This paper, co-authored by B. Cho, I. Noh and A. Roggio, won the SAM OVERMAN BEST PAPER AWARD, ASPA Section for Complexity and Network Studies. The paper is published on Public Management Review at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14719037.2023.2241047

Innovative forms of collaborative governance have evolved to address a diversity of wicked problems. Collaboration processes involved in these forms of governance appear to have a paradoxical nature, where the necessary inclusiveness and diversity of actors may also be important obstacles for a successful collaboration. We apply theories of collaborative and network governance, and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, to explore the impact of collaboration process characteristics (network density, diversity, inclusion and participation) on 12 food policy councils. Our findings suggest that collaborative arrangements where diverse stakeholders have equal and inclusive access to active deliberation constitute one path to effective outcomes.