ABSTRACT

Collaborative governance is an emergent behavior based on the interactions of participants in the complex system of a collaboration or hybrid organization. The governance actor is the smallest unit of governance. Actors are the common denominator of collaborative governance frameworks and they act as nodes within the collaboration. Governance actors need to understand their roles, responsibilities, and relationships among other actors to ensure that expertise, skills, and abilities are utilized in an efficient manner. The governance compass provides a framework to identify actor sectors and to illustrate their roles and relationships. The governance compass also plays a role in providing a new context and space for collaborators to envision themselves outside of their organizational silos. Hierarchical governance is often considered to be an old style of governance, whereas network and market governance have been referred to as the newer modes of governance.