A Local-State Government Spatial Data Sharing Partnership

A Local-State Spatial Data Sharing Partnership Model to Facilitate SDI Development
private sector applications, the view of collaborative efforts in the public sector is very
important.
Collaboration for public service delivery is defined by Prefontaine et al. (2000, p. 6) as
“the reciprocal and voluntary support that two or more distinct public sector agencies, or
public and private administrations, including non-profit organisations (NPOs), provide
each other in order to deliver a public service, i.e. one that is part of the government
mission”. This definition emphasises the need for reciprocal support from both agencies
and the common goal of delivering a public service. Care is needed that the application of
business management principles to government priorities and operations do not override
the traditional tenet of “public service or public good”.
Lawrence et al. (2002) defined collaboration as a cooperative, inter-organisational
relationship that relies on neither market nor hierarchical mechanisms of control but is
instead negotiated through an ongoing communicative process. For the purpose of this
research the definition used by Gray is adopted with the understanding that collaboration
should be seen as a continuum that involves both co-operation and co-ordination as
identified by Mulford and Rogers (1982).
3.2.2 Why Do Organisations Collaborate?
The understandings from current literature as to why organisations collaborate are broad
ranging and often reflect the individual environment or domain being investigated. A
range of literature identified that the likelihood of collaboration increases during a time of
crisis or difficulty i.e. resource shortages (Gray 1985; Halpert 1982; Mulford & Rogers
1982; Oliver 1990; Schermerhorn 1975).
Schermerhorn (1975, pp. 848-9) suggested that organisations will seek out or be receptive
to inter-organisational cooperation when “faced with situations of resource scarcity or
performance distress, the cooperation per se takes on a positive value, or a powerful
extra-organisational force demands this activity”. Schermerhorn also argues that once the
decision to co-operate is made, there are a range of other considerations or costs associated
with inter-organisational co-operation including organisational image, resource
requirements, domain considerations and support capacities that need to be considered.
Oliver (1990) proposed six critical contingencies of relationship formation as generalisable
determinants of collaboration across organisations as necessity, asymmetry, reciprocity,
efficiency, stability and legitimacy. These determinants are the causes that prompt or
motivate inter-organisational relations. Each determinant may be enough to prompt the
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