Multi-sector collaboration is gaining influence in modern discourse due to its potential to address wicked problems through collective goal achievement and capacity building. However, it also unveils challenges posed by power differentials and fragmented relationships among critical actors. Understanding the complexity of multi-sector collaboration requires an analysis of the relationships that impact modern society, such as state and non-state affiliation. In many developing countries, the state often maintains dominance, leading to tensions and inefficiencies in collaboration with non-state entities. These tensions, compounded by infrastructural challenges, contribute to instability and facilitate corruption. This analysis highlights the dynamics of power, personal connections, and corruption within these collaborations, often overshadowing policy considerations, with a specific focus on the context of the developing world.
TopIntroduction
Multi-sector collaboration has emerged as a critical strategy for addressing complex societal challenges. The engagement of diverse actors across agencies enhances collective capacity and fosters the achievement of common goals, thus generating value for society at large (Seitanidi & Crane, 2009). In addressing the social determinants of health, multi-sector collaboration can foster enhanced efficiency across child- and family-servicing sectors regarding access, navigation, and utilization of community resources (Gundacker et al., 2020). Henning‐Smith et al. (2023) outlined the benefits of multi-sector collaboration to address rural aging by creating supportive community environments for rural older adults. Glorius and Doomernik (2020) discuss the role of multilevel governance, referencing Plan Einstein in the Dutch city of Utrecht, in addressing the refugee crisis. In tropical Asia, to ensure wildlife conservation, Horgan and Kudavidanage (2021) identified several critical components of successful conservation projects that require multi-sector collaboration. These include establishing effective communication channels between researchers, policymakers, and target communities and involving communities in various project development and implementation stages. In the education sector, higher education institutions (HEIs) are valuable partners in multi-stakeholder initiatives to implement sustainable development goals in tourism (Ertuna et al., 2023).
The relationship between the state and non-state sectors is particularly crucial, which varies significantly between regions. While non-state entities operate alongside the state in some contexts, in others, such as the developing world, they often exist on the fringes, struggling for recognition and influence (Rosenau, 2003; Reyes & Useche, 2019; Spence et al., 2020). This disparity in recognition and power, exacerbated by infrastructural inefficiencies, can lead to instability and chaos, creating fertile ground for corruption (Rosenau, 2003; Reyes & Useche, 2019; Spence et al., 2020). State and non-state organizations are complex, heterogeneous actors, each with its own set of interests and objectives (Fisher, 1997). The dynamics between these sectors are critical to understanding governance structures and their effectiveness in addressing societal challenges.
Recent research underscores the turbulent nature of the NGO-state relationship, characterized by a delicate balance between localization and independence on the part of the state and globalization and interdependence on the part of NGOs (Ramjit, 2019; Almén & Sundqvist, 2022). Horii (2022) outlined that NGO efforts in migrant search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea are opposed by the European Union and its member states, several of which have implemented regulations to interrupt operations. Mbzibain and Tchoudjen (2021) explored NGO work in monitoring illegal forest logging and wildlife trafficking in Central Africa and characterized relations with the state as complex, typified by complementarity, confrontation, cooperation, and instrumentalization. Zhang, Bradtke, and Halvey (2020) described state control in China's environmental sector as fragmented, contradictory, and varying, highlighting the NGO sector's challenge of institutional access to policy.