Building a collaborative governance system: a comparative case analysis

• Main Author: Cooper, Jesse W.
• Other Authors: Hocevar, Susan P.
• Published: Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School 2015
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/45830

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === Governance processes in the public sector establish policies and institutionalize procedures for how organizations work together. Developing and sustaining these governance processes may be difficult. Efforts to develop a regional wireless interoperable communications network in the Phoenix metropolitan area resulted in a series of successes and failures. This thesis uses a classic case study framework to examine the governance development process from 1999 to 2015 among the City of Phoenix, City of Mesa and additional parties. Three distinct phases in the governance development process were identified and used to conduct a comparative analysis. Seven executives involved in the process were interviewed to provide insight and experience related to the governance development process across the three phases. The comparative case analysis illustrates factors that contributed to the success and failure of the network’s governance. Recommendations are provided that other agencies may employ in their own governance development to accelerate the process or avoid potential pitfalls and achieve successful outcomes more quickly. While the case study focuses on the establishment of an interoperable communications system, the principles and examples may apply to other technology or homeland security efforts to establish formal cross-jurisdictional governance structures.