This resource focuses particularly on the agency and inter-agency aspects of collaboration by introducing the situation of an older man, Norman Grant and the agencies supporting him. It will assist the user to think of the organisation/agency in which they work as part of a network of organisations/agencies, professions and services; appreciate that each organisation, including their own, shapes the roles of its staff, supplies resources and sets the boundaries of services; understand the interdependence of agencies and their practitioners in achieving the range of support that people who use care services may require; recognise that inter-agency collaboration ranges along a continuum, from cooperation based on mutual objectives to collaboration structured by regulated procedures; and appreciate that procedures provide a framework for practice but rely on people to make them work by applying expertise and values and negotiating outcomes.
