Collaboration in Social Welfare: a framework for analysis

Abstract

The social science perspective on organisations has tended to focus on intra-organisational phenomena, but the growing interest in collaboration as a means of enhancing welfare service delivery requires a greater focus on inter-organisational behaviour. This paper contends that the British approach has been unduly empirical and draws upon American material to develop a conceptual framework which may be applied to a variety of welfare settings. It considers ways in which collaborative activity might be measured and facilitated, but also warns against optimism about what can be achieved.