In our current society, governments face complex societal issues that cannot be tackled through traditional governance arrangements. Therefore, governments increasingly come up with smart hybrid arrangements that transcend the boundaries of policy domains and jurisdictions, combine governance mechanisms (state, market, networks and self-governance), and foster new forms of collaboration. This book provides an overview of what smart hybridity entails and of its potentials and challenges. It includes empirical analyses of hybrid arrangements in five policy domains, and reflections upon these studies by internationally renowned governance scholars. They show that the smartness of the new hybrid arrangements does not lie in realizing quick fixes, but in participants’ capacities to learn, adapt and arrive at sustainable and legitimate solutions that balance various public values.

‘Hybridity increasingly defines the governance, structure and operation of contemporary social institutions. Yet, surprisingly, there is limited insight available as to the decision-making and effectiveness of the various compositions that hybrid governance modes may take. This edited volume addresses this shortfall by way of a series of applied case studies that serve to unpack the various mixes of governance arrangements, their features and operating processes of hybrid arrangements across several fields. It will be particularly useful for those charged with designing, implementing and evaluating the ‘smarter’ hybrid governance arrangements required for our increasingly complex and challenging contexts.’ Professor Robyn Keast, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia.

‘Hybridity is one of the biggest challenges for public management in the modern world. In this volume an outstanding collection of colleagues is brought together to explore the theory and practice of governance in a hybrid world. This is an important collection that I will return to, time and again.’ Professor Stephen Osborne, University of Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.