes: From Capital Creation to Action

Abstract

Abstract Abstract Collaboration is increasingly being advocated as a more effective approach to planning and management, especially for complex topics such as the environment. Research in the U.S. and Australia revealed that stakeholders are reaching consensus on problems and objectives, but having difficulty implementing this consensus. In this article, the author identifies several implementation weaknesses associated with collaboration, including lack of strategic direction, limited public participation, and lack of stakeholder commitment to implementation. Stakeholders often compound these weaknesses by failing to clearly identify an approach to implementing their objectives, and failing to recognize that many objectives require joint decision making during implementation.