Definition – Collaboration
refers to the process of two or more organisations or people working together towards a common aim. The term collaborative planning is about why urban regions are important to social, economic and environmental policy and how political communities may organise to improve the quality of their places. The importance of the city region is highlighted and the definition also indicates that governance and the relationships of organisations need to adapt to achieve collaborative planning.
Relevance to SUMP – Collaborative planning is a central concept of the SUMP process, which promotes communication and collaboration amongst organisations through both vertical integration and horizontal integration. As highlighted in the introduction of the SUMP Guidelines (2013), the planning process “…seeks to ensure the involvement of stakeholders at appropriate stages and collaboration between relevant policy areas [e.g. health, energy] and authorities.
Source: Oxford Dictionaries (online); Healey, 1997 cited by Harris 2002