Prf Siv Vangen
Professor
The Open University Business School
Biography
Professional biography
Siv Vangen is Professor of Collaborative Leadership in the Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise (PuLSE). She joined The Open University Business School in 2002 having previously spent 10 years researching in the field of inter-organizational collaboration and teaching on the International and Executive MBA programme at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. While at the OU, she has taught extensively across the undergraduate, post-graduate and executive progammes and she has held various leadership roles including Head of Department for PuLSE (2012 – 2016), Associate Dean, Research, Enterprise and Schoalrship (2016-2021) and Head of the Business School in the Faculty of Business and Law (2021-2024).
Research interests
Siv’s background is in Management Science and she is a leading international researcher known for her cutting edge, award winning research into the governance, leadership and management of inter-organizational collaboration. Her empirical research, undertaken using Research Oriented Action Research and other types of engaged research, spans a variety of collaborative contexts across the public, private and voluntary sectors. It has addressed collaboration across a wide range of areas including health, education, anti-poverty, substance abuse, community development and planning, the environment, careers development, policing, economic development and many more.
Her empirical research has resulted in a body of practice-oriented theory and in particular the Theory of Collaborative Advantage. It informs research across different disciplines including public administration, health and wellbeing, international development, the environment and climate change.
Teaching interests
Siv's teaching interests span general and strategic management with a specific focus on practice based teaching and learning using engaged methods such as action learning and reflective practice. She has specific expertise in the management of inter-organisational collaboration. She has taught extensively at undergraduate and post graduate levels, on the international and senior executive MBAs at Strathclyde University and the Open University and as invited guest lecturer on other European MBAs and Executive Develoment Programmes.
Impact and engagement
During the course of her research, Siv has worked as a facilitator, consultant, advisor and trainer with policy makers and managers involved in a large variety of collaborative situations. She is frequently invited to share her expertise with practitioner, policy and academic audiences in the UK and internationally.
Publications
Book
Organizational Collaboration: Themes and Issues (2011)
Managing to collaborate: the theory and practice of collaborative advantage (2005)
Book Chapter
Researching inter-organisational collaboration using RO-AR (2019)
Building and using the theory of collaborative advantage (2013)
Introducing the theory of collaborative advantage (2010)
En teoretisk forståelse av samarbeidssynergi (2009)
En teoretisk forståelse av samarbeidets synergi (2009)
Doing things collaboratively: realising the advantage or succumbing to inertia? (2009)
Doing things collaboratively: realizing the advantage or succumbing to inertia? (2009)
Leadership and partnership in urban governance: evidence from London, Bristol and Glasgow (2004)
Managing trust in inter-organisational collaboration: conceptualisations and tools (2003)
Collaboration theory for collaboration practice: transfer design principles (2003)
Tensions and dilemmas: how partnership managers lead collaboration (2002)
What makes partnerships work? (2000)
New perspectives on leadership in collaboration (1999)
Managing inter-organisational relationships (1996)
Local community groups combating poverty: a focus on collaboration (1995)
Journal Article
Windows of Collaborative Opportunity: Consideration of Governance (2018)
Culturally diverse collaborations: a focus on communication and shared understanding (2017)
Developing Practice-Oriented Theory on Collaboration: A Paradox Lens (2017)
Coping with austerity: innovation via collaboration or retreat to the known? (2017)
Nonprofit-public collaborations: understanding governance dynamics (2015)
Governing cross-sector, inter-organizational collaborations (2015)
Managing cultural diversity in collaborations: a focus on management tensions (2014)
The Tangled Web: Unraveling the Principle of Common Goals in Collaborations (2012)
Achieving collaborative advantage: understanding the challenge and making it happen (2006)
Doing things collaboratively: realizing the advantage or succumbing to inertia? (2004)
Researching organizational practice through action research: case studies and design choices (2003)
Nurturing collaborative relations: building trust in interorganizational collaboration (2003)
Ambiguity, complexity and dynamics in the membership of collaboration (2000)
Presentation / Conference
Collaboration and the governance of public services delivery (2017)
Researching Leadership for Collaborative Advantage (2016)
Understanding Leadership in Public Collaborative Context (2015)
Governance in cross-sector partnerships involving third sector organisations (2011)
Tensions: a challenge to governance and cross-sector partnerships (2011)
Teaching collaboration: Theory, principles and practices using games and simulations (2009)
An exploration of culture in cross-national collaborations (2007)
Managing culture in cross-national collaborations (2007)
A framework for managing aims in collaborations (2006)
Aima in competition: a framework for understanding and managing collaborative purpose (2006)
An exploration of the complexity of goals in inter-organizational collaboration (2004)
