Ryan White CARE Act and Collaborative Governance Re-Examined: the South Florida Experience

HIV/AIDS Collaborative Governance and the Role of an Annual Retreat in Fostering Health Services: The Palm Beach County Experience

“…The opportunity that collaborative governance provides to engage stakeholders from public, private and nonprofit/civic sectors to collectively work together to address a common problem makes it very appealing (Emerson & Nabatchi, 2015;Gray, 1989). For instance, the use of collaborative governance by HIV Health Services Planning Councils in Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) in the U.S. is a viable strategy for care and treatment of target populations (Agbodzakey, 2017). The viability of collaborative governance as a framework for collective problem solving thereby demands some conceptual explication to help relate to its core elements from theory, policy and practical perspectives.…”

“…The notable benefits of collaborative governance as enumerated by scholars include collective resolve and responsibility to tackle common challenges, creative and sustainable solutions to problems, achieve economies of scale, collective resource pool to promote effectiveness, jointly structured design protocols of engagement, regular joint capacity development efforts for collective action, responsive representation and participation of relevant community and organizational stakeholders, promotion of deliberative decision making, communication, shared understanding, consensus, and legitimacy among stakeholders, and joint ownership of outputs and/or outcomes for the common good (Ansell & Gash, 2008;Emerson et al, 2012;Bryson et al, 2015;Scott & Thomas, 2017;Sabatier et al, 2005;Choi & Robertson 2014;Sirianni 2009;Agbodzakey, 2012;Susskind & Cruikshank, 1987;McGuire, 2006;Donahue & Zeckhauser, 2011;Bel & Warner, 2008 among others). On the other hand, observations regarding notable challenges of collaborative governance include the following: power differentiation and utilization, time and other resource constraints, turf battles, intentional holdout by some stakeholders, uncertain outcomes, occasional conflicts and ambiguity, delayed decisions, and succession challenges (Memon & Kirk 2010;Hageman & Bogue 1998;Scott & Thomas, 2017;Agbodzakey, 2015;Metze & Levelt 2012;Sabatier et al, 2005;Margerum, 2011;Emerson et al 2012;Booher, 2004;Berardo, Heikkila, & Gerlak 2014;Vangen & Huxham 2012).…”

“…While there is a general understanding of collaborative governance as a multistakeholder engagement across sectors for collective problem solving, scholars in their respective capacities sometimes frame the concept differently. Terms such as collaborative management, interagency coordination, participatory management, public-private partnerships, deliberative democracy, deliberative governance, participatory governance, interactive policy making, stakeholder governance, collaborative democracy, collaborative innovation, and network governance are used to connote collaborative governance (Gray, 1989;Ansell & Gash, 2008;Anonymous, 2006;Sørensen & Torfing, 2011;McGuire, 2006;Bryson et al, 2006;2015;Sirianni, 2009;Sørensen & Torfing, 2011;Provan & Kenis, 2008;Agbodzakey, 2012). This study uses the term collaborative governance to indicate joint efforts of stakeholders across sectors to help address the complex HIV/AIDS problem with a particular focus on the experience of HIV CARE Council in Palm Beach County.…”

“…Collaborative governance which usually involves stakeholders from, at least, two sectors working together to address public concerns has become an acceptable approach for tackling problems in the public sphere. Such levels of engagement whether for health, environment, law enforcement, and social services among others (Freeman 1997;Choi and Robertson 2014;Daniel, Pinel, & Brooks 2013;Metze and Levelt 2012;Agbodzakey 2015) enable collective decision-making, the pooling of resources, and commitment that foster sustainable solutions. One such complex public problem requiring collaborative governance is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) hereafter referred to as HIV/AIDS.…”

“…This research will focus on one of such councils, Palm Beach HIV CARE Council (hereafter referred to as CARE Council), particularly, its use of an annual retreat as an avenue to foster collaborative governance. The CARE Council has consistently utilized retreats since the early 1990s to assemble various stakeholders to discuss various themes and issues pertinent to the overall collaborative governance efforts, more so than some of the other councils, and is duly recognized for its creative approach to the annual retreat (Agbodzakey, 2015). As an avenue for collaborative governance, the annual retreat is important to the CARE Council's efforts to realize legislative intents as it relates to care and treatment of target populations.…”