Policy-Level Collaboratives for Environmental Management at the Regional Scale: Lessons and Challenges From Australia and the United States

Collaborative approaches to natural resource management are playing a key role in addressing complex environmental problems. Much of what is known about collaborative groups is drawn from those working on local, action-level activities. Yet there have also been collaborative groups established to address large regions and policy-level conflicts. Little is known about how policy-level collaboratives differ from the action-level efforts that dominate the literature. Based on three independent case studies and an international forum involving 17 researchers and practitioners, this article compares the findings from policy-level collaboratives established in Australia and the United States. The authors identify four distinct aspects of policy-level collaboratives, which relate to convening, organizational arrangements, science investment, and implementation strategies. We conclude by suggesting key research questions that need to be pursued to better understand how these groups can more effectively address large bioregions and significant policy problems.