This volume explores the ways in which civil society and
governments employ transformative tactics of direct engagement in coordinating
efforts toward the common good. The chapters highlight alternatives that are
philosophically and pragmatically different from neoliberal austerity measures, which reduce coproduction to a cost-saving tactic. Instead of simplistic
load-shedding and unfunded partnerships, collaborative governance and
coproduction increasingly take on characteristics of social movements, wherein
direct citizen engagement in public policy making and administrative
implementation are seen as the collective pursuit of human flourishing and
abundance.
These approaches counter the status
quo - both in terms of power dynamics and standard operating procedures. Civil
society is increasingly reclaiming its roots in the more informal mechanisms of
social movements. As governments reach out to engage these groups, they must
develop a new stance toward collaboration - one that sees power as a generative
force when shared rather than held through hierarchical or competitive
dominance. This book shows how, through this transformation, genuine public value can be produced.
