MSLV4200 Collaboration and collaborative management Course description

The course provides insight into the literature on collaboration and collaborative management within the public sector and between the public and other sectors of society. Collaborative management will be placed in a theoretical and contextual perspective. Students are presented literature discussing collaboration and collaborative management in different contexts. The course deals with collaboration regarding the formulation and implementation of public policy, innovations in public sectors and service production. Furthermore, the course discusses challenges concerning collaboration across different tiers and sectors of government, and among public, private and third sector actors. Emphasis will be placed on theories on leadership and governance in the context of collaboration, where the differences between hierarchical and more equal relations between actors is elucidated.

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Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge about collaboration and collaborative management in the public sector

• in-depth knowledge of the preconditions for implementing public policy through collaboration

• in-depth knowledge on challenges concerning coordination within the public sector

• in-depth knowledge on how collaboration can promote innovation

• thorough insight into how organisational and social factors affect roles and freedom of action to exercise administration and management at different administrative levels

Skills

The student is capable of

• assessing how barriers to collaboration among different actors and orgnaizations can be approached through collaborative management

• assessing in what situations collaborative innovations are appropriate, and the demands such innovation processes put on collaborative management

• assessing different forms of governance and coordination mechanisms

Competence

The student is capable of

• analysing and taking a critical approach to different sources of information and using them to structure and formulate arguments in the field

The teaching is session-based in the form of lectures, student presentations, discussions, group work and seminars. Students will write assignments between the sessions. A high degree of independent activity is expected, Teaching will be based on examples and cases from the students' practical experiences.

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The exam comprises a semester assignment with a scope of 5,000 words (+/- 10%). The assignment can be written individually or in pairs on agreement with the person responsible for the course.

Candidates who fail or who have documented valid grounds for absence from the ordinary exam can take a resit/rescheduled exam. Candidates who fail the semester assignment must write a new assignment with a new research question.

A grade scale with grades from A to E for pass and F for fail is used.

All answer papers are assessed by an internal examiner. At least 25% of them will be assessed by an external examiner. An external examiner will also be used when there is doubt about whether a pass grade should be awarded. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by the external and internal examiners form the basis for determining the level for awarding the different grades. The internal examiner shall take the external examiner's assessment into consideration in the grading of all the exams.