Bátory, ÁgnesSvensson, Sara2025-04-092025-04-092020-07-030190-069210.1080/01900692.2019.1658771https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27206Publisher Copyright: © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Many scholars have considered when and why collaboration between government agencies and societal actors occurs. This article argues that a simple but largely overlooked answer to these questions is that a formal legal or administrative requirement to do so is in place. Therefore, the objective is to substantiate whether there are legal requirements to collaborate and in what type of source and context this obligation applies in ten European countries. The main finding is that collaboration is underpinned by an extensive range of legal requirements in Europe, although imposing these requirements is generally not the main objective.enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessCollaborative governanceEU countrieslegal obligationsregulationBusiness and International ManagementPublic AdministrationJournal articlehttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071716167&partnerID=8YFLogxKBatory, A & Svensson, S 2020, 'Regulating Collaboration : The Legal Framework of Collaborative Governance in Ten European Countries', International Journal of Public Administration, vol. 43, no. 9, pp. 780-789. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1658771ORCID: /0000-0001-7033-8654/work/167702936101194893