Collaborations and Partnerships Across Sectors: Preparing the Next Generation for Governance

This article examines inter-sectoral collaborations as reported in the literature and the suggested characteristics and competencies of collaboration participants. The ultimate goal is to suggest some strategies for preparing the next generation of students. The article's focus is on inter-and multisectoral collaborations and partnerships that involve not only government and nonprofit service agencies, but might also include business, university, civic groups and faith-based organizations. Following a literature review, the article identifies appropriate skills, competencies, and tools that Master of Public Affairs and Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) students should begin practicing to be effective in collaborations that involve organizations and stakeholders from different sectors and types. The final section of the article offers several specific recommendations for more effective approaches to applying these general suggestions, recommendations drawn from Journal of Public Affairs Education articles, interviews, focus groups, and the author's experience teaching in an MPA program.