ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the aspects of collaborative government highlighting important features evaluators and auditors need to understand if they are to assess these arrangements. It identifies some of the relevant literature from which evaluators and auditors might benefit. The chapter presents some examples of networks and partnering in the "real" world, then describes collaborative characteristics of the new developments and what is meant by the concepts of partnering arrangements and networks, including the contribution of the sociology of networks. It focuses on partnering arrangements within and between organizations, it should be stressed that human and social factors are crucial to the success of networks and collaborative arrangements. The fact that network and partnering arrangements often do not fit well within the traditional audit or evaluation frameworks or methodologies means that they require more attention. The chapter concludes the nine collaborative properties for auditors and evaluators to consider when dealing with networks and partnerships.
