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Governance has become one of the most commonly used concepts in contemporary political science. It is, however, often used to mean a variety of different things. This text helps to clarify this conceptual muddle by concentrating on one variety of governance-interactive governance.

Collaborative innovation is a new method for creating public innovation that both takes issue with the traditional appraisal of innovation heroes and with the idea that public innovation is primarily a result of stable bureaucratic procedures or market-based competition. The strength of collaborative innovation is that the interaction between public and private actors sharpens the problem definition, generate more and better ideas and build ownership to new and bold solutions. However, there are many barriers to collaborative innovation in the public sector and there is, therefore, a great need for innovation management in order to remove or at least reduce the barriers. The article delineates three new roles for innovation managers that will help to support processes of collaborative innovation. The argument is illustrated by an empirical case study of the formulation of an exit strategy for gang members in Copenhagen, who want to leave a criminal environment and establish a new and safer life. The conclusion evaluates the collaboration innovation method in the light of the transition from New Public Management to New Public Governance.

AbstractThis paper aims to take stock of the European debate on governance networks in order to assess whether or not it has succeeded to develop a new a viable paradigm based on clear concepts, sound theories and methods and an expansive research agenda. The political and institutional conditions for the emergence of the Europe governance debate are analyzed and the notions of 'governance' and 'governance networks' are critically examined and defined. A brief assessment of the empirical significance of governance networks at different levels of governing is followed by a presentation and comparison of the main theories of governance networks that tend to draw on different strands of institutional theory. Finally, the large and expanding research agenda of the new 'second generation' of governance network research is revisited before concluding that, despite of the need for further methodological development, the European debate on governance networks provides a new and important paradigm for understanding the emerging forms of multilateral action and pluricentric governance.

Den stadigt mere velkonsoliderede governanceforskning har påvist, at styringsnetværk spiller en væsentlig rolle i offentlige styringsprocesser, og at netværk mellem offentlige og private aktører i stigende grad betragtes som et effektivt og legitimt styringsredskab. Der råder til gengæld betydelig usikkerhed blandt governanceforskerne om, i hvilken grad styringsnetværk bidrager til at gøre den offentlige styring effektiv og demokratisk. Denne usikkerhed hænger sammen med uklarheden om, hvordan vi måler og evaluerer deres effekter. Artiklen tilbyder nogle kriterier, der kan anvendes i empiriske evalueringer af konkrete styringsnetværks effektivitet og demokratiske kvalitet. Kriterierne kan dels anvendes til at påvise variationer i effekterne af forskellige typer styringsnetværk, ligesom de kan tilvejebringe viden om konkrete netværks funktionsmåde, der kan danne udgangspunkt for tilrettelæggelsen af målrettede effektivitets- og demokratifremmende metastyringsstrategier.

Encouraged by the proliferation of governance networks and the growing demands for public innovation, this article aims to advance "collaborative innovation" as a cross-disciplinary approach to studying and enhancing public innovation. The article explains the special conditions and the growing demand for public innovation, and demonstrates how it can be enhanced through multiactor collaboration. The case for collaborative innovation is supported by insights from three different social science theories. The theoretical discussion leads to the formulation of an analytical model that can be used in future studies of collaborative innovation in the public sector.

The increasingly consolidated governance research has shown that governance networks play an important role in public governance processes and that networks between public and private actors are today regarded as an effective and legitimate management tool. However there is considerable uncertainty among governance scholars about the implictions of governance networks for the effecitiveness and democratic quality of public governance proceses. This uncertainty is related to uncertainties about how to measure and evaluate their effects. The article provides some criteria for empirical analysis of specific governance networks' effectiveness and democratic quality. These criteria can be used to detect variations in the effects of different types of governance networks as well as they provide information about specific networks' behaviour that can form the basis for the organisation of focused effeciency and democracy promoting metagovernance strategies.