Evaluating mandated intermunicipal collaboration in Alberta, Canada, through the lens of Institutional Collective Action

Sandeep Agrawal and Cody Gretzinger

Planning Practice & Research, 2025, vol. 40, issue 6, 1356-1383

Abstract: Alberta’s mandatory Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks (ICFs) are agreements meant to help plan, deliver, and fund intermunicipal services. This study, using an Institutional Collective Action lens, assesses their effectiveness. We find that ICFs can foster trust and reduce defection risk, but collaboration remains uneven across service agreements, principles, and joint committees. Key challenges include unsatisfactory resolutions via arbitration and differing preferences for services, and how municipalities align financial reporting methods and service standards. Despite tensions, ICFs offer flexibility and promote sustained regional collaboration. Improving legislation and strengthening institutional support and municipal incentives could further enhance the effectiveness of ICFs.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/02697459.2025.2574634

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