A systems perspective on public agency collaboration for the emergence of sustainable solutions to social problems

The purpose of the study was to investigate a collaboration process among public agencies from a systems perspective to better understand conditions for sustainable solutions. Sustainable solutions are those that evolve in response to the changing needs of individuals and communities and emerge from an ongoing process of learning and coadaptation. The primary research question of this study was: In what ways can collaboration among public agencies support conditions for the emergence of sustainable solutions to a social problem? The three major organizing themes for this study were: (a) conditions supporting the emergence of sustainable solutions; (b) challenges to collaboration; and (c) aspects of a culture of collaboration. Key concepts include nonlinearity, complexity, emergence, and culture.;The study explored the experience of 10 participants from juvenile justice, education, and social services agencies of Clark County, Washington involved in a grant-funded collaboration to improve the effectiveness of a public sector truancy intervention program. Action research was used as a continuous learning process that builds capacity for understanding and formulating solutions. Data from interviews, observations, project documents, and the researcher's journal were analyzed to describe participants' experience of the collaboration process.;The study found that caring relationships and learning were important for supporting the emergence of sustainable solutions and developing practices of a culture of collaboration. Two outcomes of the study offer a practical application for public agencies: (a) action steps for developing collaboration principles and practices, and (b) the development of a process model that identifies conditions supporting the emergence of sustainable solutions. The contribution of the study was in describing the process of collaboration from a systems perspective and informing public agencies and foundations about expectations for a meaningful collaboration process.;Opportunities for further research include studying the implementation of the action steps to evaluate changes to the collaboration process, involving youth in determining the impact of the collaboration strategies, and developing a systems model of truancy to better understand the interconnection of truancy with other social problems.