ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the significance and importance of the institutional systems associated with the business of Group Relations conferences. It focuses on institutional partnering and the dynamics of lateral and vertical relations within a joint venture arrangement. The chapter discusses the system relations of the institutions involved in sponsoring a conference, and with the conference itself as a container for studying institutional relations. Conceptual ideas drawn from the psychoanalytic study of lateral relations and sibling dynamics are applied to a case study of a joint venture conference sponsored in partnership between Group Relations Australia (GRA) and the National Institute of Organisation Dynamics Australia (NIODA). The lateral relations between NIODA and GRA are dense – many members have connections to both organisations. There are more boundaries in a joint venture, greater complexity to manage, multiple projective material in the system – lateral and vertical relations are in play at the same time.
