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To strengthen Sweden's total defence, increased dialogue and collaboration between public and private actors is seen as an important strategy. Collaborative governance seems beneficial for addressing complex problems that involves multiple sectors of society, yet there is limited understanding of the factors that enable these systems to operate effectively and whether they successfully attain their objectives. As such, the aim of this thesis was to enhance the understanding of what private-public collaborative forums in the Swedish preparedness system achieve and, using Emerson and Nabatchi's (2015) framework, to illuminate the factors underlying their actions and outcomes. To achieve this aim, a comparative case study was conducted on two private-public collaborative forums in the preparedness system. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, and the analysis method was deductive thematic analysis. The study revealed that the forums achieved somewhat different actions but similar outcomes, contributing in various ways to a common understanding of the total defence planning process, stronger networks, and enhanced sector-specific preparedness. Drivers, resources, organizational structure, and, above all, participants' commitment were found to be significant factors in achieving actions and outcomes. The study showed that successful collaboration is based on a complex interplay of various components, which are vulnerable to changes in the environment. In an era where private-public collaboration is seen as a vital strategy for a stronger total defence, it is crucial that practitioners acknowledge and are prepared to manage the inherent complexity of collaboration. To ensure that private public collaboration does not remain merely a buzzword in inquiries, incentives for participants must be ensured, time and resources allocated, and most importantly, social capital and commitment built and maintained.