The U.s. - India Relationships: Cross-sector Collaboration to Promote Sustainable Development

Publisher Marketing: Over the past 2 decades, the global system has been subject to a range of forces which have reconfigured relationships among individuals, organizations, and nation-states. As an aspect of that changing structure and rising interdependence, many security challenges which confront today's strategic leaders are grounded in concerns about economic, social, and environmental sustainability, and, in turn, about political stability. Furthermore, with increasing frequency, many observers are concluding that those types of challenges cannot be addressed by stakeholders from any single sector. That insight has prompted calls for collaborative efforts involving citizen groups; for-profit and not-for-profit companies; local, regional, and national governments; and intergovernmental organizations. Nevertheless, initiating and managing a cross-sector collaborative initiative is a difficult undertaking. It requires a broad range of skill sets, including the ability to think in system terms; help various participants articulate their respective interests and find common ground; marshal resources; create processes and structures that will enable collaboration; establish baselines; and celebrate progress. Acquiring those types of skills is relevant to strategic leaders in all professions, including those in the defense and security communities. This volume reflects the proceedings of a workshop held in Carlisle, PA, in March 2013, that brought together a diverse group of scholars and practitioners from India and the United States who were both deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced in their respective fields; who regarded sustainable development as a critical challenge for the future; and who, at some level, had begun to experience the challenges of participating in cross-sector collaborations. The purpose of this volume is to summarize the ideas shared by those professionals, in hope they will serve as a stimulus to further conversation and research about an increasingly important set of matters.