Democratic societies are being challenged to look for new ways of doing politics that involve different stakeholders, particularly citizens. This book looks at public authorities' attempts to put society at the core of public policies in the form of collaborative governance. It provides a full account of a major case from the provincial council of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain): 150 projects, more than 900 organisations, and 50.000 participants and beneficiaries. 'Pracademic' lessons learned derive from the interaction among 50 practitioners engaged in the day-to-day practice of the case and scholars from different countries. Topics included relate to major challenges that collaborative governance reforms are facing across the world: structures, institutionalisation, relationships, leadership, accountability, innovation, experimentation, communication, intangible resources, trust, and assessment of outcomes (particularly in terms of Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Ultimately, issues of democracy arise from a case covering a comprehensive list of policies: health, employment, elderly care, energy, cybersecurity, electromobility, artificial intelligence, immigration, education, social equity, and culture. This book is intended for students, professionals and scholars interested in fostering the study and practice of democracy.

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Contributors: Luis F. Aguilar (National Researcher Emeritus, Mexico), Stephen Ansolabehere (Harvard University), Ander Arzelus (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Unai Andueza (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Ainhoa Arrona (Deusto Foundation), Xabier Barandiaran (Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa), Carmine Bianchi (University of Palermo), Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven), Ander Caballero (Harvard University), Maria Jose Canel (University Complutense Madrid), Andoni Eizaguirre (Mondragon University), Olatz Errazkin (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Gorka Espiau (University of the Basque Country), Naiara Goia (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Asier Lakidain (University of the Basque Country), Miren Larrea (Deusto Foundation), Javier Lezaun (Oxford University), Peter Loge (The George Washington University), Vilma Luoma-aho (Jyvaskyla University School of Business and Economics), Ion Munoa (University of Deusto), Anne Murphy (Lancaster University), Tina Nabatchi (Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), Adil Najim (Boston University), Markel Olano (Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa), Sonia Ospina (New York University), Elena Oyon (strategic thinker, doer and facilitator), Egoitz Pomares (University of the Basque Country), Eva Sorensen (Roskilde University), Fernando Tapia (University of the Basque Country), Jacob Torfing (Roskilde University), Alfonso Unceta (University of the Basque Country), Gregg G. Van Ryzin (Rutgers University-Newark), Sebastian Zurutuza (Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa)