Collaborating across sector boundaries: a story of tensions and dilemmas

Jacklin-Jarvis, Carol (2015). Collaborating across sector boundaries: a story of tensions and dilemmas. Voluntary Sector Review, 6(3) pp. 285–302.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204080515X14448338369886

Abstract

This paper explores collaboration between voluntary and public sectors, through the lens of theories which surface the tensions of inter-organisational collaboration. These theories identify the tensions which actors experience, the inherent tensions which underlie these experiences, and the ways in which actors manage these tensions. Drawing on a study of the UK's children's services, the paper identifies three inter-related tensions experienced by voluntary sector participants - tensions between agency and dependency, values and pragmatism, and distinctiveness and incorporation. While these can be seen to relate to the inherent unity/diversity tension identified in the literature (Ospina and Saz-Carranza, 2010), the paper argues that these also relate to inter-organisational context, and more specifically, to the power asymmetry between sectors.

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