The philosophy underlying the Pathways to Collaboration Workgroup is that the real expertise about collaborative problem solving lies within partnerships that have achieved a particular kind of success - success in addressing complex community problems that their residents care deeply about by meaningfully engaging the people who are directly experiencing problems. Consequently, a critical objective of the Workgroup selection process was to identify the community partnerships in the United States that have made the greatest headway in this regard.

Additional partnership qualities were also important. To assemble an effective group of "partnership detectives," we sought partnerships whose members are very curious about their collaborative process and willing and able to reflect on it. Since the Workgroup experience involves entire partnerships - not just a few enthusiastic people - we looked for partnerships with broad-based interest and commitment. To assure that partnerships could participate for the full duration of the Workgroup, we sought partnerships with enough financial and in-kind support to continue their collaborative process for at least three years. To promote joint learning and generate knowledge that is broadly applicable, we looked for partnerships that complement each other in terms of the geography and populations of their communities as well as the particular strengths and weaknesses of their collaborative process.

More detailed information about the eligibility criteria and partnership selection process can be found in the Pathways to Collaboration Application Guide (to see a copy, click here ). The 764 Letters of Intent that the guide generated documented tremendous interest in the Workgroup and its objectives. After a careful review of these Letters - by a diverse group of people with experience and expertise in collaboration, community engagement, community problem solving, evaluation, and the collection of qualitative information - 25 community partnerships from around the country were invited to submit full applications.

Considerably more comprehensive than the Letter of Intent, the full application was designed not only to identify partnerships best suited for the Workgroup, but also to help the partnerships determine whether participation in Pathways to Collaboration would be right for them. Like the Workgroup experience itself, the full application required partnerships to involve as many of their participants as possible - including the people who are directly experiencing the problems the partnership is addressing - in taking a close and honest look at how they have worked together over time and from a variety of perspectives. (To see a copy of the Full Application Packet, click here. )

After a rigorous assessment of the partnerships' written applications, as well as telephone and face-to-face interviews with partnership participants and community residents, the Review Committee identified seven partnerships that met the Workgroup's eligibility criteria:

• Community Leadership Team of Beyond Welfare
• Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership
• The MIRACLE Group
• Organization of the NorthEast
• People in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER)
• Southeast Oklahoma Champion and Enterprise Community
• Tri-County Workforce Alliance

While these partnerships share critical qualities, they also complement each other in important ways. Geographically, they range from very urban to frontier, and their populations vary, encompassing people who are African American, Caucasian, Hispanic/Latino(a), Native American, and Asian. To read a profile of each partnership, click on its name, above.

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