Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Facilitating Interlocal Collaboration: Community And The Soft Skills Of Public Management, Ricardo S. Morse

Working Group on Interlocal Services Cooperation

This paper explores the issue of interlocal collaboration in non-metro areas and argues that the concept of community and related "soft skills" that go along with it are critical to understanding how increased collaboration can be encouraged. An action research process piloted in two Iowa counties provides the basis for this study and offers rich qualitative insight into some of the factors that influence non-metro interlocal collaboration.