BUILDING AN EVIDENCE BASE AND DESIGNING INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE FOR A NEW ERA OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION
Expert interviews across six continents · Synthesis · Co-authorship of evidence base · Institutional architecture design · Methodology development
The ambition to collaborate across sectors on climate is widespread, but the results can be underwhelming. The structures through which public and private actors are asked to collaborate weren't designed for the kind of upstream, solutions-focused, co-invested work the transition actually requires. Which means we see a default to talk and agree. Which isn’t enough.
BRAE partnered with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to build the evidence base for a different model. Through interviews and group dialogues with more than 50 leading experts across six continents, we explored what makes cross-sector collaboration actually work — the success factors, the governance models, and the design choices that determine whether coordination produces real change or managed consensus.
The headline finding was unambiguous: new forms of institutional architecture are urgently needed at all scales - from local landscapes to transcontinental supply chains - to align government, business, finance and society around shared sustainability goals and drive coordinated action.
The research identified five design imperatives: aligning around clear missions; using trusted orchestrators to convene and facilitate; tailoring governance to context; building delivery-focused capabilities spanning creative, technical and relationship skills; and developing a full solution stack that addresses all the barriers to change, not just the technical ones.
That evidence base was published in March 2025 and co-authored by Suzy Glass and Lewis Howard of BRAE. It led to the CO_LAB model, which is designed to move engagement from "talk and agree" to "align, co-create and deliver." It builds trust between stakeholders, connects them around shared problems and solutions rather than single issues, and tackles root causes through cross-sector collaboration rather than addressing symptoms in isolation.
THE WORK DIDN’T STOP THERE___
BRAE deploys the CO_LAB methodology in its own client work. It underpins the ULI C Change for Housing programme currently underway, and is a core part of how we design multi-stakeholder programmes more broadly.
You can download an executive summary of the evidence base here.
