This research is an inquiry into the use of traditional institutions in public policy with a focus on collaborative governance approaches that build on the customary practices. Collaborative governance processes seek to bring different stakeholders together for the purpose of finding solutions to public policy matters. The structure of traditional institutions shows the potential for their use in decision-making. This idea is explored in the general Cameroonian context by conducting interviews with six individuals from various fields. The interviews show some variations in opinions about the perception of the role of the traditional institutions as well as challenges faced. Collaborative governance is examined as a means to handling some of the challenges. The research concludes that traditional authorities are relevant to informing public policy but have to be used with caution. Other ways of expanding this research are looked at with recommendations made to government and traditional authorities / 10000-01-01