There is a growing need to promote collaborative problem solving across various sectors of society, e.g., among business, government, labor, and communities. Organizing such collaborative efforts requires focusing on the interorganizational domain or set of interdependencies which link various stakeholders rather than on the actions of any single organization. Moreover, effective collaboration at the domain level is predicated on several preconditions. This paper synthesizes research findings from organization theory, policy analysis, and organization development, and proposes conditions that are essential to achieving collaboration during each of three successive phases of the process. Designing optimum conditions for collaboration depends on the presence and strength of these factors at appropriate points during the collaborative process.
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