Responding to a policy mandate to collaborate: structuring collaboration in the collaborative forest landscape restoration program. Issue 6 (2nd June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Monroe, Ashley S.; Butler, William H.
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental planning and management. Volume 59:Issue 6(2016)
• Page Start: 1054
• Page End: 1072
• Publication Date: 2016-06-02
• Subjects: mandated collaboration -- landscape restoration -- collaborative implementation -- legal scrutiny; City planning -- Periodicals; City planning -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2015.1053562
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0964-0568

Abstract

Abstract : The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) aims to expand the pace and scale of forest restoration on national forests in the United States. The program requires candidate projects to develop landscape-scale forest restoration proposals through a collaborative process and continue to collaborate throughout planning, implementation, and monitoring. Our comparative case analysis of the initial selected projects examines how existing collaborative groups draw on past experience of collaboration and the requirements of a new mandate to shape collaborative structures as they undertake CFLRP work. While mandating collaboration appears contrary to what is often defined as an informal and emergent process, mandates can encourage stakeholder engagement and renew commitment to overcome past conflict. Our findings also suggest that a collaborative mandate can lead to increased attention and scrutiny, prompting adjustments to collaborative process and structure. As such, mandating collaboration creates dynamic tensions between past experience and new requirements for collaborative practice.