Both policy entrepreneur and policy implementer play critical roles in the policy process. Little attention has been devoted to how the identity overlap may influence policy change. This paper addresses this gap using a case-study approach and explores the vertical-greening policymaking in Shanghai (1992–2016), China. Three conclusions are advanced. The identity of policy implementer prompts entrepreneurial tactics to remove the implementation barriers. The discrepancy in perception of the policy-goal ambiguity between the policy implementer and policymaker may compromise policy adoption. The dual identity does not prevent the policy entrepreneur from accepting compromises in order to have the policy passed.

This research analyzes the emergent collaborative governance of local food systems (LFS) development in a six-county region of Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula, a post-industrial mining region with a long history of local food provisioning. We contribute to scholarship on rural food systems by framing LFS development as a social good, benefiting placemaking and long-term economic development. We use a community-based research case study and policy analysis to identify policy-related gaps, including LFS’ low legitimacy, goal divergence among different jurisdictions, and lack of regional leadership. LFS development may present ways for rural communities to foster placemaking and economic development; however, we find that LFS are less visible and not always on the policy agenda of local governments. In this study, collaborations among grassroots actors and organizations outside of local government are leading LFS development. We conclude that collaborative governance may have a better chance to succeed when LFS have a clear public identity and legitimacy as a social good, partners reach goal consensus, and appropriate leaderships are formed.

Originating in neoliberal democracies, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a common policy tool allowing governments to provide public service through collaboration. In some non-liberal societies, PPPs may take different forms and not squarely fit into the classic PPP category, which we label as ‘Quasi-PPPs’ (QPPPs). QPPPs provide important functions especially in economies in transition yet have received little academic attention. Here we propose a general definition of QPPPs as ‘partnerships between a government entity and a not-fully private entity’, and explore factors that influence the PPP-QPPP transition in non-liberal contexts, using the nascent Chinese eco-environmental service partnerships for a case analysis. Drawing on insights from a self-established dataset and interviews, we find that the PPP-QPPP transition involves two-steps: (1) the eco-environmental service partnerships, initially established as PPPs, became inoperable with inexperienced partners and unsupportive markets; (2) with state bailout, the private partner became a subordinated partner in an ‘SOE-private consortium’, and PPPs transitioned to QPPPs. QPPPs brought about two outcomes: hidden debts for the government and the private sector’s nationalization. We conclude that in a non-liberal society, when three critical PPP assumptions, namely competent partners, supportive market, and horizontal structure are violated, PPPs are more likely to transition to QPPPs.