All hands on deck: the role of collaborative platforms and lead organizations in achieving environmental goals.

This article investigates the effectiveness of collaborative platforms in facilitating local collaborations for natural resource management, focusing on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Clean Cities program as a case study. Using a natural experiment and a two-stage difference-in-differences estimator, the study finds that Clean Cities Collaborations (CCCs) significantly reduce air pollution, with non-profit-led and regional government council-led CCCs achieving more substantial and quicker environmental improvements than those led by state or local governments. A content analysis reveals that clear issue definition, inclusive group structures, and participatory decision-making processes are key managerial factors driving these outcomes, while resource allocation capacity plays a lesser role. The findings highlight the importance of lead organization type and collaborative mechanisms in scaling effective environmental governance through platform-supported collaborations.