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The Paradox of Multistakeholder Collaborative Roundtables

Jean Pasquero

University of Quebec at Montreal

This study examines the outcomes of a large-scale Multistakeholder Collaborative Roundtable (MCR) on environmental protection. The findings shed a considerably more realistic light on the concrete outcomes of MCRs than does the image portrayed by the literature and some practitioners. We observed that consensus was achieved, albeit on general principles only. Various types of learning did occur, but they were limited to networking competencies. Problem solving was detected, albeit in the form of incremental innovation only. Overall, the major result of the MCR studied was that it contributed "small wins" to its initial grand objective. The case illustrates the paradox of MCRs. It teaches us that we should be cautious about their real potential to help solve complex collective problems. Yet, it shows that MCRs do serve a useful purpose, that of giving direction to "metaproblems, " a result that apparently can hardly be attained otherwise.

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