Collaboration for Complexity – Team Competencies for Engaging Complex Social Challenges

This Major Research Paper (MRP) thesis paper explores the notions of collaboration within the context of complex societal issues – that exist at the intersection of the so–called ‘wicked problems’, ‘problematiques’, ‘social messes’, ‘super–wicked problems’ and the more recently postulated, ‘post–modern complexity’. The argument put forward is that these categories of issue complexity belong to a larger unified typology, termed 'complex social challenges' – one characterized by specific cognitive, contextual and cooperative ambiguities. Experiences of the key stakeholders are considered from the liminal, salutogenic and sense-of-coherence perspectives, in order to improve both the ecosystemic sustainability and the stakeholder resilience through the enacted collaborative processes. A specific type of collaboration is proposed for effectively engaging complex challenges, posited as a 'collaboration for complexity' – that calls for specific team competencies and a particular kind of team, entitled the 'complexity–oriented team' (COT). An example use-case of a stakeholder population in the midst of a real–life complex social challenge in investigated