Governments, business, international bodies and local groups are turning to multi-stakeholder processes to find practical ways forward. This book explains how MSPs can be organized to deliver their potential for successful resolution of complex issues and for sustainable development. It includes detailed examples and provides practical checklists, explaining how to get beyond adversarial politics and achieve positive results.

Governments, businesses, international organizations, local groups and numerous other publicly engaged bodies are turning to multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) because conventional party politics is just not working. MSPs involve bringing together all those whose interests are at stake in crucial social, economic, developmental and environmental debates, and finding practical ways forward as well as ways in which these might be implemented. The new politics is about recognizing the rights of, and the risks faced by, all those involved, and about moving beyond conflicts towards a more equitable state. This is a practical guide that explains how MSPs can be organized to deliver their potential for successful resolution of complex issues and for sustainable forms of development. It includes detailed examples and provides functional checklists, explaining how to get beyond adversarial politics and achieve positive results. This significant contribution to understanding new participatory approaches will be essential reading for the stakeholders, governmental agencies, NGOs as well as students and academics in politics, development studies and environmental sciences.

The guide is for those directly involved in MSPs to provide both the conceptual foundations and practical tools that underpin successful partnerships. This work has been inspired by the motivation and passion that comes when people dare to "walk in each other's shoes" to find new paths toward shared ambitions for the future.

Multistakeholder governance is proposed as the way forward in global governance. For some leaders in civil society and government who are frustrated with the lack of power of the UN system and multilateralism it is seen as an attractive alternative; others, particularly in the corporate world, see multistakeholder governance as offering a more direct hand and potentially a legitimate role in national and global governance. This book examines how the development of multistakeholderism poses a challenge to multilateralism and democracy. Using a theoretical, historical perspective it describes how the debate on global governance evolved and what working principles of multilateralism are under threat. From a sociological perspective, the book identifies the organizational beliefs of multistakeholder groups and the likely change in the roles that leaders in government, civil society, and the private sector will face as they evolve into potential global governors. From a practical perspective, the book addresses the governance issues which organizations and individuals should assess before deciding to participate in or support a particular multistakeholder group. Given the current emphasis on the participation of multiple actors in the Sustainable Development Goals, this book will have wide appeal across policy-making and professional sectors involved in negotiations and governance at all levels. It will also be essential reading for students studying applied governance.

Key messagesMulti-stakeholder forums (MSFs) are increasingly seen as essential for collaboration -- across different levels of government and among multiple constituencies-- due to the growing urgency to address climate change and transform development trajectories.A review of the scholarly literature reveals that more equitable and resilient MSFs require a shift in emphasis away from how to design projects toward designing engagement in a way that addresses a specific situation or context.Designing for engagement combines top-down with bottom-up approaches, starting with a period of research and meetings at upper levels to understand the potential challenges that local project implementers face within the broader context they are encountering.This process is engaged, committed and adaptive, supporting a spirit of co-learning among all actors, building mutual respect and trust over time.This approach has the best chance of resilience in the face of change or challenge, and of leading to equitable outcomes -- and is not fostered by the increasingly short-term nature of donor funding and the emphasis on simple quantitative impact indicators.

This book explains why multistakeholder partnerships are needed to solve societal problems in the 21st century. It identifies global problems and contexts where multistakeholder partnerships are currently in use and offers numerous case examples of such partnerships to help readers grasp their nature and operation.

In the complex world of today, important policy and business decisions are still made with a 17th Century reductionist mindset and approach. Yet, complex challenges such as climate change, poverty, public health, security, energy futures, and sustainability transcend any single science, discipline or agency. Rather, they require integration of social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental concerns to achieve acceptable and sustainable outcomes. This entails synthesis of diverse knowledge and perspectives in a transparent and unifying decision-making process, engaging stakeholders with competing interests, perspectives, and agendas under uncertain and often adversarial conditions.Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems — A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases brings together a unique self-contained volume to address this challenge. The book introduces the systems approach in non-technical language for multi-issue, multi-stakeholder decision making supplemented by numerous case studies including business, economics, healthcare, agriculture, energy, sustainability, policy, and planning. The book provides a fresh and timely approach with practical tools for dealing with complex challenges facing evolving global business and society today.