Attributes of effective national partnerships for environmental challenges – managing ozone-depleting and synthetic greenhouse gases in Australia

Abstract

The magnitude and consequences of current global environmental challenges require partnerships across sectors and scales. Accordingly, there is a need to learn from partnerships that have been effective. This article analyses a successful national partnership that is contributing to implementation of the Montreal Protocol. It uses a case study methodology that draws on expert views from industry, government, and science, and contributes to the literature on partnerships in several ways. First, it highlights the relevance of insights from science-practice interfaces, and on institutions that can work across scales, for partnerships where knowledge is incomplete, and the challenges are dynamic. Second, it identifies five attributes of the successful multi-stakeholder partnership for Montreal Protocol sectors in Australia. While the wider applicability of these attributes needs testing, they are proposed for consideration by researchers and practitioners in partnerships where environmental challenges demand new knowledge and technologies, and systemic industrial practice change across scales.