Understanding Collaboration: A Resource Paper Prepared for the Illinois Board of Higher Education

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UNDERSTANDING COLLABORATION
A Resource Paper Prepared for the Illinois Board of Higher Education
May 2007
As Mickey Rooney so famously said, “Let’s all get together and put on a show.”
The idea of people and groups working together to achieve a shared objective is not new;
the pirates of the Caribbean, the builders of the transcontinental railway and the Allies of
World War II were “collaborating” (although obviously not with each other) long before
that term became part of our organizational literature.
Nonetheless, collaboration is a concept that is difficult to define and even more difficult
to implement. This paper is designed to support a greater understanding of collaboration
through a description of its distinguishing characteristics; an examination of collaboration
as a continuum; consideration of Professional Development Schools as the penultimate
model of P-20 collaboration; a review of issues associated with the success of
collaborative efforts; and perspectives on the development of collaboration. As
appropriate, these discussions are linked to collaboration within the P-20 environment
and to the BHE Title II grant requirements.
Defining Collaboration
The precise meaning of “collaboration” is elusive, at least in part because the term has
been used as a catchall to signify just about any type of inter-organizational or
interpersonal relationship.
Moreover, the word “collaboration” has been used interchangeably with many other
terms, such as partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, and consortia, any of which may be
different in nature and intent. As an example, a series of planned meetings between a
university professor and a local curriculum director may be called “collaboration” even
though it may more accurately be a “consultation.”
The definitional problem is further complicated by the question of whether
“collaboration” is a process or a product, a journey or a destination. Rebecca Gajda, an
assistant professor at the University of Vermont, describes the collaborative effort as
the primary method for achieving ideal short and/or long-term goals that would
not otherwise be attainable as entities working independently.
Her emphasis is on the collaborative process. Kagan defines collaboration as
organizational and inter-organizational structures where resources, power and
authority are shared and where people are brought together to achieve common