CO_LAB A NEW MODEL FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION

Maybe you hold the convening power and the sector relationships. Or you own a problem that you’re convinced could be solved through cross-sector working. What you need is a model that can hold a complex, multi-stakeholder process together, and a team that knows how to run it.

We developed CO_LAB with WBCSD following an extensive research period and discussions with more than 50 experts across six continents.

It’s a lightweight governance framework built specifically for high-trust, mission-aligned collaboration across the public, private and third sectors. It's designed for situations where the challenge is systemic, the stakeholders are diverse, and the risk of capture or gridlock is real.

It works in practice because of the design principles that underpin it:

CO_LAB processes are independently convened, keeping the work credibly at arm's length from any single interest;
Governance is purpose-built to manage power asymmetries and prevent capture;
Mission is articulated collectively and upstream, before positions harden;
The process is agile, with learning loops built in so it can course-correct as conditions change;
It's lightweight by design, structured to dissolve at completion, not to perpetuate itself.

BRAE acts as designer and intermediary. We build the architecture for your specific context, convene the right actors, facilitate the sessions, and keep the process on track from strategic design through to delivery. We purposefully have no vested interest, we’re there to make sure the collaboration works.

Talk to us if you're working on a sector transition challenge and need a model that can bring the right actors together and produce real results.