Inter-organizational Collaboration and Partnerships in Health and Social Care
| Author | Paul Thomas,Norah Jones |
| DOI | 10.1177/0952076707078761 |
| Date | 01 July 2007 |
| Published date | 01 July 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Inter-organizational
Collaboration and
Partnerships in Health and
Social Care
The Role of Social Software
Norah Jones
University of Glamorgan, UK
Paul Thomas
University of Wales Swansea, UK
Abstract Inter-agency collaboration in the public sector remains chronically difficult,
especially in the field of health and social care services; yet governments
understandably remain enthusiastic about it. This article critically examines
the potential of networked collaboration, which involves IT to facilitate
inter-organizational collaboration, with particular reference to health and
social care services. Networked collaboration can be implemented by the use
of social software such as blogs, wikis and online discussion groups, which
have been designed for the purpose of communication and collaboration. As a
result of technological innovations it is now possible to engage in
synchronous (real time) interactions that are not limited by location. The role
of virtual collaborative conference facilities offers open access to shared
information in health and social services, a place for collaborative activities
and discussion tools. What current developments in social software can do is
to offer ways of facilitating and enabling the necessary partnerships in health
and social care services to move forward by reducing some of the main
barriers to communications between managers and professionals across
organizational boundaries.
Keywords collaboration, communications, health, social care, social software
DOI: 10.1177/0952076707078761
Norah Jones, CELT, University of Glamorgan, Treforest, RCT, CF37 1DL, Wales.
[email: njones2@glam.ac.uk]
Paul Thomas, School of Health Science, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park,
Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales. [email: P.R.Thomas@Swansea.ac.uk] 289
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200707 22(3) 289–302
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