TITLE:
Inter-organizational cooperation: A rehabilitation project based on cooperation between health care and three social service agencies
AUTHORS:
Nils-Gunnar Rudenstam, Leif Holmberg
KEYWORDS:
Cooperation; Health Care; Social Service; Work Logic; Rehabilitation
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.5,
February
21,
2014
ABSTRACT: Purpose: Cooperation between organizations is an often-suggested remedy for handling unsolved
borderland problems. However, actual projects aiming at cooperation are seldom
very successful. The purpose here is to highlight obstacles related to cooperation between different organizations based on a case study of a rehabilitation project where health care and
several social service organizations (social
insurance, social welfare, and the local employment agency) were
involved. Data were gathered through participation and interviews. Findings: It seems that efficient
cooperation requires an understanding of the participating organizations’ differences
in work logic as well as work practices. Furthermore, only certain fairly
standardized “normal” problems may be handled through organized cooperation while non-routine exceptional problem requires a more fully integrated work organization. Implications: Obstacles to cooperation are highlighted and ways to improve the possibilities of cooperation between organizations are suggested although such possibilities are
generally hampered by differences in work logic.