Who should be included in collaborative governance and how they should be included is an important topic, though the dynamics of inclusion are not yet well understood. The authors propose a conceptual model to shape the empirical analysis of what contributes to inclusion in collaborative processes.

The authors propose that incentives, mutual interdependence and trust are important preconditions of inclusion, but that active inclusion management also matters a great deal. They also hypothesize that inclusion is strategic, with ‘selective activation’ of participants depending on functional and pragmatic choices. Drawing on cases from the Collaborative Governance Case Databank, they used a mixed method approach to analyse their model. They found support for the model, and particularly for the central importance of active inclusion management.