Developing Collaborative Capabilities by Fostering Diversity in Organizations

This article considers some of the risks associated with multi-agency working, especially barriers to collaboration within partnerships between public agencies and their core professions. The article explores the hypothesis that an inability to act collaboratively comes from a fundamental resistance to diversity, both within and across organizational and professional boundaries. It uses a case study of two interacting partnership settings from youth justice and from safeguarding children and young people. The research examines how better integrated, more diversity astute partnerships might act as a catalyst for others to establish better collaboration.