Citizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management

ivic engagement and collaborative public management

ned broadly, making theoreti-

cult. In this article, the authors nitions of civic engagement and collaborative

ve approaches to civic engage- ered. Citizen-centered collaborative public

e action.

here is a renewed interest in civic engagement

that extends widely across local, regional,

national, and online communities. Th e cur-

erent levels. Th e importance

ected in the activities, programs, and projects that have been initiated in recent years.

O ur objective in this article is to consider how civic engagement infl uences collaborative public manage-ment. Defi nitions of each concept are established to meet this objective. Macedo et al. rely on a broad

defi nition of civic engagement: “any activity, indi-vidual or collective, devoted to infl uencing the collec-tive life of the polity” (2005, 6). We wish to distinguish the diff erent types of civic engagement to which Macedo et al. allude in terms of what each

off ers for the achievement of collaborative public management.

W e advance the argument that deliberative and collec-tive action strategies of civic engagement hold the most promise in achieving a public-involving, citizen-centered collaborative public management. Th is kind of collaborative public management represents a form of governance that extends beyond “the process of facilitating and operating in multiorganizational

a rrangements to solve problems that cannot be solved, or solved easily, by single organizations” ( A granoff and McGuire 2003, 4 ). We intentionally use the phrase

c itizen-centere

d collaborativ

e public management to emphasize the role o

f the public in collaborative man-agement processes, which have not always recognized the value of citizenship. In achievin

g this outcome, we believe that civic engagement means “people partici-pating together for deliberation and collective action within an array of interests, institutions and networks, developing civic identity, and involving people in governance processes” (Cooper 2005 , 534).

W ith these defi nitions in hand, we off er a review of American civic engagement over the past half century. Following this review, we consider fi ve approaches to civic engagement and how each might contribute to citizen-centered collaborative public management.

Th is discussion is followed by consideration of fi ve dimensions or questions that can help us to under-stand and assess civic engagement eff orts in practice. Th rough our reviews and discussions, our aim is to provide a new framing of the relevant literature on the challenges and opportunities associated with eff ec-tively engaging citizens in collaborative public management.

H istorical Shifts in Civic Engagement

Th ere has been a marked shift in civic engagement interest and emphasis over the past half century. To-day, in light of research fi ndings that point to a loss of social capital (Putnam 1995) and a decline in trust of government ( N ye, Zelikow, and King 1997 ), stakes are high in knowing more about the role of civic engagement as a central component of a vital American democracy.

C ivic engagement in the United States goes back at least to the early Puritan communities, with their organization around covenants that provided the basis for self-governance. Th e Mayfl ower Compact, signed by 41 male passengers aboard the M ayfl ower in 1641,

erry L .C ooper

homas A. B ryer

niversity of Southern California

ack W .M eek

niversity of La Verne

itizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management

76Public Administration Review • December 2006 • Special Issue