Boundary-spanning in public value co-creation through the lens of multilevel governance

Abstract

ABSTRACT The prospects and challenges of boundary-spanning public value co-creation are one of the quintessential features of public management in the current age of complexity. This paper argues that boundary-spanning takes on a heightened salience in multilevel jurisdictions where actors must not only navigate the horizontal contours of inter-organizational relations but also vertical tiers of jurisdiction in pursuit of joint action. Drawing insights from the multilevel governance literature, and using Canada's recent Innovation Superclusters Initiative as case study, the paper sheds some light on how public managers and policy entrepreneurs navigate strategically across boundaries in federal and other multitiered systems.